Washington University’s athletic director Josh Whitman has been hired as the new athletic director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, according to reports from the Chicago Tribune.

Whitman is expected to depart after spending the past 18 months at the helm of the Wash. U. athletic department. His tenure with the Bears has been defined by aggressive expansion in both department structure and fundraising.

During his stay thus far, Whitman has hired 15 new staff members; among them two new head coaches, three high-level administrators and the program’s first strength and conditioning coach. Whitman fundraising has approached the department’s $1 million annual goal and $30 million capital campaign. Whitman has also supervised the construction and final stages of the Gary M. Summers Recreation Center, a $55 million endeavor.

Whitman, an Illinois alum and varsity football player for the Illini, has been linked to the vacant athletic director position since as early as mid-December, but the field had recently narrowed to him and Patrick Chun, the athletic director for Florida Atlantic University.

While Whitman lacks experience in Division I athletics, his track record at Wash. U., his previous athletic directorship at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and his strong ties to the Illini community have been reported as major factors in his selection.

As of right now, Wash. U.’s plan for potentially replacing Whitman is unclear.

Whitman was unavailable for comment at the time of publication and Director of Sports Information Chris Mitchell declined to comment.