Sources: John Groce to coach Illinois - NCAA

Illinois will hold a news conference Thursday to announce John Groce as the
Illini's next coach, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.

Groce took Ohio to the Sweet 16 this season before the Bobcats lost to North
Carolina in overtime.

Illinois was working on the news conference and release Wednesday.

Groce and athletic director Mike Thomas negotiated over the contract before a
deal was finally struck earlier Wednesday.

Throughout the day Tuesday, Thomas said through a spokesperson that the deal
wasn't done yet. Sources close to Groce said that he spent early Tuesday
calling around to discuss the contract and ensure that it was the right deal
for him.

An Ohio source said Groce was in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday, and had a
meeting scheduled with his team Thursday morning before flying to Champaign
for a news conference.

Groce, 40, replaces Bruce Weber, who was fired March 9 after nine seasons.
The Illini failed to reach the NCAA tournament this past season for the third
time since 2008 and went 41-49 in the Big Ten during that span. Illinois
finished 17-15 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten in 2011-2012.

Groce has been one of the country's hottest coaching names after leading the
No. 13-seeded Bobcats to a Sweet 16 run, which included wins over No.
4-seeded Michigan and No. 12-seeded South Florida, and ended with an overtime
loss to top-seeded North Carolina.

It was Ohio's second appearance in the NCAA tournament in Groce's four
seasons. The Bobcats won the MAC tournament title as a No. 9 seed in 2010 and
went on to upset No. 3 Georgetown as a No. 14 seed in the NCAA tournament.
They lost to Tennessee in the following round.

Ohio went 29-8 overall and 11-5 in the MAC this past season. The Bobcats
finished third in the MAC East. The Bobcats have gone 85-56 overall and 34-30
in conference in Groce's four years.

Groce arrived at Ohio after being an Ohio State assistant coach from
2004-2008. With the Buckeyes, he developed a reputation as an elite recruiter
as he helped sway Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. to Ohio State.

Groce was also previously an assistant at Xavier from 2001-2004, at Butler
from 2000-2001, North Carolina State from 1996-2000 and Taylor (Ind.)
University from 1993-1996.

Groce was born in Muncie, Ind., and played for Todd Lickliter at Danville
High School in Indiana. Groce later played at Taylor, an NAIA program.

He has recruited the state of Illinois before. At Ohio, he signed Bobcats
current starting point guard D.J. Cooper from Seton Academy in South Holland,
a Chicago suburb, and former Ohio player James Kinney from Champaign
Centennial.

Groce or Illinois will have to pay Ohio $200,000 for terminating his contract
early. He signed a contract extension in April of 2010 that took him through
the 2014-2015 season.

Groce made a base salary of $250,000 in the 2011-2012 season. He also was
given $25,000 for radio and television appearances and $25,000 for public
appearances. He also earned bonuses of $5,000 for a conference winning
record, $10,000 for winning the MAC tournament championships, $20,000 for
winning two NCAA tournament games and $20,000 for being one of the final 16
teams remaining in the NCAA tournament.

Illinois owes Weber $3.9 million after firing him with three years remaining
on his contract.

ESPNChicago.com's Scott Powers contributed to this report.

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