As we reported Thursday. Iowa will part ways with Head Coach Todd Lickliter today.
According to SB Nation Lickliter
“will officially announce he is leaving the university at a press conference at 3:30 PM EST on Monday. It was not immediately clear whether Lickliter chose to resign under pressure or was fired. Lickliter coached Iowa for three seasons, racking up a 38-58 record. The bottom fell out this season, however, for the Hawkeyes, as they stumbled to a listless 10-22 record.”
Here’s what we posted Thursday afternoon about this:
INDIANAPOLIS- Word is that once Iowa’s basketball season ends, so will Head Coach Todd Lickliter’s tenure. Nothing is confirmed yet, but sources within the school’s Sports Information Department are supposedly saying that team members went to Athletic Director Gary Bartah and gave a “he goes or we go” mandate this week.
The resignation announcement could come tomorrow (or maybe even later tonight), now that the Michigan Wolverines have eliminated the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten tournament.
The Head Iowa SID claims the resignation story is false. However, that statement conflicts with reports by both the Big Ten Network and Iowa radio station KCJJ- who claim to have two confirmed sources. Iowa media attending the Big Ten tournament to cover the team told me the two players who said “if he’s here- we’re gone,” were two of the team’s starters. But they failed to provide names.
This would make it NINE players, let me emphasize like that Ed Rooney in “Ferris Bueller’s Day off” (“Nine times! Nine times!”) that players who start or play quality minutes have left the Iowa program under Lickliter. So this whole munity angle makes the story even more believable.
So here’s what Lickliter had to say at the postgame pressconference about his future with the program:
“My future is I’m healthy, I have a wonderful family and that’s out of my hands…I haven’t been told I’m not. So until I’ve been told I’m not, I am.”
Todd also responded to reporters who inquired into whether he has met with the AD to discuss his future. He said twice that he has not had any meetings of that sort.
In response to questions about his players jumping ship, and if that affects his job status.
“We do have a foundation, I don’t know what’s going to happen. People have to make that decision.”
And of course, we also heard the vote of confidence from his players.
“Personally I never heard anything, it’s news to me,” junior center Jarryd Cole said at the postgame presser. “I can speak for me and the incoming freshman class that Coach is our guy,” freshman guard Cully Payne-echoing Cole’s statements.