Saluki assistant coach takes administrative leave of absence
10/20/2005 | 12:00:00 | General
Oct. 20, 2005
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Carbondale men's basketball assistant coach Shane Hawkins, who was indicted Wednesday in connection to his grand jury testimony about events at Barton County Community College, will take an immediate administrative leave of absence from the school, the athletics department announced Thursday.
Hawkins, age 29, worked at Barton from 1999-2001.
"Shane agreed it's in his and our basketball program's best interest that he take some time off to address the impending legal matter," Saluki Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk said. "As a department, we recognize the seriousness of the allegations and will re-evaluate Shane's status as circumstances dictate."
Hawkins is in his fourth year with the Saluki basketball program. He was initially hired as a graduate assistant by head coach Bruce Weber in 2002 and subsequently promoted to a full-time position by current head coach Chris Lowery in 2004. The allegations are unrelated to his activities while employed at SIU.
The Pinckneyville (Ill.) native played basketball for SIUC from 1995 to 1998 and is the school's career record holder in 3-point shooting. He graduated from Southern Illinois in 1999 and found his first coaching job at Barton the same year. In between his stints at Barton and SIUC, Hawkins coached one season at Southwestern Illinois College.
