Chris Collins apparently will return in 2022-23 for a 10th season as Northwestern’s men’s basketball coach — but not without “making necessary changes” in the wake of a fifth straight losing season.
Athletic director Derrick Gragg released a statement Monday evening that he and Collins met earlier in the day “to discuss the high expectations we have for our men’s basketball program, and the path forward for it.”
The Wildcats concluded a 15-16 season last week with a 36-point loss to Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Since Collins took Northwestern to the program’s lone NCAA Tournament appearance in his fourth season in 2016-17, the Wildcats have gone 60-90 overall and 26-71 in the Big Ten.
“At the conclusion of a challenging season, I share in the disappointment felt by our staff and avid fans,” Gragg said in the statement. “As our Wildcats enter the offseason, we are committed to evaluating all aspects of the program on and off the court to ensure we are supporting this team with the foundation necessary to compete and win in the nation’s best college basketball conference. I have tasked Coach Collins with making necessary changes to build towards success in the 2022-23 campaign.
“I am extremely grateful to all our supporters for their dedication and, most importantly, to our student-athletes for always representing our University with pride and passion.”
Collins, who turns 48 next month, has an overall record of 133-150 with a 56-113 Big Ten mark since Northwestern hired the longtime Duke assistant in March 2013 for his first head coaching job.
The son of former NBA All-Star and former Chicago Bulls coach Doug Collins, Chris Collins was Mr. Basketball of Illinois as a senior at Glenbrook North in 1992 before playing at Duke.
Gragg is in his first academic year as Northwestern’s athletic director after getting hired in June 2021.