Screaming Eagles

Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Ohio Valley Conference
Past Conferences: Great Lakes Valley Conference
City: Evansville, Indiana
Arena: Screaming Eagles Arena

Championships:

NCAA Tournaments: 0
National Championships – 0
Conference Titles – 0

Team History

The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles are a former NCAA Division II powerhouse that made the jump to Division I for the 2022-23 season. The team is ineligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT until the 2026-27 season due to the NCAA rules on teams climbing to a higher classification.

Southern Indiana first began to play in the 1970-71 season under coach Jerry Altstadt and struggled early on. Altstadt coached four seasons and the Screaming Eagles finished under .500 all four years. Things began to change shortly after Wayne Boultinghouse took over the program for the 1974-75 season. After posting losing records in his first two seasons, USI went 19-8 in the 1976-77 season and 18-8 the following season, which earned the team its first NCAA Div. II Tournament appearance. The Screaming Eagles appeared in the Div. II Tournament twice more under Boultinghouse, in 1980 and 1981.

Southern Indiana became a Div. II Tournament regular, but the Screaming Eagles took it up another notch when Bruce Pearl became the coach for the 1992-93 season. Southern Indiana advanced to the Div. II Tournament all nine seasons Pearl was head coach, winning the national title in 1995, a year after losing in the championship game. Pearl parlayed his success at USI into a head coaching job at Division I Milwaukee before moving to Tennessee and eventually Auburn.

It didn’t make much difference who was leading the team, the Screaming Eagles continued to pile up the wins, with 13 more Div. II Tournament appearances between 2001-02 and the 2021-22 season. Southern Indiana announced on Feb. 8, 2022, that it was making the transition to Division I for the 2022-23 season. The Screaming Eagles received 29 NCAA Div. II berths, competing in 28 of them, with the 2020 tournament canceled due to COVID. Southern Indiana won 13 Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season titles and four conference tournaments.

The Screaming Eagles have been an excellent home team over the years. USI went 518-88 at the Physical Activities Center between 1980 to 2019. The team moved to Screaming Eagles Arena for the 2019-20 season and has gone 37-13 through the 2022-23 season.

Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles All-Time Records

Points Scored

Alex Stein, 2,219
Stephen Jackson, 2,216
Chris Bowles, 2,169

Rebounds

Chris Bowles, 1,129
Ilo Mutombo, 917
Emmanuel Little, 797

Assists

Marc Hostetter, 498
Tyrone Tate, 431
Kent Payne, 425

Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles FAQs

When did Southern Indiana become the Screaming Eagles?

Before 1970, Southern Indiana sports teams were known as the Spartans and competed in club sports. When basketball became the first intercollegiate sport in 1970-71, the name Screaming Eagles was selected as the university’s official nickname.

How many Southern Indiana players have been drafted by NBA teams?

Despite the success of the Screaming Eagles, only two players have been drafted. Cortez Collins was drafted in the 10th round by the Chicago Bulls in 1979 and John Hollinden was taken in the ninth round of the 1981 draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Neither played in the NBA.

What is Southern Indiana’s record in the NCAA Div. II Tournament?

The Screaming Eagles finished with a 37-30 record in the Div. II Tournament. After going just 3-9 in their first six tournament appearances, Southern Indiana went 34-21 the rest of the way, which featured four Final Four appearances and three trips to the championship game.