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

SIU Edwardsville Cougars FAQs

When did SIU Edwardsville decide to have a cougar mascot?

According to the university, “In June of 1966, SIUE students and administrators decided to choose a mascot for the university and the following October, student Chris Henderson submitted the idea of a cougar mascot. During the Fall quarter of 1967, President Delyte Morris and his administrative staff reviewed the possibility of a live mascot for SIUE. Following this review and after consultation with the student body, administrators agreed to obtain a live cougar mascot.”

What is the highest-scoring game SIU Edwardsville has played in?

SIU Edwardsville’s 121-118 overtime win against McKendree on Jan. 21, 1987 was the highest combined score of any Cougar basketball game. The team record for most points in a game occurred on Nov. 19, 1994 when the team scored 140 points against Sanford-Brown College in a 140-51 victory.

What is the highest attendance at an SIU Edwardsville home game?

The highest attendance for an SIU Edwardsville home game was 4,392 when the Cougars hosted SIU Carbondale on Jan. 8, 1987. SIU Carbondale won 84-83 in overtime.