March 10--Howard Moore will not return as men's basketball coach at Illinois-Chicago, athletic director Jim Schmidt announced Tuesday.
Moore was 49-111 overall and 17-67 in the Horizon League in five seasons with the Flames, who were 10-24 this season.
"We have high expectations and aspire to be at the top of the Horizon League and we have not met our competitive goals," Schmidt said in a statement.
The search for Moore's successor will begin immediately. Moore's contract, which was extended in 2013, ran through the 2017-18 season.
"I don't have any comment right now," Moore said when reached by phone early Tuesday afternoon. "Thank you."
In a tweet, Moore said, "I would like to thank the UIC Admin for giving us the opportunity to coach in the greatest city in the world."
The Flames' season ended Saturday with a 70-56 loss to Green Bay in the Horizon League tournament.
A year ago, Schmidt told the Tribune that Moore needed more time and that he felt the "arrow is going to point up in the future."
Moore graduated from Taft High School in Chicago before playing for Wisconsin.
He was hired by Illinois-Chicago before the 2010 season to replace Jimmy Collins after spending five years as an assistant at Wisconsin, where he recruited national player of the year candidate Frank Kaminsky.
Moore's only postseason tournament appearance at UIC was in 2013, when the Flames advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and finished 18-16.
"We have dedicated and talented student-athletes in the basketball program who are committed and make us optimistic for the future," Schmidt said. "I wish Howard the very best of luck going forward."
Moore also was an assistant at University of Chicago, Bradley, Ball State and Loyola.
A message left Tuesday for Schmidt wasn't immediately returned. A secretary in the UIC athletics office said he was out for the day.
