Best Big Ten coach? Bret Bielema would like a word
Jul. 3—CHAMPAIGN — A graphic posted to the On3 Twitter account early Sunday evening contained a simple query. Who is the best Big Ten football coach?
The graphic included photos of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State coach Ryan Day, Penn State coach James Franklin and new Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell.
Who is the BEST coach in the Big Ten? pic.twitter.com/qZPT7wVbmh
— On3 (@On3sports) July 2, 2023
The tweet itself drew more than 500 likes and 100 quote tweets or retweets in the not quite 24 hours since it was posted. None, it seems, from the coaches mentioned above. But the tweet got new life Monday afternoon when Illinois coach Bret Bielema weighed in.
Who has the most B1G titles???? Asking for a friend.... #famILLy #ILL https://t.co/EpfWZJyMDC
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) July 3, 2023
Bielema does have more Big Ten titles than Harbaugh, Day, Franklin and Fickell. Bielema's three — all won when he was the coach at Wisconsin — are the most among active coaches in the conference. Harbaugh, Day and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz all have two. Franklin has one. Including his one season as interim Ohio State coach, Fickell has ... zero.
Bielema's tweet inquiring about a Big Ten championship count topped 100,000 views in 90 minutes. It also had nearly 900 likes and more than 125 retweet and quote tweets combined, as Illinois fans got involved in the social media discourse.
