Tim Beckman

Tim Beckman (born January 19, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He was hired on December 9, 2011, by Athletic Director Mike Thomas, after coaching at the University of Toledo for three years. During his tenure at Toledo, Beckman's teams saw consistent improvement. The 2008 team he inherited went 3-9. In 2009, his first year as a head coach, his team improved to finish 5-7. In the following year, his team finished 8-5, 7-1 in the MAC, earning a berth to the 2010 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, which they lost 34-32 to the FIU Golden Panthers. In his final year at Toledo, Coach Beckman finished 9-4, 7-1 in the MAC to be West Division co-champions with Northern Illinois. This team earned a berth to the 2011 Military Bowl. However, Beckman left after the regular season to become the head coach of the Fighting Illini.

Prior to his stint with the Toledo Rockets, Beckman was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University. After two seasons there, in which the Cowboys posted a record of 16-10, Beckman left. On December 4, 2008, Beckman was hired to replace Tom Amstutz, who resigned during the 2008 season. Before joining the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Beckman coached at Ohio State under Jim Tressel and at Bowling Green, where he was a three-time nominee for the Frank Broyles Award.

Beckman attended high school at Forest Park High School in Beaumont, Texas, for two years before completing his secondary education at Berea High School in Berea, Ohio. He attended the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, where he lettered on the football team for two years; in both years the Oilers qualified for the NAIA Football National Championship playoffs. He graduated from Findlay in 1985 with a degree in physical education. He went on to serve as a graduate assistant coach for the Auburn Tigers football team while he earned a master's degree in education from Auburn University.