Sept. 26, 2001

Chicago, Ill. - University of Illinois at Chicago men's basketball head coach Jimmy Collins has promoted Mark Coomes to the position of associate head coach the sixth-year skipper announced recently.

With his new title come additional responsibilities for Coomes. In addition to the vital role he already plays, Coomes will now serve as recruiting coordinator and oversee compliance for the men's basketball program.

Coomes joined Collins at UIC in 1995 following his second two-year stint as the head coach at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill. During the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, his squads compiled an impressive 64-6 record, including a 34-3 mark and a fifth-place finish in the country in '95-96. Coomes' squads were also champions of the Great Rivers Athletic Conference all four seasons he coached at WVC.

Prior to his position at Wabash, Coomes was an assistant coach at the University of Illinois for nine years. While there, he coached several outstanding players including NBA stars Nick Anderson and Kendall Gill. Coomes also helped direct the Fighting Illini to its most memorable season in school history when the squad compiled a 31-5 record and made an NCAA Final Four appearance in Seattle in 1989.

In 1984-85, Coomes was head coach and athletic director at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. Under Coomes, the Screaming Eagles won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and received a first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.

From 1982-84, Coomes' first two teams at Wabash Valley College posted an overall record of 63-13. He was named NJCAA Region 24 Coach of the Year during both seasons, which featured the Warriors' first-ever trips to the NJCAA National Tournament.

Prior to his success as a head coach, Coomes served as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University from 1977-82. His first coaching assignment came as a graduate assistant for Lou Henson at New Mexico State in 1974-75, before following Henson to Illinois the next year.

Coomes played his collegiate basketball at Western Illinois University and earned his bachelor's degree from there in 1974. In 1975, he received his master's degree in Education Management and Development from New Mexico State.