UIC dismisses Yaklich after four years

MBB: There are now three head coaching openings in the Valley

Luke Yaklich was 47-70 in his four seasons as UIC’s head coach. (Photo: Missouri Valley Conference)

UIC is moving on from Head Coach Luke Yaklich after four seasons with the Flames.

"After a thorough evaluation, we determined the time has come for a change," UIC Athletics Director Michael Lipitz said in a statement. “He is a man of integrity and is genuinely invested in the wellbeing of his student-athletes. We wish him and his family every future success. UIC is committed to its men's basketball program being a competitive force in the Missouri Valley Conference and returning to postseason play to help elevate the national profile of our entire athletics program and university."

After seven seasons as an assistant at Illinois, Texas and Michigan, Yaklich earned his first collegiate head coaching job at UIC before the 2020-21 season. As part of the Horizon League, UIC went 9-13 and then 14-16 in Yaklich’s first two seasons. The Flames also improved from 11th-place to 8th-place in the Horizon in those two years.

Prior to the 2022-23 season, UIC, along with Murray State and Belmont, made the significant jump to the Missouri Valley Conference. The Flames went 12-20 and 12-21 overall the last two seasons, finishing in 11th-place in the conference both years. UIC was able to upset Southern Illinois, 84-82 in double overtime, Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Yaklich joins SIU’s Bryan Mullins and Missouri State’s Dana Ford as Missouri Valley head coaches who have lost their jobs since Friday.