UIC Flames

The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Flames previously competed in the D-I Horizon League from 1994–95 to 2021–22; in the D-I Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con, now currently known as the Summit League since the 2007–08 school year) from 1982–83 to 1993–94; as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 1981–82 school year; and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1949–50 to about 1980–81.

Nickname

They are called the Flames as a reference to the Great Chicago Fire, and their team colors are navy blue and fire engine red.

Athletic director

Garrett Klassy is the current athletic director after Jim Schmidt retired on August 1, 2017 after 25 years.

History

UIC athletics began with the College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) in the 1880s with their basketball and football teams whose team colors were red (blood) and iodoform (iodine). P&S eventually affiliated with and then became absorbed into the University of Illinois forming its College of Medicine.

In 1946, the Chicago Illini represented the two-year University of Illinois undergraduate division located on Navy Pier. In 1965 the Chicago Illini moved to Harrison and Halsted to represent the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle campus. Upon this move the team became known as the Chicas, a shortening of Chicago; this was changed "Chikas" due to taunting from other teams knocking them ("chicas" means "girls" in Spanish). This spelling was rationalized as being a reference to the Chickasaw tribe. It was dropped in the seventies.

When the university joined the NCAA Division I in 1981, it had no nickname for its athletic teams and just used the phrase "Chicago Circle". The following year, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle merged with the University of Illinois Medical Center and became known as the University of Illinois at Chicago, dropping "Circle" and later the preposition "at" from its name. The consolidated university adopted Flames as its athletic nickname by student votes at the two predecessor schools.

UIC was a charter member of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities which was established on June 18, 1982 and changed its name to the Mid-Continent Conference seven years later in 1989. It was one of six universities along with Cleveland State, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin–Green Bay, Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Wright State that left the Mid-Continent in 1994 to join the Midwestern Collegiate Conference which rebranded as the Horizon League on June 4, 2001.

UIC announced on January 26, 2022 that it was joining the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) as its twelfth member institution beginning July 1 that same year. A violation of a bylaw requiring at least one year's written notice for any member university transferring to another conference resulted in the Horizon League prohibiting Flames athletic programs from all postseason tournaments for the remainder of the academic year on February 4.
The ban was reversed eleven days later on February 15. With UIC's new home of the MVC sponsoring tennis only for women, the Flames joined the Southland Conference for men's tennis shortly after it officially became an MVC member. Men's swimming & diving, another sport not sponsored by the MVC, joined the Mid-American Conference, uniting the Flames with all other MVC members sponsoring that sport.

Varsity teams

UIC competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Basketball

The Credit Union 1 Arena currently serves as the home of the Flames' basketball teams. The men's basketball team competed in the NCAA tournament in 1998, 2002, and 2004, and appeared in the NIT in 2003, but have not advanced past the first round in either tournament. The team was led by Jimmy Collins from 1996 until his retirement in 2010. Howard Moore, a former assistant coach at Wisconsin, was signed as the new men's head coach in 2010. In his first season, the Flames upset #12/14 Illinois at the United Center. Moore was let go after five seasons in which the Flames went 49–111 overall. He was replaced by Indiana assistant and former Wyoming head coach Steve McClain.

Soccer

UIC's men's soccer team was ranked as high as #6 in the NCAA national polls in 2006 and made it to the second round of the 2006 National tournament, where they lost to Notre Dame. The following year, the Flames reached the "Elite Eight" in the NCAA soccer playoffs. As of 2011, they have been ranked #142 in the NCAA national rankings, out of 204 teams.

Jay DeMerit played for UIC's men's soccer and captained the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer, and was a former captain of Watford whom he played for in the Premier League and the Championship. Jay also is a former member of the US national team, whom he represented in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Another Flame, Pat McMahon received an offer to play in Scotland in 2009. Baggio Husidić is a former MLS player who played with Chicago Fire and Los Angeles Galaxy.

Other sports

Former Major League player Curtis Granderson played baseball for the UIC Flames.

UIC's softball team has appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1994.

UIC had a men's ice hockey team before the program was discontinued in the spring of 1996.

The men's swim team won the Horizon League Championships in 2009. Swimming & Diving 2007 alumni Blake Booher qualified for the 2008 Olympic Swimming Trials in the 50 Freestyle. 2011 alumni Steve Yemm qualified for the 2012 Olympic Swimming Trials in the 100 & 200 Butterfly.

UIC Pyromaniacs

The Pyromaniacs is the official student booster club of the University of Illinois Chicago Department of Athletics.

References

External links

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