Matt Bollant was introduced Wednesday morning as the new head womens basketball coach at the University of Illinois.

"The hardest thing was to sit with the Green Bay players and tell them I was leaving." said Bollant at his press conference in Champaign.  "Those have been the neatest kids I've ever coached."

In his 5 years as the Phoenix's head coach, he has led the program to several milestones; reaching the NCAA Tournament 4 times, making the program's first Sweet 16 trip in 2011, and reaching a top-10 ranking this past year when the lady Phoenix finished 31-2 and lost to Kentucky in Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament by just 3 points.

"We wish Matt the best of luck as he moves on to this new challenge at Illinois." said Green Bay Director of Athletics Ken Bothof in a statement.  "Over the course of the past five seasons, Matt guided this program to impressive heights.  It is a compliment to him, the staff, and our players and a testament to our success that he was sought after an offered this opportunity.  Chancellor Harden, our athletics staff and I thank Matt for his commitment to carrying on the winning tradition of this program on and off the court. We are committed to finding the best possible coach to continue the program's strong history of success and keep Green Bay competing at a hgih level for Horizon League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances."