The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...

. The nickname comes from the

Saluki The Saluki or Persian hound (Persian:سگ تازی، Arabic: سلوقي) is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than strong scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game ...

, the Royal Dog of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the Persian greyhound, which ties into the fact that southern Illinois has had the nickname " Little Egypt" for just under 200 years. The Salukis play their home basketball games at

Banterra Center Banterra Center (formerly SIU Arena) is an 8,284-seat multi-purpose arena, on the campus of Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Construction on the arena began in the spring of 1962 and took nearly two years to c ...

and football games at

Saluki Stadium Saluki Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. It is primarily utilized by the Southern Illinois Salukis football team. History Saluki Stadium was ...

. Southern Illinois University was a member of the

Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States. At one time the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or IIAC, was a robust league that cla ...

from 1913 to 1962. The school is currently a member of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

in most sports. The football team is a member of the Division I

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

Mascot

SIU's sports

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

is the

. A Saluki is one of the oldest dog breeds, dating back over 6000 years and is an Egyptian hunting dog. They are sight hounds and can run in excess of 42 mph. The greyhound, afghan, borzoi and whippet are derived from Saluki. SIU's teams originally competed under the team name "Maroons" from 1913 to 1951. Then the Saluki was chosen as SIU's mascot on March 19, 1951, in part because the southern Illinois region is colloquially known as Little Egypt.

Sports sponsored

Missouri Valley Conference in Southern Illinois Salukis colors

A member of the

, Southern Illinois University Carbondale currently sponsors 16 sports—eight each for men and women—in NCAA-sanctioned competition. The most recent change to the roster of SIU sports came at the end of the 2016–17 school year, when the school dropped men's and women's tennis.

Men's basketball

The school athletics may be best known for the men's basketball program. Success for the Salukis has been recent and historical. SIU advanced to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2002–2007), advancing to two Sweet 16s and accruing an NCAA Tournament record of 5–6 during that time. SIU is also the 1967 NIT Champions led by

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Hall of Famer

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

Chris Lowery Christopher Michael Lowery (born July 7, 1972) is an American college basketball coach currently serving as an assistant men's basketball coach at Northwestern University under head coach Chris Collins. He was previously the head men's basketb ...

was the coach of the Salukis and led the team to the NCAA tournament every year from the 2004–05 season through the 2006–07 season, where they made an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen. He was let go from the school following the 2011–2012 season. On March 28, 2012,

Barry Hinson Barry Douglas Hinson (born May 12, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and most recently was the head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team (SIU). He was born in Marlow, Oklahoma. Before SIU he was the Director o ...

was named head coach.

Football

SIU competes in the

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

(formerly known as 1-AA) in the

. SIU has been ranked in the Top-20 of the FCS Coaches Poll for 54 straight weeks. The Salukis have won 40 games since 2003, ranking 12th in Division 1 football during that time span. The team is coached by head coach

Nick Hill Nick Hill (born April 5, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach at his alma mater, Southern Illinois University. Hill was signed by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) as an ...

, a former assistant coach and quarterback for the Salukis. SIU Football has won numerous conference championship and in 1983 The Salukis won the NCAA Division I-AA Champions, with a 43–7 win over Western Carolina.

Men's gymnastics

SIU's also had a men's

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

team until the program was canceled in 1989. From 1956 until the program was canceled, Bill Meade was the coach of the team. During that time the program turned out 55 NCAA

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and 15 NCAA Individual National Champions while winning four NCAA Division I championships in 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1972. The Men's Gymnastics program also holds the longest winning streak of any SIU program winning 68 consecutive meets from 1961 to 1968.

Softball

SIU's softball team has appeared in four

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...

, in 1970, 1971, 1977 and 1978.

National team championships

As of July 2, 2014, Southern Illinois has won 5 Division I and 3 Division II NCAA national championships: Division I *Men's: **

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

(4): 1964, 1966, 1967, 1972 **

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(1): 1983 Division II *Men's: ** Men's Cross Country: 1961 **

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

: 1964 **

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

: 1964 The following 3 national championships were not bestowed by the NCAA: *Women's **

: 1970, 1974, 1975 (

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

)

Facilities

Saluki Way

On September 9, 2005, the plans for Saluki Way were unveiled by Chancellor Walter Wendler. The plan called for the construction of a new football stadium, renovation of SIU Arena (Now the

), a new track and field complex, renovation and new additions of academic buildings, a remodeled Morris Library, and other campus improvements.

Saluki Stadium

SIU Football plays at the new 15,000-seat

, which replaces

McAndrew Stadium McAndrew Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. It opened in 1938 and was home to the Southern Illinois University Salukis football team, as well as the track team. It was replaced by Saluki Stadium in 2010. ...

. The new stadium was part of the university's larger athletic facilities plan, "Saluki Way," to renovate and restructure the campus athletic facilities. Saluki Stadium opened on September 2, 2010, when a sellout crowd of 15,200 watched the Salukis defeat Quincy 70–7. The new football stadium is currently named Saluki Stadium. As of right now, no official naming rights have been sold.

Banterra Center

is an 8,339-seat arena on the SIU campus; it is the home of Saluki men's and women's basketball teams. The arena underwent a renovation as a part of Saluki Way. Known as the SIU Arena from 1964 to 2019, Banterra Bank purchased the naming rights for $4 million over ten years, with an option to extend the contract for an additional ten years for an additional $6 million.

Troutt-Wittman Center

The Troutt-Wittmann Academic and Training Center,SIUSalukis.com
article regarding Troutt-Wittmann Center a facility to give Saluki athletes the opportunity to gain help with their studies, as well as train and condition, was built with a donation by SIU alumnus and former Saluki football player Thomas Wittmann.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Southern Illinois Salukis, color=white , list = {{Missouri Valley Conference navbox {{Missouri Valley Football Conference navbox {{Mid-American Conference navbox {{Illinois Sports