Illinois-Chicago men's basketball coach Howard Moore received a three-year contract extension, the school announced Wednesday .
Moore's contract, pending the board of trustees' approval, will run through the 2017-2018 season. Moore, a Chicago native, was hired to replace Jimmy Collins in August in 2010.
The Flames (18-16, 7-9 Horizon League) reached the second round of the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament in Moore's third season. After finishing 8-22 in 2011-2012 season, UIC's 10-win improvement was the 12th-best turnaround in the country last season. The team's 18 wins also was the most by the program since the 2007-2008 season.
"In a very short period of time, Howard and his staff have led our men's basketball program back to being a contender in the Horizon League," UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt said in a statement. "We're very proud of the strides that have been made. Our recruiting has significantly improved, his players are performing well in the classroom, and the program now has an identity built on playing great team defense. We believe that Howard and his staff have an effective plan to consistently win in our league, and we're excited about him leading our program into the future."
UIC will graduate three starters from last season's team, but Purdue transfer Kelsey Barlow, who sat out last season, will be eligible and is expected to make an immediate impact.
"I would like to thank chancellor Paula Allen-Meares, vice chancellor for student affairs Barbara Henley, athletic director Jim Schmidt and the entire university administration for the opportunity to be UIC's head coach for years to come," Moore said in a statement. "It's a great time to be a Flame -- the energy surrounding our program and our athletic department in general is very exciting.
"As a staff, we are very proud of the things we accomplished last season -- we had great senior leadership, and our young guys really bought into the vision of our program. But we're not satisfied. Our goals are to compete for championships year-in and year-out. Everything is about our approach -- in recruiting, in practice, in the classroom and in competition. We're very excited about this offseason, and are looking forward to our continual climb to the top of the Horizon League."