Illinois' three-month long search for a new athletic director has come to an end as the school has reportedly hired Josh Whitman from Division III Washington University in St. Louis, according to the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press.

The Illini fired AD Mike Thomas in November following the results of an investigation into former football coach Tim Beckman's mistreatment of players. Whitman played football for Illinois from 1997 to 2000, was in the Illinois athletic department from 2005 to 2008 as coordinator of special projects and later as assistant to then AD Ron Guenther.

Whitman was the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for four years before taking the job at Washington University in 2014.

Illinois hired interim coach Bill Cubit to a two-year deal this offseason, so Whitman will have to make a big decision in the near future on the direction of the football program once Cubit's contract runs up after the 2017 season.