University of Evansville Quickly Names New Men’s Basketball Coach
Old coach out, new coach in, all in the matter of roughly three hours.
After less than a year as the head coach of the University of Evansville's men's basketball team, administrators announced Tuesday evening that Walter McCarty had been fired from that position as the investigation into a possible Title IX violation continued, and that "Bennie Seltzer will continue to serve as interim Head Coach of Men’s Basketball until a new head coach is appointed." That news came down just before 6:00 p.m.
At 9:29 p.m., the University sent out a press release stating former Butler University head coach, Todd Lickliter (pictured, above) would take over the program as the new head coach effective immediately.
The Indianapolis native is no stranger to the Purple Aces program, having served as an assistant on the coaching staff during the 2018-19 season. Before that he led the Butler Bulldogs from 2001 through 2007 where he "he directed the team to a then-school record of 26 victories and its third Horizon League regular season championship in a row" during his first season, and Sweet 16 appearances during the 2003 and 2007 seasons.
Following his run at Butler, he served as head coach of the University of Iowa in 2007 before moving on to Marian University in 2012 where "he led them to the most conference wins in school history along with the #1 scoring defense in NAIA Division II."
To say the Aces have struggled since McCarty was put on administrative leave is an understatement. The team has yet to win a game since beating Murray State back on December 21st. Here's hoping Coach Lickliter can get things turned around. He'll get his first chance tonight when he's on the sideline for the team's home game against Drake at the Ford Center.
[Source: University of Evansville Press Release]