Southern Illinois Salukis
| Southern Illinois Salukis | |
|---|---|
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| University | Southern Illinois University |
| Conference |
Missouri Valley Conference— All Women's & Most Men's Sports Missouri Valley Football Conference— Football Mid-American Conference— Men's Swimming & Diving |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Tommy Bell |
| Location | Carbondale, Illinois |
| Varsity teams | 8 Men's & 8 Women's |
| Football stadium | Saluki Stadium |
| Basketball arena | SIU Arena |
| Other arenas | Davies Gym |
| Mascot | Brown Dawg & Gray Dawg |
| Nickname | Salukis |
| Fight song | Go Southern Go! |
| Colors | Maroon and White |
| Website | www |
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The Southern Illinois Salukis are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The nickname comes from the Saluki, the Royal Dog of Egypt 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 SIU Arena and football games at Saluki Stadium.
Southern Illinois University was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1913 to 1962. The school is currently a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in most sports. The football team is a member of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Missouri Valley Football Conference.
SIU's sports mascot is the Saluki. A Saluki is one of the oldest dog breeds, and is an Egyptian hunting dog similar to a greyhound or whippet. 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.
A member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois University Carbondale sponsors nine men's and nine women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:
The school athletics may be best known for the men's basketball program. Success for the Salukis has been recent and historical. SIU has 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 Hall of Famer Walt Frazier.
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