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Greetings, Saluki Nation!
 Yesterday was an exciting day for our University with the announcement that Jerry Kill has been named as a special assistant to Chancellor Carlo Montemagno. Coach Kill (it will be hard not to call him by that title!) will serve as an ambassador for SIU and also assist Athletics with fund-raising.
I had a front-row seat to watch Coach Kill rebuild Saluki Football during the early 2000s. After winning a National Championship in 1983, our football program had sunk to such depths (19 losing seasons out of 20) that many believed it could not be revived. Attendance at decrepit McAndrew Stadium had reached all-time lows. Everywhere you looked, there were obstacles - a tiny weight room, a rundown locker room, worn-out astroturf, demoralized players, equipment issues, and precious few dollars to fix these problems. The lights at the stadium didn't even work, and no one seemed to care.
None of those facts bothered Jerry Kill, a self-made, straight-talking Kansan with a relentless determination to outwork the competition. He knew the program required a complete overhaul, but where others saw Saluki Football as broken or beyond repair, he saw opportunity. He envisioned a community that rallied around his football team and each other on gorgeous fall Saturday afternoons, united in their love for the Salukis.
Kill surrounded himself with a coaching staff that shared his vision. Instead of complaining about what he didn't have, Kill rolled up his sleeves and went to work. His motto was "hard hat, lunch pail," reflecting the community itself. A tireless recruiter, he rebuilt the roster by the sweat of his brow, he personally raised money for a locker-room renovation, and even persuaded IBEW 702 to volunteer their time to fix the stadium lights. Who could ever say no to Jerry Kill?!
Shortly after winning the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award in 2004, Coach Kill was interviewed by Gene Green for the Alumni Association magazine. I love this quote: "Friends, coaches and total strangers asked me why I would take this job. They told me football here was a coaching death sentence and that it couldn't be done; some basically questioned my mental state. I saved every note, and still pull them out every so often if I need to be reminded of just how far we have come in such a short time."
Many of you know the story of how Coach Kill rebuilt Saluki Football, so why do I repeat it again? Because there are some who think the best days of our University are behind us, just as they felt about our football program in 2001. It's easy to see our flaws. It would be easy to sit back and let the status quo overwhelm us, but that is not what great leaders do. That's not what Jerry Kill did in 2001. I came back to SIU three years ago because I believe in the greatness of SIU and especially Saluki Athletics. I will not settle for anything less than excellence. I feel energized by our campus leadership, and the addition of Coach Kill is another important step forward for Southern Illinois University. I think we will look back on this time in our University's history as the moment when bold leadership enabled us to chart a new, exciting and successful future.
Brian from Murphysboro wrote in to Ask the AD for my opinion on the state of our men's basketball program and the job Barry Hinson is doing. I appreciate the question, Brian, but I do not think it is appropriate for an AD to make public his evaluations in mid-season. It is my job as an administrator to support the program in every way possible during the season to help produce the very best outcome on the floor. Our job as Salukis at this very moment is to pull together and go out and win a Missouri Valley Conference championship. At the appropriate time, when the season ends, I will use this newsletter to give our fans a thorough, in-depth review of where I think the program stands and where it is headed.
Steven from Carbondale points out that we will have eight seniors on next year's men's basketball team and asked whether I am concerned about class balance? Steven, I believe the next 6-12 months are possibly the most critical recruiting period in the history of our program. Our team will have a whole new look in 2019, and that group will be entrusted with our success during the next 3-5 years. So, yes, it will be important for us to restore a semblance of roster balance, as we currently have one freshman and one sophomore on our team.
Bill from Chicago asked for my thoughts on "pay to play" postseason tournaments, such as the CIT and CBI? Thanks for the question, Bill. Our goal is, of course, to earn our way into the NCAA Tournament. The NIT is a nice consolation prize. We have passed on previous opportunities to participate in pay-to-play tournaments. Note that we are not alone, as no members of the Missouri Valley Conference have participated in these tournaments the last two years.
With Saluki Pride,
Tommy Bell
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