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Chris Randles and Aimee Thomas
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We’re telling stories of fans following the Illini during the NCAA tournament. Email yours to Jim Rossow at [email protected].
You know it’s a big game when Chris Randles shows up in his orange pants.
The 53-year-old superfan will be in his finest duds at tonight’s Illini game in Boston — pending final approval from his girlfriend Aimee Thomas — and will keep the orange flowing until his return flight on Sunday. Yep, he booked it intentionally. “I’m expecting to win Thursday. I’m a confident but not cocky fan.”
A 1993 UI grad, Randles is vice president for administration and CFO at Parkland College, where he’s worked for 30 years. A board member with Illini Rebounders, the Decatur native has been hooked on Illini hoops since arriving on campus the same year the Flyin’ Illini reached the FInal Four.
“That team made it pretty easy to get sucked into loving them,” he said. “They were so much fun.”
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Marcus Domask and Chris Randles
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Chris Randles and Terrence Shannon Jr.