Bret Bielema has seen Memorial Stadium at its full capacity twice – now he wants to see it at full capacity on a weekly basis.

With Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker fulfilling his promise of the state moving to Phase 5 of reopening Illinois athletics is permitted to host full capacity sporting events on campus, including football and men’s basketball.

Illinois’ Week 0 game against Nebraska on August 28 is the first college football game of 2021, so the Illini will be the first program in the country to play in front of what could be a packed house.

“I know that was something that we would want to capitalize, maximize,” Bielema said. “I was told today that 70% of the tickets sold today are for the opener in Week 0. Season tickets are the highest they have been, or second-highest they have been in a decade, best in six years, whatever it is. The opportunity for us, as a football program, and our fans we have to represent our fanbase.”

The two times that Bielema has seen Memorial Stadium came when he was on the opposing sideline. The first was as a player at Iowa in the 1990s and the second came when he was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-12.

“I know coming in here as a player, I remember hearing my coach (Hayden Fry) talk about the atmosphere that was going to be here from the moment that the buses rolled through to the time we had kickoff to the time we left. I know how electric this place can be.”

Bielema said that he has been in meetings with Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman and other university officials about making gameday in Champaign a bigger event. He has even been in conversations with Illinois’ senior associate director of athletics, external Cassie Arner, whose main responsibility is to oversee the marketing and fan engagement activities surrounding Illini athletics, but those plans are still being held internally.

“I think there are a few things that are in the works, that I can’t discuss,” Bielema said. “I’m not even going to share them with our team until the appropriate time. From uniforms to the way we are going to play. I’ve said a lot about a certain philosophy, or thoughts but bottom line, game days are about the game. They (fans) don’t come to watch coaches’ coach; they don’t come to watch refs ref or officiate a game. They come to watch players play.”

Bielema is also hoping to continue his outreach towards Illinois students, in hopes of making Illinois’ student section, the Block I, more involved in games – and he is already generating thoughts about how to best create new fans.

“I think if we can connect with the foreign student, we have a huge foreign student population here on campus, a very specific unique market that hasn’t been capitalized,” Bielema said. “There will be events that are to work with them hand in hand as they move in.”

Illinois experienced lots of excitement around the program in spring with Bielema’s lighting rod persona and recruiting energy. For the spring football game, the Illini opened Memorial Stadium in a limited capacity and tickets sold out in just hours.

“It made a statement to me when they were sold out in less than an hour, what it was X number of minutes,” Bielema said. “Even though it was just 8,000. I know where our season ticket numbers are at. Even if we have that excitement now moving forward I think we’ll be in a good place. Obviously, to kick off a football season against Nebraska, a conference opponent, I’ve given our guys the stats that in the last five years in the Big Ten West has been won by either Wisconsin or Northwestern and their record at home during those championship years was really, really special.

“We open up at home against a divisional opponent so that’s a very, very big game. They all are, but to open up at home against a Big Ten West opponent needs to mean something for us. It’s a constant education to our guys. The best way we can have an advantage here at Memorial Stadium is to have a packed house.”

Illinois should expect a big crowd for the Nebraska game, especially with how well Cornhusker fans travel to see their team play. But going into the future, Bielema knows that the best way to keep fans wanting to attend games is to win football games.

Now the goal is getting Memorial Stadium its first sellout since a 2016 competition against North Carolina.

“You can get in the stands, and we can help that by giving you something when you’re in the stands you’re happy to see,” Bielema said. “I think it’s a little bit of a combined effort of Illinois football players, programs and coaches and the fanbase.”