CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's golf program, No. 12 nationally in the NCAA Division I team rankings, was selected Wednesday afternoon to compete in the NCAA Athens Regional, as announced live on GOLF Channel.
The Orange and Blue have now qualified for each of the last 18 NCAA regionals. It marks the Illini's 21st appearance under head coach Mike Small, and the program's 24th since 1989.
Small has led the Illini to seven NCAA Regional titles, including each of the last two seasons at the Stanford Regional in 2024 and the Urbana Regional hosted at Atkins Golf Club in 2025. Small's seven regional championships rank as the second-most in NCAA history – tied with former Clemson head coach Larry Penley – just one off the lead shared by Texas' John Fields and Oklahoma State's Alan Bratton. Â
Hosted by the University of Georgia, the regional will be held at the Bulldog's UGA Golf Course (Par 71 / 7,271 yards). The 54-hole event will be contested May 18-20, with 18 holes of competition set for each day.
Illinois is the region's No. 2 seed and will be joined by: (1) Auburn, (3) Vanderbilt, (4) BYU, (5) Georgia, (6) Louisville, (7) Kansas, (8) Northwestern, (9) College of Charleston, (10) Rice, (11) Southern Miss, (12) Harvard, and (13) Howard.
The low five teams and low individual not on a qualifying team from each of the six NCAA regional sites will advance to compete at the NCAA Championship on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, May 29 - June 3. Illinois is in search of the program's 17th NCAA Championship berth in the last 18 tournaments dating back to 2008 (no championship was held in 2020).
The other five regional sites are: Bermuda Run, North Carolina (Wake Forest University - Bermuda Run Country Club); Bryan, Texas (Texas A&M University - Traditions Club); Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University - OSU Golf Club); Corvallis, Oregon (Oregon State University - Trysting Tree Golf Club); and Marana Arizona (University of Arizona - The Gallery Golf Club).
