Illinois fires head coach Tim Beckman a week before opener...

Illinois has fired head football coach Tim Beckman, the school announced in a statement Friday.

Beckman was the subject of an internal investigation that alleges he pressured former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic to play despite injuries and that Cvijanovic was misled about the extent of his injuries.

"The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I've chosen to act accordingly," Athletics Director Mike Thomas said. "During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program."

In addition to influencing medical decisions, Thomas discovered that Beckman threatened to withdraw scholarships from players during their senior year spring semester after they had finished the season.

“Both of those findings are unsettling violations of University policy and practice and do not reflect the culture that we wish to create in athletic programs for our young people,” Thomas said. “I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field.”

Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit will take over as the interim head coach for the season, which begins for the Illini in one week against Kent State.

Thomas indicated that the timing was unfortunate, but based on the preliminary results of the investigation, he felt it was in the best interest of the student-athletes to act now instead of when the full report is publicly released. That report will likely be released during the season.

More than 90 people have been interviewed and 200,000 documents have been reviewed by Franczek Radelet law firm, which is conducting the investigation. The firm also reviewed a large amount of practice and game video from Beckman's tenure at Illinois.

Beckman will not receive the remaining $3.1 million from the last two years of his contract or the $743,000 called for if he had been bought out. He was 12-25 in three seasons and had one bowl appearance with the Illini.