March 19, 2007

DEKALB, Illinois (Ticker) -- Ricardo Patton was not out of work for long.

Patton, whose tenure at Colorado ended 11 days ago, was named the new men's basketball coach at Northern Illinois on Monday.

Patton, 48, stunned the Colorado campus in October when he announced he would step down at the end of the season. He had spent 11-plus years in Boulder but grew frustrated of waiting for a contract extension and answering questions about his future.

Patton's future seems much more secure now, despite the fact that he is joining a program that is coming off a 7-23 season and has had one winning campaign in the last 11 years.

"In coaching, you look for an opportunity where you think you have a chance to be one of the best teams in the league, year in and year out," Patton said. "There was no question in my mind that Northern Illinois University is committed to being the best team in its conference and looking each year to play well into March. That is an opportunity every coach wants. I see no reason for our program not to reach new heights." Patton worked in the shadows of the football program at Colorado and competed in the rugged Big 12 Conference but still carved a niche for himself, compiling a 184-160 record with six postseason appearances, including trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and 2003.

Colorado's basketball program has had just 11 seasons of 18 or more wins. Patton is responsible for six of them.

"What he accomplished at Colorado is something special," said Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, who opposed Patton for many years when he was at Oklahoma. "That is one of the toughest places in the Big 12 to succeed and he did." With eight freshmen on the roster, Patton guided the Buffaloes to a 7-20 mark this season, which was somewhat derailed by his announcement. The campaign ended with a loss to Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on March 8.

That did not deter NIU associate vice president and director of athletics Jim Phillips, who said the school looked at a list of 500 potential candidates before selecting Patton.

"When I entered into this search, I was looking for someone who matched five criteria - unquestioned personal character, Division I coaching experience, proven success in terms of taking his team to postseason play, a strong recruiter and a fit for our institution, academically as well as athletically," Phillips said. "Without a doubt, Ricardo Patton possesses each of these qualities." Patton will try to resurrect a dormant program that also exists in the shadow of football. He replaces Rob Judson, who was 74-101 in six seasons with the Huskies.

In Boulder, Patton also had his players take etiquette classes, took them to churches of varying denominations and exposed them to life in the Denver County jail.

"My philosophy is that our team will play hard from start to finish," he said. "We spend a great deal of time in the preseason preparing for success, and we talk to our players about your effort matching your goal.

"Fans will be entertained by our style of play, by our pressure defense and by our offensive team chemistry. Our offensive philosophy is that the right man to have the ball is the open man."