Steve Schweer has been named as the new head men's basketball coach at Illinois College. A longtime assistant at several successful regional programs, Schweer brings a winning record as both a coach and a player to IC.
Schweer follows Mike Worrell, who announced his retirement in February, following 22 seasons as the head coach of the Blueboys, having compiled a 210-301 record.
"Steve brings a winning mentality from multiple successful programs in this region," said athletic director Mike Snyder. "His experiences throughout the Midwest make him an excellent fit for Illinois College and I look forward to prolonged success of the men's basketball program under his leadership.
"He has had a lot of success recruiting talented young men at each stop along his career," Snyder added. "I am confident in his ability to bring in additional talent that will allow for the Illinois College men's basketball team to compete immediately in the Midwest Conference."
"I would like to thank president Barbara Farley, director of athletics Mike Snyder and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity," said Schweer. "I am honored to be entrusted with the task of leading the Illinois College men's basketball program."
A native of Lisle, Illinois, and a graduate of Hinsdale Central High School, Schweer had a four-year playing career at Illinois Wesleyan. There he helped the Titans advance to the Sweet 16 on two occasions, and a Final Four in his senior season. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in history before embarking on his coaching career.
Schweer made stops at Lakeland and North Park early on in his career, adding a master's degree in education from North Park in 2011. Starting in 2011-12, Schweer spent five years as an assistant coach at Monmouth, helping the Fighting Scots rise from the bottom of the Midwest Conference to ultimately make the MWC tournament in 2014-15. He then took a position at North Central (Ill.) prior to the start of the 2016-17 season.
In his two years with the Cardinals, Schweer guided the team to two College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin conference tournament bids, winning the tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. There, North Central defeated Wooster in the first round before losing by a single point to Hanover to keep from advancing to the Sweet 16. This past season, North Central advanced to the CCIW title game and once again earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by UW-Stevens Point.
Schweer becomes the 18th head coach in the history of the Illinois College men's basketball program. The last two coaches — Worrell and Bill Merris — had a combined 60 years experience leading the Blueboys, dating back to Merris' first season at IC in 1958.
"It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Bill Merris and Mike Worrell — two longtime coaches who are not only respected in the profession, but have defined what it means to be a part of Illinois College and the Blueboy men's basketball program," Schweer said. "The standard will be set high for our program; we want to bring Midwest Conference championships back to Illinois College and the Jacksonville community. Our basketball program will be full of high character young men who are dedicated to all of their endeavors both academically and athletically. We will compete with energy, with toughness and play a style of basketball that Illinois College and all of our supporters can be proud of. It is an exciting time to be a part of Illinois College as we continue to grow, and I could not be more excited to begin developing strong relationships with our returning student-athletes and set out in search of future Blueboys."
Schweer will hit the recruiting trail immediately and will officially assume duties of coaching the Illinois College men's basketball program on June 1.