Illinois football coach Bret Bielema has a way with words and deeds. Last year, Bielema extended a T-Bar gesture to South Carolina coach Shane Beamer during the Citrus Bowl in a perceived taunt.

Now, he is taking his ire out on the SEC, with his fingers on a keypad doing the talking. On Friday, Bielema sharply criticized the SEC over a 7-page document they released, arguing that they have the toughest conference in college football. 

He reposted Brett McMurphy of Action Network on X with some particulars of his own:

“Great work. Headed into the weekend maybe have this EXTREMELY talented working group look at running the numbers on:

1- the last 2-3 years where legal NIL and portal transfer rules have balanced rosters like never before

2- look at head to head in the same time frame head to head with Power 4. Especially with a possible B1G vs SEC challenge that is being discussed

3- and there is no better reality than recent history for reality. Maybe 2025 season, playoffs and bowl matchups head to head.

Cant wait for that press release….”

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The “regular season” gaunlet clearly got under Bielema's skin. Bielema recently signed a six-year contract extension with Illinois for $7.7 million. Illinois finished the season 10-3 with a victory in the Citrus Bowl over South Carolina 21-17. 

When it comes to the SEC, this isn't the first time they have felt the wrath of Bielema. But on the flip side, the SEC did wonders for him. 

Bret Bielema's complicated relationship with the SEC

Bielema has been riding for the Big 10 even before he got to Illinois. When he was the coach at Wisconsin, he sought to distance the Big 10 from the SEC in particular ways. 

He specifically called out the recruiting practices of the SEC and didn't want to follow suit. However, things changed when Bielema was the coach at Arkansas. 

He started to appreciate the toughness of the conference and, at one point, hinted at a Big 10-SEC challenge series.