The Chicago Bulls aren’t the only team in the Windy City that’s worth checking out when it comes to basketball. Don’t forget about the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames. Granted, the Flames don’t have six championship banners hanging, and cheap UIC basketball tickets are a lot more common than cheap tickets to see the Bulls play. But the Flames are special in their own way. They’ve had a few moments in the spotlight and are routinely competitive in the Horizon League, which is one of the top mid-major conferences in college basketball. In fact, last-minute UIC basketball tickets are arguably the best value of any sporting event in the city of Chicago.

A Little Headway

UIC basketball started its ascent as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference under head coach Willie Little. In Little’s first season during the 1983-84 campaign, the Flames won their first regular-season conference championship in program history. It was just the program’s second season in the conference, quickly establishing them as a noteworthy mid-major program.

Jimmy’s the Man

Things took off for the Flames under the guidance of head coach Jimmy Collins, who took over in 1996. In just his second season, Collins led UIC to the regular-season and tournament titles in the Horizon League, sending the Flames to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Collins repeated that feat at UIC in both 2002 and 2004. Despite losing in the First Round of the Big Dance each time, Collins turned UIC into a prominent member of the Horizon League. Long after Collins retired in 2010, the Flames remain in the upper echelon of the Horizon League most years, making it just a matter of time until UIC basketball is back in the Big Dance.