On June 11, 2019, UIC Athletics announced the addition of Evarist Akujobi as Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach.
Akujobi is responsible for the women’s basketball and women’s tennis strength programs.
Akujobi brings a wealth of international basketball performance experience to Tasha Pointer’s program. He was most recently the Sports Performance Director for the Guangzhou Longlions, a China Basketball Association franchise, with stints in the Shanxi Flame (Women’s Chinese Basketball Association), Beijing Ducks, and Seoul SK Knights organizations as well. He spent two years at Memphis as the Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach. The Tigers won 37 games in his two seasons, including victories on consecutive days to earn a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game in 2016.
Before arriving in Memphis, Akujobi was on the strength staffs with the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Memphis Grizzlies. Akujobi has additional D-I experience at Georgetown, St. John’s, and Houston Baptist. He was raised in Arlington, Texas and graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. He received his Master’s in Sport and Fitness Administration from St. John’s in 2008.
