'75 Illini finally get their rings

Mike Durkin has wonderful memories of winning a Big Ten track and field championship in 1975 at Illinois.

What he didn't have — at least until Saturday night — was a ring commemorating the accomplishment.

"We thought it was a pretty big deal, winning the conference championship," said Durkin, a captain of the '75 Illini and future Olympian. "Well, the AD at the time (Cecil Coleman) sprung for some inexpensive plaques that fell apart five years after we received them."