At Hawthorne Elementary School in Elmhurst, when Illinois plays, it's Illinois Day. Whenever the University's men's basketball team got on the court, the kids of the school got into their orange duds. The practice started with teachers Vicki Deter and Cass Rufus, shown above, but soon caught on in the entire school. So when Hawthorne held a "No TV Week," it made sense that an exception was made for Illinois basketball games. It also made sense that when the kids — many of whom are offspring of alumni — posed for a snapshot during the basketball season the picture would make its way to the UI Alumni Association!

"I" runs in the family for the Ambergs, including Maria Amberg, left, wife of Paul Amberg '01 LAS, and her brother-in-law John Amberg '96 COM (pictured). The family got head and hat into the spirit — along with approximately 7,000 other Illini fans — at Al Hraboski's bar in St. Louis the day of the NCAA championship game.

Paige, the daughter of Deanne Wapinski DeWitt '95 ENG, may be barely a year old, but she doesn't need decades of experience to decide which team she supports. Here, Paige and her mom make "I"s at the camera.

In the Southern Illinois town of Okawville, orange reigns even when the Illini aren't playing — the high school's team, the Rockets, shares the University of Illinois' school colors. And residents went all out this year to support their state's flagship University, with the students of Immanuel Lutheran School decking out in orange the Friday before the Final Four games, and the town's newspaper staff painting a countdown to St. Louis on their office's front window, as pictured by Tamara Craig Schilling '90 ACES.