UIC's Collins to Retire as Head Men's Basketball Coach

University of Illinois at Chicago head men's basketball coach Jimmy Collins says he intends to retire as of Aug. 31 after 14 seasons with the Flames.

Collins, who was the winningest coach in UIC history with 218 victories from 1996-2010, announced his impending retirement Tuesday.

"It is difficult to leave UIC and the great student-athletes who are returning," Collins said in a statement. "After much introspection, I feel it is my time to enjoy retirement and have more time with my family.

Collins began his coaching career as an assistant to Lou Henson at the University of Illinois in 1983, and kept the post in Urbana-Champaign for 13 years before taking over as head coach at UIC.

"During his tenure, (he) raised the stature of the UIC men's basketball program," said UIC director of athletics Jim Schmidt. "Coach Collins embraced the values that UIC athletics aspires to uphold. He had great integrity, leadership skills and accountability while holding academics, the student-athlete experience and excellence as his guiding principles."

With the Flames, Collins had 20 or more wins in four different seasons. He also guided UIC to the first three NCAA tournament berths in school history.