| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1955-04-17)April 17, 1955 (age 70) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1975–1976 | UNC Wilmington |
| 1976–1977 | Central Florida CC |
| 1977–1979 | Butler |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1979–1987 | Park Tudor School |
| 1987–1988 | Danville Community HS |
| 1988–1989 | Butler (assistant) |
| 1989–1992 | Danville Community HS |
| 1997–1999 | Eastern Michigan (assistant) |
| 1999–2001 | Butler (assistant) |
| 2001–2007 | Butler |
| 2007–2010 | Iowa |
| 2011–2012 | Miami (OH) (assistant) |
| 2012–2015 | Marian (IN) |
| 2018–2019 | Evansville (assistant) |
| 2020–2022 | Evansville |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2015–2018 | Boston Celtics (scout) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 233–208 (.528) |
| Tournaments | 4–2 (NCAA Division I) 2–2 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3Horizon League regular season (2002, 2003, 2007) | |
| Awards | |
| NABC Coach of the Year (2007) 2×Horizon League Coach of the Year (2006, 2007) | |
Todd Arlan Lickliter (born April 17, 1955) is the former head coach of theEvansville Purple Aces men's basketball team of theMissouri Valley Conference (MVC). He was previously the head coach ofMarian University, theUniversity of Iowa, andButler University men'sbasketball teams.[1] He spent the 2011–12 season as an assistant coach atMiami (Ohio).
Lickliter was a starting point guard atNorth Central High School in Indianapolis, where he played for his father, Arlan. He helped North Central to a sectional title inHinkle Fieldhouse in 1973, and he played his final high school game in the Fieldhouse in the 1974 sectional semifinals. Following his high school graduation, he enrolled at theUniversity of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) but wound up transferring toCentral Florida Community College. He played one season at Central Florida, earning an associate degree in 1977, and then transferred to Butler, where he played his final two collegiate seasons, 1977–79. He earned a B.S. degree in secondary education from Butler in 1979.
Lickliter began his collegiate coaching career atButler University in 1988–89 under his former college coach, Joe Sexson. He left the Bulldogs after a year to accept a head coaching job atDanville High School inDanville, Indiana, where he remained for three seasons. He returned to the collegiate ranks in 1996 as an administrative assistant onBarry Collier's staff. Lickliter accepted an assistant coaching position atEastern Michigan in 1997 and remained on the Eagles' staff for two seasons, before returning to Butler in 1999. In sixNCAA Division I seasons, he contributed to teams that won three conference regular season championships, four conference tournament titles, made fourNCAA tournament appearances, and compiled a 106–73 record.
Lickliter played a prominent role in refining Butler's basketball system during his stint as assistant coach to Collier andThad Matta. During his three seasons on the staff of the two former head coaches, the Bulldogs had three 20-win seasons, won three conference regular season titles, three league tournament crowns and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. In his final two seasons as a Butler assistant coach, the Bulldogs compiled a 47–18 record, including "Top 25" wins over #10Wisconsin and #23Wake Forest. The win over the Demon Deacons in the 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship was Butler's first NCAA tournament win in 39 years.
In May 2001 Lickliter was named Butler University's 20th men's head basketball coach, replacingThad Matta, who accepted the same position atXavier University. During his first season, Lickliter led the Bulldogs to a then-school record 26 victories and third consecutiveHorizon League regular season championship. They also cracked theAssociated Press Top 25 rankings for the first time in 53 years. The following year the Bulldogs surpassed their previous season's win total, finishing 27–6. Lickliter's 53 wins during the first two years of his head coaching career rank third best in Division I history, behindBill Guthridge (58 wins) ofNorth Carolina andEverett Case (55 wins) ofNorth Carolina State. During his six years as head coach, he owned the top three single-season win totals in Butler basketball history and led the Bulldogs to the postseason four times, including two appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16. In April 2007, theNational Association of Basketball Coaches named Lickliter the National Coach of the Year.[2] CollegeHoops.net also named Lickliter the High-Major Coach of the Year.[3]
Lickliter was introduced as the head coach at the University of Iowa on April 3, 2007, replacingSteve Alford. Iowa and Lickliter agreed to a 7-year deal at a salary of $1.2 million per year.[4] At the end of his 3rd year at Iowa, Lickliter was fired for poor performance. His record with the Hawkeyes was 38–58.
Lickliter returned to his hometown of Indianapolis, accepting the head coaching job at Marian University on June 6, 2012.[5]
In his second season, Lickliter led the Knights to their most conference wins in school history (12). The Knights ended their season ranked #1 in NAIA Division II in Scoring Defense per Game (57.958), #1 in NAIA Division II in Turnover Margin (6.292), and #4 in NAIA Division II in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.558).[6]
After spending six seasons out of NCAA Division I college basketball, Lickliter was hired by first-year head coachWalter McCarty to be an assistant for theEvansville Purple Aces men's basketball team in theMissouri Valley Conference. Lickliter's former assistant,Matthew Graves, was also hired to be part of McCarty's staff.[7] After McCarty was fired midway through his second season for sexual harassment and Title IX violations, Lickliter was hired as head coach on January 21, 2020.[8] On May 5, 2022, Lickliter was fired by Evansville after compiling a 15–53 record.[9]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler Bulldogs(Horizon League)(2001–2007) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Butler | 26–6 | 12–4 | 1st | NIT second round | ||||
| 2002–03 | Butler | 27–6 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2003–04 | Butler | 16–14 | 8–8 | 6th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Butler | 13–15 | 7–9 | 7th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Butler | 20–13 | 11–5 | 2nd | NIT second round | ||||
| 2006–07 | Butler | 29–7 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| Butler: | 131–61 (.682) | 65–31 (.677) | |||||||
| Iowa Hawkeyes(Big Ten Conference)(2007–2010) | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | Iowa | 13–19 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Iowa | 15–17 | 5–13 | 10th | |||||
| 2009–10 | Iowa | 10–22 | 4–14 | T–9th | |||||
| Iowa: | 38–58 (.396) | 15–39 (.278) | |||||||
| Marian Knights(Crossroads League)(2012–2015) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Marian | 17–13 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Marian | 16–8 | 12–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Marian | 16–15 | 7–11 | 7th[10] | |||||
| Marian: | 49–36 (.576) | 27–27 (.500) | |||||||
| Evansville Purple Aces(Missouri Valley Conference)(2020–2022) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Evansville | 0–13 | 0–12 | 10th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Evansville | 9–15 | 7–11 | T–5th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Evansville | 6–24 | 2–16 | 10th | |||||
| Evansville: | 15–53 (.221) | 9–39 (.188) | |||||||
| Total: | 233–208 (.528) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Lickliter and his wife, Joez, have three sons, Ry, Garrett and John, and three daughters-in-law, Magdalena, Molly, and Leah.[11] Ry graduated from Marian University in 2006 and Garrett graduated in 2007. John, a 2012 graduate of Marian University.[12]