"We are beating schools I've never beaten before": Bret Bielema embraces merits of $2.8 billion House vs NCAA settlement

The college football world will witness a dynamic shift in its quality and operations starting this season as the $2.8 billion House vs. NCAA settlement finally gets enforced. This offseason, the landmark judgment was passed by the California court, where the athletes who played since 2016 will get back pay and the schools will get $20.5 million in 2025 for recruiting and paying athletes.

Reacting to this decision, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema mentioned that he was more than happy to see college sports getting regulated and more influx of money for program development.

Speaking on the "Triple Option" podcast on Monday, Bielema said he was able to beat top-ranked opponents from the SEC and Big Ten, which was never possible back in the day. He feels NIL and revenue sharing has enabled teams like Illinois to lure athletes and make transfer portal moves.

“It's been something that we've been hoping was going to come. It's not just the history, it's the sort of resources available,” Bielema said. [Timestamp - 9:00]

“And I think a world that we're getting to now, for instance, right now in our recruiting world for the first time in my 17 years that goes I've had some good teams. And I'm not basing this on anything other than what's being given to me by my outside voices.

"Right now we are beating schools I've never beaten before. We can go head to head with any SEC, Big Ten school. I don't care if it's Ohio State or if it's the team that finished last in our conference last year, or the team that finished first in the SEC."

Bret Bielema praised Commish Tony Petitti for elevating Big Ten standards

Back in 2012, when Bret Bielema was coaching at Wisconsin, one of the biggest differences he spotted in the Big Ten was the lack of fan following. Despite having the biggest stadiums and top schools like Ohio State and Michigan, the game day interaction from the fans was fairly low compared to SEC schools.

Bret Bielema relocated to Arkansas in December 2013, and that's when he saw the real passion during the SEC board meetings.

After his return to the Big Ten, the first thing he discussed with his counterparts was the parity in both these leagues. He claimed ever since Tony Petitti took over the conference, things have changed a lot.

Speaking on "Big Ten Radio" in January, Bret Bielema said:

"Tony Petitti deserves a national award for what he has been able to do for our league. To get it not only in a position of equity but maybe even flipped a little bit this year. So, I'm super, super excited."

With the new revenue-sharing model in effect, things are expected to grow beyond what was previously imagined.