Three Illinois coaches threaten boycott unless contract issues resolved

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Illinois players watch practice in Oakland, Calif., in preparation for the Fight Hunger Bowl. | Marcio Jose Sanchez~AP

Updated: February 1, 2012 8:09AM

SAN FRANCISCO — It already was among the strangest bowls in the world.

Illinois (6-6) enters the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Saturday with a six-game losing streak, which might be unprecedented for a bowl team. UCLA (6-7) needed a waiver from the NCAA to play in a bowl with a losing record.

And the game, which pits two teams that have fired their coaches, keeps getting stranger.

Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas said Friday he was unaware of a threat by four assistant coaches to boycott the game if the university doesn’t resolve the exit terms of their contracts.

Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert told Sports Illustrated’s website that he, offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm and tight ends coach Chip Long are considering not coaching.

‘‘If they want the bowl game to be coached,’’ Gilbert said, ‘‘they better decide they want to treat us the right way.’’

The coaches reportedly are upset that a late change to their contracts — they didn’t notice it before signing — eliminates what would have been a full year of severance.

The situation is adding to the headaches for interim coach Vic Koenning, who’s trying to stay out of the controversy.

‘‘If they don’t [coach], we’ll figure out what the next thing is,’’ Koenning said. ‘‘I’m not going to worry about something that hasn’t happened yet. I’m trying to worry about how we’re going to stop No. 8 and No. 83 and stay in our gaps.’’

No. 8 is junior tight end Joseph Fauria, who has six touchdown catches, the most by a UCLA receiver since 2005. No. 83 is senior receiver Nelson Rosario, who’s fifth in the school record book in career catches (143) and receiving yards (2,307).

Koenning, who understood and accepted the terms of his contract when it was renewed last offseason, offered this explanation of the dispute.

‘‘Would some of these guys have come here with a one-year contract? No,’’ Koenning said. ‘‘We didn’t realize we didn’t have two-year contracts until we were released. Something that wasn’t in the original contract got put in, and we didn’t go back and re-read them because we assumed things.’’

Even without the contract squabble, the game has many unusual features. The name might sound odd, but it’s dedicated to a noble cause. More than 120,000 meals were donated to needy people in the Bay Area last year.

In addition, it’s played at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. So Illinois will play in a baseball stadium for the second consecutive season. The Illini routed Northwestern 48-27 last year at Wrigley Field, where both offenses were headed westbound because of safety concerns about the right-field wall.

‘‘That was my first question. I asked about the two-end-zone thing,’’ said A.J. Jenkins, Illinois’ All-Big Ten receiver.

‘‘Hopefully, he has to worry about it,’’ quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase said. ‘‘If he’s trying to catch a lot of balls in the end zone, that’ll be a good sign for us.’’

Kidding aside, the Illini, whose last victory came Oct. 8 at Indiana, are very serious about making the most of this opportunity.

Besides ending a troubled ­season on a positive note, a victory would give Illinois a winning ­
season and its first back-to-back bowl wins. The Illini defeated
Baylor 38-14 in the Texas Bowl
last season.

‘‘It’s exciting to have another chance to prove we’re still a good team,’’ freshman running back Donovonn Young said. ‘‘We’ve had our blunders, but we were 6-0. This is a chance to show people we’re still the Fighting Illini that won six in a row.’’