Baseball coach contract extended through 2018

Baseball coach Mike Dee. Photo: Steve Woltmann

With a five-year contract extension that keeps him with the Flames through the 2018-2019 season, head baseball coach Mike Dee becomes the longest-tenured coach in the Horizon League.

“We are very proud of what Mike has accomplished during his time at UIC,” said Jim Schmidt, director of athletics.

“He has built a platform of success not only on the field, but in the classroom as well.”

Since his arrival in 1999, Dee has captured 10 Horizon League regular season titles and four conference tournament crowns.  He guided UIC to the NCAA Tournament four times.

“I am grateful and excited about the opportunity to continue to build this program for the next five years,” Dee said.

Last February, Dee and UIC Hall-of-Famer Curtis Granderson announced plans for the Curtis Granderson Stadium Project.

The new multi-million dollar facility, set to break ground in early September, will anchor a large-scale Chicago youth initiative with Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and Urban Youth Academy programs as partners.

“We are excited about the new stadium and the benefits that will bring in recruiting, but as importantly in the area of training our players. We expect some great things in the near future,” Dee said.

Dee came to UIC from the University of Minnesota, where he spent 11 seasons as the Gophers’ pitching coach.  He graduated from UW-La Crosse in 1979, where he was a three-year letter winner and NAIA All-American.