Cougars

SIU Edwardsville Cougars
General Information
NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Ohio Valley Conference
Past Conferences: Great Lakes Valley Conference
City: Edwardsville, Illinois
Arena: First Community Arena
Championships:
- NCAA Tournaments: 0
- National Championships – 0
- Conference Titles – 0
Team History
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville began play in the 1967-68 season under the guidance of seven-time NBA All-Star Harry “The Horse” Gallatin. Gallatin didn’t have much success, as the program got worse throughout his three seasons, going from 5-5 in his first year to 7-10 and then 7-16 in his final season. He was replaced by Jim Dudley, who had some early success but the program faltered a little bit and he ended with a 146-143 record over his 11 seasons.
SIU Edwardsville hit its low point under coach Tom Pugliese, who lasted just two seasons after posting a 17-40 record and getting the school into trouble with the NCAA. As a result, SIU Edwardsville canceled the team’s 1983-84 season. Larry Graham was next in the coaching carousel, but his hire turned out to be a pretty good one. After going 7-21 in his first season in 1984-85, the Cougars advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in three of the next four years.
Graham left after eight seasons and SIU Edwardsville was 147–84 in that time span. He was succeeded by Jack Margenthaler, who was just 112–150 in 10 seasons. Lennox Forrester went 17-10 in his first season as coach in 2007-08 and the Cougars made the jump to Division I the following season. SIU Edwardsville joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 2010–11. As expected, the Cougars had a rough time after making the jump, with Forrester going 68-135 as a Division I coach.
His replacement, Jon Harris, didn’t fare any better, going 31–88 in four seasons before being replaced by Brian Barone for the 2019-20 season. The Cougars have yet to play in a Division I postseason tournament..
SIU Edwardsville Cougars All-Time Records
Points Scored
- Jason Holmes, 1,949
- Keil Peebles, 1,824
- Mark Yelovich, 1,467
Rebounds
- Bill Branz, 1,057
- Travis Wallbaum, 753
- Vince Barnett, 694
Assists
- J.B. Jones, 565
- Keil Peebles, 437
- Brian Karvinen, 370