Todd Lickliter to Lead Marian University Men's Basketball
Lickliter, who has amassed a 169-119 career record as a head coach, brings extensive experience from the NCAA Division I level to Marian University. He spent last season with Miami University (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio, as an assistant coach after serving as head coach at the University of Iowa (2007-10) and at his alma mater, Butler University (2001-07). He also served two stints as assistant coach at Butler (1988-89 and 1999-2001) and a stint as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University (1997-99).
"I stand before you passionate about the opportunity to coach at Marian University," said Lickliter. " I am the proud father of three sons, two of whom graduated from Marian University, and the other who will graduate in December. They recognized that personal touch. I believe that personal aspect will give us the opportunity to be genuine and recruit with substance."
In three seasons at the University of Iowa, Lickliter went 38-58 (.396) with the Hawkeyes before working in 2011-12 season with Charlie Coles at Miami University (Ohio).
In six seasons at Butler, Lickliter earned a 131-61 (.682) record and led the Bulldogs to four post-season basketball tournament berths, including trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003 and 2007. He was named the 2006-07 Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and was recognized as the High-Major Coach of the Year by collegehoops.net. He was also named 2007 Horizon League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year after guiding the Bulldogs to a school and league-record 29 victories.
He led Butler to the regular season championship in the Horizon League in 2007. The Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Florida (65-57). Butler, in 2008, repeated as Horizon League champions.
In posting a 29-7 record in 2006-07 Butler led the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.5), ranked fifth in scoring defense (57.1), seventh in free throw percentage (76%), 13th in won-loss percentage (.806), 17th in scoring margin (10.5) and 20th in three-point field goals per game (8.9).
Butler was ranked in the national top 25 for 16 consecutive weeks during the 2006-07 season and became the first team in the history of the Horizon League to be ranked in the top 10. The Bulldogs won three games over top 25 opponents (Tennessee, Gonzaga, Maryland) and recorded eight victories over teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament.
Butler averaged 22 wins in six seasons under Lickliter, winning league titles in 2002, 2003 and 2007. The Bulldogs won four in-season tournaments, including the 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off and the 2006 Wooden Classic.
Along with winning at least 20 games in four of six seasons at Butler, Lickliter's student-athletes also excelled in the classroom. Butler's graduation rate of 82% for men's basketball in Lickliter's final season ranked best among all Sweet Sixteen teams in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Butler also held the top graduation rate among NCAA Sweet Sixteen teams when the Bulldogs advanced past Mississippi State and Louisville in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Lickliter's 2006-07 team captured the Midwest Region title of the NIT Season Tip-Off with back-to-back victories over Notre Dame and Indiana. The Bulldogs continued their roll in New York, defeating 22nd-ranked Tennessee and 23rd-ranked Gonzaga to capture the pre-season NIT.
The Bulldogs began the 2006-07 season with 10 straight victories, including a triumph over Purdue in the Wooden Tradition. The 10 wins matched the second-fastest start in school history and the fifth-longest winning streak in school annals. Butler cracked the "Top 25" on Nov. 27 and was nationally-ranked for a school and league record 16 consecutive weeks. Lickliter's club became the first team in Horizon League history to break into the nation's "Top 10" on Feb. 5.
At mid-season Lickliter was named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, presented by Collegeinsider.com. He also earned the mid-season Hugh Durham Award, which at mid-season recognizes the top coach at the mid-major level.
The 2006-07 Bulldogs became the first team in league history to record 20 wins before February and the first Horizon League team to win 26 regular season games. Butler had three wins over teams that were ranked in the "Top 25" and eight victories over squads that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Lickliter became the first coach in Horizon League history to be honored by the NABC as Coach of the Year. He owns three of the top single-season win totals in Butler history, including 29 wins in 2007, 26 in 2002 and 27 in 2003. The Bulldogs also won 20 games in 2004.
Lickliter ranks fourth on Butler's all-time list for basketball coaching victories. He ranks second among Butler head coaches with at least three seasons in winning percentage (.682) and second in number of 20-win seasons (four). He became the first Butler coach to reach 50 career wins in just two seasons and the first to achieve 100 victories in five seasons. And, he's one of just four coaches in the history of the Horizon League to guide a team to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen".
Lickliter led the Bulldogs to an unbeaten home record (12-0) in 2002-03, and mentored Butler to a 70-12 (.854) home mark in his six seasons. Lickliter also directed Butler to 61 victories away from Hinkle Fieldhouse. His Bulldog teams were 6-5 against teams ranked in the "Top 25" in the nation.
In 2005-06, Butler's men's basketball program earned the Horizon League Outreach Award, compiling the highest number of community service hours among all teams at Butler University. In his six seasons as the head coach at Butler, 19 of 20 seniors earned their degree.
In his first season as Butler's head coach, Lickliter guided the Bulldogs to a then school-record 26 victories and a third consecutive Horizon League regular season title. He led Butler to regular season tournament championships at the Top of the World Classic in Alaska and Indiana's Hoosier Classic. The win at the Top of the World Classic marked Butler's first regular season tournament title in 41 years. The victory at the Hoosier Classic ended Indiana's streak of 19 consecutive titles in the 20-year history of the event.
Lickliter was the first basketball coach in Butler history to win his first 13 games, and he became the first coach to lead Butler to more than 20 regular season wins. He set school and conference records for most wins by a first-year coach, and he led the Bulldogs to the third-highest single season win total in league history. He had Butler ranked in the "Top 25" for the first time in 53 years, and guided the Bulldogs to their first-ever unbeaten non-conference record.
Lickliter guided the 2003 Bulldogs to an even more impressive season in his second year. He led Butler to a 27-6 record, breaking the single-season mark for victories for a second consecutive year. His squad earned a second straight Horizon League regular season title and returned to post-season play for the second consecutive year. Butler earned its first "at-large" bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1962, and the Bulldogs went on to reach the Sweet Sixteen with upset victories over fifth-seeded Mississippi State and fourth-seeded Louisville.
Lickliter began his collegiate coaching career at Butler in 1988-89 under Joe Sexson, his former college coach. He left Butler after one year to accept a head coaching job at Danville Community High School, where he remained for three seasons. He returned to the collegiate ranks in 1996 as an administrative assistant on Collier's staff at Butler. Lickliter accepted an assistant coaching position at Eastern Michigan in 1997 and remained on the Eagles' staff for two seasons before returning to Butler in 1999. In six Division I seasons, he contributed to teams that won three conference regular season championships, four conference tournament titles, made four NCAA Tournament appearances, and compiled a 106-73 record.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Lickliter had high school head coaching stints at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis (1979-87) and Danville High School (1987-88, 1989-92). He also coached a partial season in Saudi Arabia with the Ah Ahli Sports Club-Jeddah.
Lickliter has had a presence in Indiana basketball dating back to his days as a three-year starting guard at North Central High School in Indianapolis, where he played for his father, Arlan. He began his college career at North Carolina-Wilmington before transferring to Central Florida Community College. He played one season at Central Florida, earning his associate degree in 1977, and then transferred to Butler, where he played his final two collegiate seasons, 1977-79. He earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Butler in 1979.
Lickliter was born April 17, 1955. He and his wife, Joez, have three sons, Ry, Garrett and John, and a daughter-in-law, Molly. Ry graduated from Marian University in 2006 and Garrett graduated in 2007. John is currently a student at Marian University.
He inherits a program that returns four starters after a 20-11 season in 2011-12. The Knights earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Division II National Championships where they went 1-1 and earned a berth in the round of 16. They finished the season ranked No. 18 in the final NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.