April 2, 2007
Watch the Media Conference: Live at 4:45 pm
Watch the Public Introduction: Live at 6 pm
Listen: CBS Sports Seth Davis and Clark Kellogg on Lickliter
Listen: Bill Raftery, Jim O’Connell and Kevin Harlan on Lickliter
Listen: ESPN’s Andy Katz on Lickliter
Listen: Former Butler Bulldogs Thad Matta and Brandon Miller on Lickliter
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IOWA CITY — The UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has scheduled a media conference for Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. to officially announce Todd Lickliter – the 2007 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year – as the new head coach of the UI’s men’s basketball program.
The UI has also scheduled an open-to-the-public event from 6 to 7 p.m. on the playing floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That event will be the first public appearance of Lickliter as head coach of the Hawkeyes. The North, South and West Entrances of the Arena will open at 4:30 p.m. and the media conference will be broadcast live on the videowalls inside the facility.
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“I’ve always had the greatest admiration for the University of Iowa and its men’s basketball program. I was excited about the opportunity to interview and, afterward, I was extremely excited. It was clear that we shared a common approach and vision for a successful basketball program and the experience of being a student-athlete. “My wife and my family and I are looking forward to being a part of the Hawkeye family, a family that I know extends well beyond the boundaries of the Iowa City community and the state of Iowa.” |
“I’ve always had the greatest admiration for the University of Iowa and its men’s basketball program,” said Lickliter. “I was excited about the opportunity to interview and, afterward, I was extremely excited. It was clear that we shared a common approach and vision for a successful basketball program and the experience of being a student-athlete.
“My wife and my family and I are looking forward to being a part of the Hawkeye family, a family that I know extends well beyond the boundaries of the Iowa City community and the state of Iowa.”
The 51-year-old Lickliter was named the 2007 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after having guided Butler University to a school and Horizon League-record 29 victories. The Bulldogs were co-champions of the Horizon League and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with victories over Old Dominion and Maryland prior to losing to defending national champion Florida.
Lickliter’s sixth season as head coach at Butler – his alma mater – was filled with firsts and bests. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 40-point win at Tulane and then defeated Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga to win the 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off.
Butler won its first 10 games in 2006-07 – a mark that included a victory over Purdue and matched the second-best start and fifth-longest winning streak in the history of the men’s basketball program at BU. The Bulldogs were ranked among the nation’s best for 16 consecutive weeks and became the first Horizon League team to crack the Top 10 the week of Feb. 5.
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“Todd Lickliter is a proven winner at the highest level. He has a strong commitment to academics and his Midwestern values are a perfect fit for Iowa.
“I love his passion for the game of basketball, his passion for his players, and his strong desire to become a Hawkeye.” UI Director of Athletics
Gary Barta |
All counted, Lickliter’s 2006-07 Butler squad defeated three teams that were ranked in the Top 25 at tip-off and recorded eight victories over teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Lickliter’s six-year record at Butler is an impressive 131-61 and includes invitations to post-season play four times and two appearances in the NCAA’s Sweet 16.
“Todd Lickliter is a proven winner at the highest level,” said UI Director of Athletics Gary Barta. “He has a strong commitment to academics and his Midwestern values are a perfect fit for Iowa.
“I love his passion for the game of basketball, his passion for his players, and his strong desire to become a Hawkeye,” Barta added.
Lickliter and his wife, Joez, have three sons, Ry, Garrett and John.
Live video of both the media conference and the public event will be available free inside Hawkeye All-Access, the multi-media section of hawkeyesports.com, the official world wide web site of the Iowa Hawkeyes.Fans interested in watching the events online will be required to register, however, registration is free and takes only a minute to complete.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT LICKLITER
“He’s a good hire; the guy can really coach it up. Everyone in Iowa is going to be smiling a lot over the next few years.”
Van Colemam, recruiting analyst, to the Iowa City Press-Citizen
“Todd has done a remarkable job at Butler. His teams are fundamentally sound and execute as well as anyone in the country. Iowa has hired a great basketball coach.”
Greg McDermott, head coach, Iowa State University, to the Des Moines Register
“The hire is a home run, it makes perfect sense. Todd brings a winning attitude and he brings ability. Best of all, he’s coming from a place at Butler, that has a winning culture. He will establish a winning culture at Iowa, in their recruiting, in relating to alumni, and his ability to coach. It’s a slam dunk for the Hawkeyes.”
Seth Davis, CBS Sports
“Todd is a high quality, class individual, and a terrific coach. I just have great, great respect for him. He does a lot of good things in managing his kids, developing his players and how he coaches the game.
“I’m a big, big fan of Todd’s. For what he represents between the lines, but even more importantly how he goes about trying to develop those young men as student athletes under his leadership.”
Clark Kellogg, CBS Sports
“He’s done such a great job for so long, and it’s not a fluke either. He had kids who believe in the system. They are unselfish and play together. They do all the things that terrific coaches get their people to do.
“Everybody has been impressed with what he has been able to do. I think Iowa is very fortunate. Iowa fans will enjoy him, and his style. I think he will be able to attract kids who fit the way he wants to play. I think the future is bright.”
Bill Rafterty, TV and Radio Analyst
“Todd’s one of those guys, he’s a coaches coach. He takes a team and he gets them to play above their level. When you look at what he did this year; in the Horizon League, they were picked to be down, and yet they come out and knock off teams from the Big Ten, the Big East, the ACC; they ran through the pre-season NIT, it was due to his coaching, and he’s been that way for years there.
“When you talk to people and they ask about the best coaches, Todd Lickliter is going to be on the list. Maybe the general public doesn’t know him, but everyone inside basketball definitely does.”
Jim O’Connell, Associated Press College Basketball Writer
“I did the second round game when Butler had the win over Maryland. I thought his team was well coached, very well organized. The substitution pattern was terrific, he knew exactly when to take a guy out and when to bring a guy in. Throughout his career, that has been his trademark, very well coached and well prepared teams. No program can ask for more than that.”
Kevin Harlan, CBS Sports
“It’s a great hire for The University of Iowa. Coach Lickliter has been very successful at the mid-major level, especially in the Midwest. He’s obviously proven himself in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t see why Iowa can’t continue its great tradition of being a Big Ten contender under Todd Lickliter. The Butler track record certainly speaks for itself.”
Andy Katz, ESPN College Basketball Analyst
“First and foremost, I think, everyone who has followed what Butler has done in the past; in his six years at Butler, he has taken two separate groups of players at Butler to the `Sweet 16′. As good a coach as he is, I think he’s a better person. He’s a great family man.
“He’s great to his players; players love to play for him. He treats people in general the right way. He’s a very humble person, yet at the same time, ultra-competitive, which, I think, translates to his teams. He gets his players to buy into team basketball, to play together. With all that said, that combination has been a great success for the teams that he has coached.”
Brandon Miller, Former Butler player under Todd Lickliter
“Number one, I’m excited for Todd. I think Iowa is getting a great person and a great basketball coach. I played for Todd; I coached with Todd; and Todd coached for me. The job Todd did at Butler University, for the time he was there was incredible. I think that adding him into the league, we are adding a quality person and a quality coach.”
Thad Matta, Head Coach, Ohio State University
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