Kurt Kittner played quarterback for Illinois from 1998 to 2001. In his senior season, Kittner led the Fighting Illini to a 10-win season and the Big Ten conference title. The Illini earned a berth to the Nokia Sugar Bowl, their first and only BCS Bowl Game, and were defeated by LSU. Kittner still holds school records for total career offense (8,880 yards) and career touchdown passes thrown (70 TDs). He also holds the single season record of 27 touchdown passes thrown, set in 2001.Kittner was drafted in the 5th round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played in seven games for the Falcons in the 2003 season, throwing for 391 yards, including 2 TDs and 6 interceptions. After that season Kittner was released by the Falcons and had short stints with four other NFL teams, before landing in the now defunct NFL Europe. In 2005, Kittner quarterbacked for the Amsterdam Admirals and led them to the NFL Europe World Bowl title. He was then invited to training camp for the Chicago Bears and earned a roster spot as the team's 3rd string QB. Kittner never played a down for the Bears, and was eventually released in November of 2005.
Kittner currently resides in Chicago and works in commercial real estate. In July of 2007, it was announced that Kittner would be joining the Illini Sports Network as an expert analyst, providing color commentary for Illinois football games on the radio. Kittner and play-by-play announcer Brian Barnhart call the action on the 45-station Illini Sports Network for fans across the Midwest.