# Ray Eliot

Raymond Eliot "Butch" Nusspickel (June 13, 1905 – February 24, 1980) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

## Early life

Eliot lettered as a guard for Illinois three times: twice for football (1930, 1931) and once for baseball (1930).

## Coaching career

He served as the head football coach at Illinois College from 1934 to 1936 and at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1942 to 1959, compiling a career college football record of 98–80–12. Eliot was also the head baseball coach at Illinois College from 1933 to 1937. His Illinois Fighting Illini football teams won three Big Ten Conference championships (1946, 1951, and 1953) and two Rose Bowls (1947 and 1952).
Notable players during Eliot's tenure included Bobby Mitchell and Ray Nitschke. Eliot stepped down in 1959 and was succeeded by Pete Elliott. Eliot, who spent almost his entire career at the University of Illinois—he was a student athlete, an assistant football coach, head football coach, associate athletic director, and finally the interim athletic director for the university—was nicknamed "Mr. Illini." He attended the University of Illinois, played as a guard on the football team in 1930 and 1931, and was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.
Eliot was also the first head coach of the Illini hockey team in 1937.

## Personal life

He died of an apparent heart attack on February 24, 1980, in Urbana, Illinois.

## Legacy

Eliot's 1951 Illinois squad is currently the last Illini team to finish the season with no losses. Eliot is remembered by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association through its Ray Eliot Award. Eliot was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

## Head coaching record
### Football

| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches$^#$ | AP$^°$ |
| Illinois College Blueboys (Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1934–1936) ||||||||
| 1934 | Illinois College | 6–1 | 5–1 | T–3rd | | | |
| 1935 | Illinois College | 5–3 | 5–1 | T–3rd | | | |
| 1936 | Illinois College | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | T–10th | | | |
| Illinois College: | Illinois College: | 15–7–1 | 12–4–1 | | | | |
| Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1942–1959) ||||||||
| 1942 | Illinois | 6–4 | 3–2 | T–3rd | | | |
| 1943 | Illinois | 3–7 | 2–4 | 6th | | | |
| 1944 | Illinois | 5–4–1 | 3–3 | 6th | | | 15 |
| 1945 | Illinois | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 7th | | | |
| 1946 | Illinois | 8–2 | 6–1 | 1st | W Rose | | 5 |
| 1947 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 3–3 | T–3rd | | | |
| 1948 | Illinois | 3–6 | 2–5 | 8th | | | |
| 1949 | Illinois | 3–4–2 | 3–3–1 | 5th | | | |
| 1950 | Illinois | 7–2 | 4–2 | 4th | | 11 | 13 |
| 1951 | Illinois | 9–0–1 | 5–0–1 | 1st | W Rose | 3 | 4 |
| 1952 | Illinois | 4–5 | 2–5 | T–6th | | | |
| 1953 | Illinois | 7–1–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | | 7 | 7 |
| 1954 | Illinois | 1–8 | 0–6 | 10th | | | |
| 1955 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | | | |
| 1956 | Illinois | 2–5–2 | 1–4–2 | 8th | | | |
| 1957 | Illinois | 4–5 | 3–4 | 7th | | | |
| 1958 | Illinois | 4–5 | 4–3 | 6th | | | |
| 1959 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 4–2–1 | T–3rd | | 12 | 13 |
| Illinois: | Illinois: | 83–73–11 | 54–55–7 | | | | |
| Total: | Total: | 98–80–12 | | | | | |
| National championship  Conference title  Conference division title or championship game berth ||||||||
| $^#$Rankings from final Coaches Poll. $^°$Rankings from final AP Poll. ||||||||

### Ice hockey

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall |
| Illinois Fighting Illini Independent (1937–1939) ||||||
| 1937–38 | Illinois | 0–4–0 |
| 1938–39 | Illinois | 3–7–0 |
| Total: | Total: | 3–11–0 |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||