Dick Butkus To Get Bronze Statue At New Illinois Football Center

CHAMPAIGN, IL — The University of Illinois will pay tribute to former Chicago Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus with a bronze statue in his image, the university announced Monday. The statue will greet Fighting Illini fans at the entrance of Illinois' new football performance center and is expected to be ready for the 2019 football season.

"Dick Butkus is the greatest defensive player in the history of football, and he embodies the identity of the Illinois football program," Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said in a statement. "His toughness was legendary. His competitiveness was unparalleled. And, his Illini pride is without peer. As we construct the new home for Illinois football, we have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Dick's legacy. We hope that the Butkus statue will serve as a daily reminder to all those who enter the building of what it means to be a Fighting Illini."

The University of Illinois called Butkus and halfback Red Grange "two of the greatest players in college and pro football history." Grange, known as the "Galloping Ghost," died in 1991 and is already memorialized with a statue statue on the west side of Memorial Stadium.

Butkus said he is humbled by the honor. "Usually when you get a statue you are in the dirt, so this will be very different," he said. "I certainly didn't come to the University of Illinois to play football and have a statue made, but I need to acknowledge my teammates I played with back then. It was a good group and I think everybody had the same mentality when they came here to go to school. The program hadn't won in a long time and Pete Elliott's first class, we went to the Rose Bowl two years later, so that is special."

Butkus played three seasons with the Illini and helped the team defeat the University of Washington in the 1964 Rose Bowl. During his nine-year career with the Chicago Bears, he was invited to the Pro Bowl eight times.

The bronze statue of Butkus will be created by renowned artist and UI alum George Lundeen, who is also responsible for the Red Grange statue.

"When you follow a career like Dick Butkus and you have gone to the University of Illinois, he is one of the icons," Lundeen said. "Much like Red Grange, but he is a modern-day icon, so when you hear his name, you not only think of Rocky's dog, but you think of the greatest linebacker who ever played the game."

AP Photo/Bradley Leeb