The search for a new Illinois football head coach officially came to an end Friday as former Toledo head coach Tim Beckman was announced as the new leader of Illinois football.

“I am very excited to introduce Tim Beckman as the new head football coach at the University of Illinois,” athletic director Mike Thomas said in a press release. “He brings an impressive resume to Illinois and is highly regarded within the entire coaching community. Coach Beckman sold me on his vision for Illinois football through the interview process. He is a proven recruiter, has worked alongside some of the nation’s top coaches, will have high standards for academic and athletic success and is a great fit for the Fighting Illini.”

Beckman held a 21-16 record in three seasons as head coach at Toledo, taking over a team that had gone just 3-9 before his arrival. Before assuming that position, he had served as cornerbacks coach at Ohio State from 2005-06 and defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2007-08. Beckman was also responsible for bringing in the top recruiting class in the Mid-American Conference in each of the last two seasons.

Hiring football coaches from MAC schools is nothing new for Thomas, who had success at Cincinnati hiring both Brian Kelly and Butch Jones. Kelly led the Bearcats to back-to-back BCS bowls in 2008-09 and was a three-time winner of Big East Coach of the Year honors. Jones, now in his second season at Cincinnati, led the Bearcats to a share of the Big East conference title this season.