Evansville fires Walter McCarty, hires Todd Lickliter out of retirement

After going on administrative leave in December amidst sexual misconduct allegations, Walter McCarty was officially fired as head coach by Evansville Tuesday evening. He went 20-25 in one and a half seasons at the helm, including a 9-4 record to start this year.

Just a few hours after announcing McCarty’s dismissal, Evansville announced the hiring of Todd Lickliter as their next head basketball coach. Lickliter, who was an assistant on McCarty’s staff last year before retiring this past summer, was previously the head coach at Butler, Iowa and NAIA Marian (IN). He has 218 career victories (169 at the D-I level) and was named 2007 NABC Coach of the Year.

“My family and I are excited to have the opportunity to rejoin the Evansville community,” Lickliter said in a press release. “I am humbled by the chance to lead the Purple Aces program and thankful to reunite with this outstanding group of student-athletes. It is a privilege to be a part of a program with a rich history and tradition.”

Lickliter’s familiarity with the school, staff and players should hopefully bring some stability to a program that has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Since the allegations against McCarty were announced, the Purple Aces have lost six-straight games under interim head coach Bennie Seltzer.

The most successful tenure of Lickliter’s career was at another (then) mid-major in the state of Indiana, winning 131 games in six seasons at Butler (2001-07). Before his protege Brad Stevens lifted the program to the brink of an NCAA title, Lickliter’s Bulldogs won three Horizon League titles and went to two Sweet Sixteens.

credit to Evansville Athletics for the image