Evansville head men’s basketball coach Todd Lickliter has received a vote of confidence from Director of Athletics Mark Spencer.

Spencer told WEHT Eyewitness news yesterday, “I have confidence in Coach Lickliter and his staff.  They are implementing a new system that has proven to work for a program at this level and has been successful with the type of student-athletes that we can attract to the University of Evansville.  I recognize the frustration of our fans but we need to have patience.  Coach (Marty) Simmons, (Steve) Merfeld and even Coach (Arad) McCutchan had challenges early in their tenures, but were given the time to turn things around.  Once Coach Lickliter is able to recruit the type of student-athletes that work in his system, I have full confidence that we will be competitive at the highest levels for a long time to come.”

Lickliter has struggled during his tenure at Evansville. The veteran head coach took over for Walter McCarty midway through the 2019-20 season. Since then, he has gone 15-51 (.227), including a 6-22 (2-15 MVC) mark this season.

The Purple Aces wrap-up their regular season Saturday at home vs. Missouri State.