Frank Loyer Pinckney took over the coaching reins from Elwood Brown for the 1906–1907 season. After a very promising start to the season, where more than 100 student athletes tried out for the team, Pinckney had three freshman declared ineligible by the Western Conference.A Century of Orange and Blue: Celebrating 100 Years of Fighting Illini Basketball By Loren Tate, Jared Gelfond pg.20 Due to this unfortunate circumstance, the Fighting Illini played the season with a depleted lineup and finished the season with the worst record in the history of the school. The decision to make freshmen ineligible gave Pinckney the same problem Brown had faced one season earlier.Fighting Illini Basketball: A Hardwood History By News-Gazette, Sports Publishing LLC
