CHAMPAIGN — New Illini football coach Tim Beckman hasn't yet shown whether he can go 15 rounds, but nobody got a glove on him in the first round Friday afternoon.

His 3 p.m. news conference cleared the air after a morning marked by irrational fan reactions.

Shame on us. Are we that jaded? Whose fantasy was it that Vince Lombardi was about to be resurrected? Since when did UI supporters start looking down their noses at the Mid-American Conference coaches?

This league has been a breeding ground since the days of Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes. There's a reason why Miami is called the Cradle of Coaches. Cincinnati and Notre Dame are even now the proud recipients of Central Michigan coaches Butch Jones and Brian Kelly. Toledo sent Gary Pinkel to Missouri, where he spoiled one Illini season after another. Western Michigan beat Illinois in 2008 and came within 23-20 this season.

While Beckman was rebuilding Toledo from a scandal and posting a 14-2 conference record in 2010 and 2011, he went 5-0 against the three aforementioned members. He came within, in his words, "16 yards of beating Ohio State" in a 27-22 loss (closer than the Illini came) in September.

As a confirmed old grouch, I'm prepared to be as skeptical as anyone — if Big Ten odds are posted, Beckman must accept underdog status — but he's no less qualified than those who supposedly declined UI overtures.

Oh, and there's a story. What about those rejections? This doesn't reflect well on my profession, but much of the speculation was completely off base. It turns out that some people declined who were never asked. Maybe 80 percent of the rumors were inaccurate. In operating off his personal list, UI athletic director Mike Thomas was said to be at places he never visited and was at other places where no one knew. And Thomas was most disturbed with the misguided rumor that he and Cincinnati's Jones had a falling out.

"I was amazed," Thomas said. "I couldn't figure out where it was coming from."

Let me say, after what I've learned, if you offered a choice of Beckman or Houston's Kevin Sumlin — the center of an internal rhubarb at Texas A&M — I'd be fine with Beckman. You wanted Larry Fedora? He's the guy who took a job with Ron Zook here and walked out after a week. You preferred Mike Leach? Really? Lawsuits, idiosyncrasies and all? You wanted Charlie Weis. Take him, please.

Or maybe you had your eye on a coordinator from Oklahoma State. Well, Beckman was a coordinator there before he went to Toledo. Or did you prefer a defensive guru from Michigan State? Beckman's been there, done that at Oklahoma State.

A fine introduction

I might raise an eyebrow at Thomas' statement that it was "an impressive pool of candidates," but the fact is, I really don't know. And I don't think you do, either.

Thomas had the advantage of checking and double-checking with some pretty sharp people ... Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Jim Delany, to mention a few. Thomas made the circuit and said the arrows kept pointing back to the football gym rat regarded as the MAC's best coach ... a firebrand who runs a multi-formation spread attack, who as CEO keeps his finger in offense, defense and special teams, who maintains a family atmosphere within the team, and who has a third consecutive high-ranked recruiting class on the way at Toledo.

So if you're going to complain, at least do it with accurate facts ... and from all I can tell, Thomas is about the only one in town with those facts.

As Friday developed, Beckman said all the right things on the Memorial Stadium podium. Afterward, both he and Thomas spent more time answering questions for the media.

And get this: Beckman wore an orange tie. He pronounced the name of the state correctly. After a recruiting whirlwind that will find him chasing future talent while Vic Koenning prepares the Illini for their bowl game, he intends to make himself known in the community and bring the entire football team to a basketball game and a baseball game, among others.

"He gets it," said Thomas of his new hire. "And it comes naturally for him."

As for staff, Beckman will meet with Illini coaches — he is acquainted with only one, Joe Gilbert — in the next few days. He said he'd like to bring "one of college football's brightest minds," 31-year-old Matt Campbell, as offensive coordinator if Campbell isn't named permanent head coach at Toledo.

Beckman tidbits

— During game week, Beckman said he might spend as much time in the offensive staff room as with the defense. On game day, he'll make the calls on fourth and 1, on whether to try a field goal, on clock management. As a coach's son, he grew up studying those decisions.

— For decades, Illinois has treated the Northwestern game with indifference and paid a high price in losses. Interestingly, Beckman immediately called Northwestern "that school up north," thereby designating the Wildcats as the UI's "natural rival," and noted that you'll never see him in purple. Nice touch.

— The new coach acknowledged that most of his efforts have been in Ohio and Michigan, but "we'll recruit the Chicago area as hard as anybody ever recruited it."

— Beckman rattled off the names of Illini players, having seen the team on film against Western Michigan.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.