Southern Illinoise University Athletics
The Matt Painter Era Begins at SIU
05/01/2003 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
May 1, 2003
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
Paul Kowalczyk Opening Remarks
Full Press ConferenceTranscript
 Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk welcomes Matt Painter as the new head coach of Southern Illinois.  | |
Former Saluki coach and NBA Hall-of-Famer Harry Gallatin was 31-years-old when he was named head coach in 1958.
Painter was Weber's top assistant the last five years and helped build SIU into a basketball powerhouse. He helped recruit the entire, current roster of Saluki players, including two of the best players in the program's history, Kent Williams and Jermaine Dearman.
 Painter is the 11th men's coach in school history. | |
After graduation, Painter made three coaching stops before joing Weber's staff at Southern. He coached one year each at Washington & Jefferson College (1993-94) and Barton College (1994-95), before moving to the Division I ranks, spending three years on the staff at Eastern Illinois (1995-98).
At Washington & Jeff, Painter helped guide the team to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight and an overall record of 22-3. At Eastern Illinois, he was involved in recruiting star players Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant, who later led EIU to the NCAA Tournament in 2001.
When Weber was hired at Southern Illinois in 1998, he quickly added Painter to his staff. The pair reversed the fortunes of a program that had previously suffered three straight losing seasons.
 Chancellor Walter Wendler greets SIU's new coach | |
After recording a 16-14 record in the 2000-01 season, the Salukis emerged on the national scene the following year, posting a school-record 28 wins en route to the NCAA Sweet 16. The 2001-02 team finished 28-8 and defeated the likes of Indiana, Iowa State, Georgia and Texas Tech. Along the way, SIU garnered unprecedented media coverage, putting the program in the national spotlight.
 A large crowd of media, fans and supporters were on hand to welcome Painter. | |
Painter was signed to a four-year contract worth $720,000. The Muncie, Ind. native holds an undergraduate degree from Purdue and a Master's from Eastern Illinois. He and his fiance, Jerri Uhrig, will be married on May 24.
| Year | School | Assignment | All | Conf. | Postseason |
| 1993-94 | Washington & Jefferson | Assistant | 22-3 | 10-0 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1994-95 | Barton College | Assistant | - | - | - |
| 1995-96 | Eastern Illinois | Assistant | 13-15 | 9-9 | - |
| 1996-97 | Eastern Illinois | Assistant | 12-15 | 9-9 | - |
| 1997-98 | Eastern Illinois | Assistant | 16-11 | 13-5 | - |
| 1998-99 | Southern Illinois | Assistant | 15-12 | 10-8 | - |
| 1999-00 | Southern Illinois | Assistant | 20-13 | 12-6 | NIT 2nd Round |
| 2000-01 | Southern Illinois | Assistant | 16-14 | 10-8 | - |
| 2001-02 | Southern Illinois | Assistant | 28-8 | 14-4 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2002-03 | Southern Illinois | Assistant | 24-7 | 16-2 | NCAA 1st Round |
| Career | |||||
| at Southern Illinois | 103-54 | 62-28 | |||
Purdue Coach Gene Keady on Painter:
"I'm very proud of the fact that Matt has worked so hard to create a great opportunity for himself. He's part of our basketball family, and we're all very happy for him and his family. He's a very smart coach. When he played at Purdue, he always played with his head and was very intelligent. He was always like an assistant coach on the floor when he played here, so it's no surprise that he's now a head coach. I wish him the best of luck at Southern Illinois and know he'll do great things."
