By Adam Hoge-

(CBS) Bill Carmody will return for a 13th season as Northwestern’s men’s basketball coach.

“Bill Carmody is under contract to be our men’s basketball coach, and has the full support of the athletic department and university,” Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said in a statement. “We had another solid season competitively, but let me be perfectly clear: we are not satisfied. We are, however, optimistic that our program will continue to get better on the court while always maintaining a standard of excellence in academic success, NCAA compliance, social behavior and the development of young men.”

Carmody led the Wildcats to their fourth straight NIT this season, but came under fire when the team failed in a number of chances to secure the school’s first ever NCAA Tournament berth.

“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished these past four years, but we’re disappointed in how this season finished. Expectations were high and they should continue to be,” Carmody said. “I want to be clear about our expectations: While we’re in a better place today than we’ve ever been, it’s not enough. We intend to compete for Big Ten championships and achieve NCAA tournament success.”

Carmody has a 179-189 record in 12 years at Northwestern, but just a 66-136 record in Big Ten play. That kind of conference record wouldn’t be acceptable at almost every other school in the country, but the Wildcats have always been in a unique position with poor facilities, high academic standards and a lack of tradition.

That said, Carmody still refuses to use that as a crutch.

“We receive tremendous support from the University, President Schapiro, Jim and the athletic department,” he said. “There is no ceiling on our program and there are no significant barriers holding us back. Next season already has begun and we can’t wait to continue our work.”

Next season… no doubt the most important in Carmody’s tenure at Northwestern.