This kind of all depends.For added context, in the same span, the program has had 8 seasons of 20+ losses.
Since 2004 season UIC is 259-373. That is abysmal. It shows no one has had success there or at the minimum sustained success. You go there, your coaching career will have the wheels come off the wagon.
So if he goes there he’s not making even a lateral move.
First, we should note that they just moved over to the MVC from the Horizon in 2022, so there is no significant sample of them competing against that conference. Any attempt to highlight where they are in the overall MVC pecking order is an educated guess at best.
But in a broader sense, if they have an administration in place that is committed to the level of resources it will take to complete in the MVC, then there really isn't any logical reason you can't compete there, but it's probably going to take a bigger financial commitment than they've made to this point.
But I'm in general agreement with SAE. If he left for such a small step up, if in fact it is a step up, after one regular season title that was part of an overall disappointing season, and after failing to make even a single appearance in a conference title game...then go. Our roster is turning over, and if we're going to get a new coach soon anyway it might as well be now. My overall view of the Hamilton era, if this turns out to be the end of it, would be that it wasn't bad. It just didn't live up to the promise that it seemed to have. In that sense, it's been disappointing.
