UIC signs coach Collins to a three-year extension

The University of Illinois at Chicago has granted a three-year contract extension to men's basketball head coach Jimmy Collins, athletic director Jim Schmidt announced Tuesday.

The agreement is pending final approval by the board of trustees.

"I have been truly blessed to spend the last 12 years doing what I love here at UIC. It is a great university," Collins said.

"I am as excited as I have ever been about our upcoming season and the young men we have returning, as well as the new recruits we have coming in," Collins continued. "I am as eager to get on the court and continue to build this program."

Collins, who was hired by UIC in 1996, has guided the Flames to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1998, 2002, 2004) and one NIT bid (2003) while topping the 20-win plateau on four occasions, including a school record 24 victories in 2003-04. Collins owns a career record of 194-171.

"Coach Collins has become synonymous with UIC basketball and has become an institution on this campus," Schmidt said. "He is an excellent ambassador for UIC, understands our mission and will retire as a Flame."

Collins, who will enter the 2008-09 season just six wins shy of 200 career victories, returns three starters to his lineup, including All-Horizon League performers Josh Mayo (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) and Scott VanderMeer (Dyer, Ind. /Lake Central).