Zook Introduced as Illinois’ Coach

Ron Zook, who was fired in midseason by Florida, took over Illinois’ program Tuesday, returning to his roots and promising to turn around a team that has sunk to the bottom of the Big Ten.

Zook received a five-year deal, worth about $1 million a year, according to university spokeswoman Robin Kaler.

Zook, a native of Ohio, and a former assistant coach at Ohio State, said deciding to take the job was an easy decision.

“I was raised in the Midwest. I coached in the Big Ten,” he said. “It’s one of the finest athletic conferences in the land.”

Florida fired Zook on Oct. 25, two days after the Gators lost at Mississippi State. But Zook coached the Gators for the rest of the season and led them to a 3-1 record and an invitation to the Peach Bowl.

Zook had been asked to coach the Gators in their bowl game, but after Illinois made its announcement, Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley changed his mind and called Zook to tell him he has coached his last game for the Gators. Foley said defensive coordinator Charlie Strong will be the interim coach for the Dec. 31 game against Miami.

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Urban Meyer was formally introduced as Florida’s coach, beginning a difficult month of transition from one program to another.

Meyer will coach Utah in its Fiesta Bowl matchup against Pittsburgh on Jan. 1 but will be busy recruiting for Florida.

He wasted little time taking shots at rivals Florida State and Tennessee, referencing former coach Steve Spurrier’s “Free Shoes University” comments as well as his memorable line: “you can’t spell Citrus without UT.”

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Twenty-seven of the 56 schools with bowl-bound teams graduated fewer than half their players, according to a study conducted by the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida.

The study also showed that 39 of the schools graduated fewer than half of their black players.

Only 55 teams were examined because Navy doesn’t release graduation rates.

Of the California teams going to bowl games, USC had the highest overall graduation rate at 58%, followed by UCLA at 55%, California at 48% and Fresno State at 40%.

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Tickets are priced at $50 for the Dec. 23 Las Vegas Bowl between UCLA and Wyoming and are available at the Bruins’ central ticket office, www.uclabruins.com or by calling (310) 825-2946. UCLA season-ticket holders are being offered the opportunity to receive a free ticket for every ticket they purchase for the game. This offer is good through Dec. 17.

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Coach Bobby Petrino said he plans to stay at Louisville. The move came after Mississippi Athletic Director Pete Boone said that Petrino’s agent had contacted him about the Rebels’ vacancy. Boone said the agent later called back to say Petrino was no longer interested.... Utah’s search for a coach to replace Meyer is on hold, pending a decision by defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham has offers from Utah and rival Brigham Young. The Deseret News reported that Utah officials want a decision today from Whittingham.... Boise State Coach Dan Hawkins agreed to a five-year, $2.6-million contract extension.... Stanford offensive coordinator Bill Cubit was hired as Western Michigan’s coach.... Kansas Coach Mark Mangino said he had been contacted informally about the Notre Dame vacancy.