UIC Flames

The UIC Flames play at Credit Union 1 Arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, bringing Division I basketball to America's third-largest city. The program has had to fight for attention in a market dominated by pro sports, but built a genuine identity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. UIC now competes in the Missouri Valley Conference after years in the Horizon League, chasing the same tournament breakthroughs that defined its best era. It's a program built on urban grit and a coaching legacy that still shapes how the Flames play today.

UIC's basketball program found its footing under longtime coach Jimmy Collins, who led the Flames to three NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998, 2002, and 2004 — all first-time bids for the program. The breakthrough 1997-98 team went 22-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play, highlighted by wins over Butler and Michigan State, before falling to UNC Charlotte in the tournament's opening round. Those three tournament trips remain the high-water mark of UIC basketball history. The Flames moved from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022, opening a new chapter for the program.