Southern Illinois University welcomed home one of its all-time greats, naming Bryan Mullins as the school's 14th men's basketball head coach on March 20, 2019.
 
Mullins, 36, is a member of the Saluki Hall of Fame, in recognition of a four-year career (2006-09) in which he set a school record for assists and was the point guard for two NCAA Tournament teams (2006, 2007) and an NIT squad (2008). Southern Illinois advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2007, won a school-record 29 games, and finished the season at a school-best No. 11 national ranking.
 
In four seasons at the helm of the program, Mullins has made significant strides in the rebuilding process. In 2019-20, SIU won seven-straight MVC games and 10 straight home games, the longest such streaks at SIU since 2008. The Salukis were one of the best defensive teams in the nation and led the MVC in scoring defense for the first time since 2007, ranking 15th nationally.
 
In 2020-21, the program got off to a 7-0 start, the best for the program since 1948. As a part of that streak, SIU beat Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse, snapping Butler's nation-leading 59-game nonconference home-court winning streak. Butler had not lost a nonconference home game since 2012 before SIU's win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in December 2020.
 
In 2021-22, the Salukis beat a Power Five opponent for the first time since 2008 after defeating Colorado in the opening round of the Paradise Jam. SIU finished the season 11-4 inside Banterra Center and finished 16-15 overall.
 
The 2022-23 season proved to be one of the best in recent memory as Mullins led the Salukis to a 23-10 record and a third-place finish in the MVC – the most wins in a season since the 2006-07 season. The Salukis picked up a win over a Power-5 opponent for the third consecutive season with a road win over Oklahoma State in November. Marcus Domask earned the programs fourth-ever First Team Academic All-American honor, joining Mike Glenn (1976, 77) and Bryan Mullins (2008, 09), and Marcus Bartley (2019).
 
Mullins has also brought in heralded recruiting classes, starting with 2019 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Marcus Domask. Mullins has also signed 2021 Michigan Mr. Basketball runner-up Foster Wonders and two of the top-10 rated players in the state of Illinois, including the program's highest-rated in-state recruit since 2008 in Niles Notre Dame's Troy D'Amico.
 
Once on campus, Mullins developed the talent into some of the best in the MVC. Domask was named the MVC Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year in 2020 and was a second-team All-MVC choice. Lance Jones was named an All-MVC pick in 2021, and Kyler Filewich was named to the league's All-Freshman team.
 
After the 2019-20 season, Mullins narrowly finished second in the voting for MVC Coach of the Year honors and was named to ESPN's 40 under 40 list of top coaches under 40 years old. He was also a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, given to the nation's top first-year head coach. After SIU's win at Butler, Mullins was named the HoopDirt National Coach of the Week.
 
After graduating from SIU in 2009, Mullins embarked upon a four-year professional career in France. He retired in 2013 and joined Porter Moser's staff at Loyola as the director of operations. Mullins ascended to assistant coach in 2015 and associate head coach in 2018, helping the Ramblers during their historic 2018 season in which the team won a school-record 32 games, advanced to the Final Four, and finished the season with a No. 7 national ranking.
 
Loyola won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships in 2018 and 2019, and Mullins was a key factor in the program's success, recruiting All-Conference players such as Cameron Krutwig and 2019 MVC Player of the Year Marques Townes.
 
Mullins was a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year at Southern Illinois and earned MVC All-Defensive Team recognition in each of his four seasons with the Salukis. As a freshman, the 6-foot-2 guard led the MVC and ranked seventh in the nation in steals (2.85 steals per game) and was named to the MVC's All-Newcomer and All-Defensive teams.
 
Off the court, Mullins graduated from Southern with a degree in finance and a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average. He was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team pick and won the 2009 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. A two-time Academic All-American, Mullins won the MVC's Dr. Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete award and President's Council Academic award.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT COACH MULLINS

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"I visited with Bryan fairly early in the search process and he has everything you want in a coach. His interview blew me away. When I walked out of there, it was easy to go to the next round of people, because he set the standard of what they had to be, and I couldn't find anyone better, and I went all over the country. Bryan's won at everything he's ever done," said Kill. "There's no doubt in my mind he's the right fit. Our teams will play hard and be tough." - Jerry Kill, former SIU Director of Athletics

“I am so happy for Bryan to get this opportunity to lead his alma mater. I am so grateful for his friendship and loyalty working side-by-side with him for the last six years. He is a tireless worker in addition to being a first-class person and is a perfect fit to lead Southern Illinois University.” - Porter Moser, Oklahoma head coach

"Bryan was one of the greatest players in Saluki history and created so many great memories for Saluki fans during his playing career. Now, I'm looking forward to him making those memories from the sideline." - Chris Lowery, two-time MVC Coach of the Year

"Bryan Mullins is the embodiment of every positive quality we need to lead Saluki Basketball. This is a brilliant hire and great day for Saluki Nation. Congratulations Bryan, we are excited to watch your teams compete for championships." - Rodney Watson, former Saluki associate head coach and Southern Indiana head coach

"Bryan Mullins is building something special in Carbondale." - The Athletic, Dec. 21, 2020

"Bryan Mullins. Learn the name." - Jeff Goodman, Dec. 21, 2020