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RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Steve Kollar has been appointed the 21st head coach in Concordia-Chicago men's basketball history. Kollar comes to CUC following a 4-year stint as head coach at Blackburn.
"I am incredibly honored and excited to be the next leader of the Concordia-Chicago men's basketball program, said Kollar. "I want to thank Pete Gnan, Janet Wolbert, Jeff Hynes and the rest of the search committee and staff for having the confidence in me to help move this program forward.
"I also want to thank Blackburn College for giving me the opportunity to lead a program for the first time and allowing me to grow and ultimately take this next step. I am fired up about working with our young men and building a championship level culture on and off the floor along with creating an environment that I know the Concordia community wants to be a part of. We will take great pride in our daily habits and we will push each other to get better each and every day. My family and I are very happy to be back home and we are thankful to be a part of this great university."
During Kollar's 9-year career his players have garnered many awards. He has coached 19 all-conference players, two Freshman of the Year winners, one conference player of the year, one regional player of the year, two All-Americans and three academic All-Americans.
"We are excited to have Steve as our new men's basketball coach," remarked CUC athletic director Pete Gnan. "He is a high character individual that fits in with the beliefs and values of our athletic department. I am very excited to see what the future holds for this program with Steve as the head coach."
Prior to taking the job at Concordia, Kollar had directed the Blackburn Beavers to four consecutive double-digit-win seasons for the first time since 1998. He also led the Beavers to the SLIAC tournament in back to back seasons, including the semifinal game in 2019 which they lost on a runner at the buzzer. Kollar took a team that was 36-160 in the eight previous years prior to his arrival and went 50-53 in his four years there.
Kollar has experience in the NACC as well. He served as the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Benedictine from 2013-15. He was key in the development and recruiting of the Eagles, who won the NACC title in 2014-15 and made a run to the national semifinals just one year after he took the job at Blackburn.
Additionally, Kollar has served as the head assistant basketball coach at St. Francis. While at St. Francis, Kollar served as the staff's recruiting coordinator and head of strength and conditioning. During his time at St. Francis he helped lead the team to two 20-win seasons and 57 wins in three years. St. Francis also held a team GPA over 3.0 for the three seasons while he was on staff.
Kollar also has coaching experience at the high school level. He was the head sophomore and varsity assistant basketball coach at South Elgin High School and coached the freshmen basketball teams at West Aurora High School and Wheaton North High School. At South Elgin, he coached five all-conference and two all-state student-athletes and helped lead the program to one of the best seasons in school history.
Kollar started his collegiate playing career at Greenville before transferring to Elmhurst where he played for three years. Kollar earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Elmhurst in 2006.