Luke Martin brings you all things Saluki Athletics!
Saluki Football head coach Nick Hill takes us through how becoming a father has helped him become a better coach, how he keeps himself fresh during fall camp, who has stood out so far on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, and ends his interview taking us through some of the places he would like to hunt or fish.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Saluki Athletic season is officially underway! We begin talking with two guests from SIU Soccer, Sam Dodd and Mckensey Bunch. Dodd and Bunch touch up on the improvement Saluki Soccer has made since they first got to campus, and what they have enjoyed about getting to know Coach Orr in his first season. Our final conversation is with the leader of Saluki Athletics, Athletic Director Tim Leonard. Leonard touches on his expectations for the fall, the differences in year one to year two under his leadership and more.
2:45-16:02 McKensey Bunch and Sam Dodd
17:25-38:50 Tim Leonard
The 2023 season is off to a great start for Saluki Volleyball, so we decided to catch up with the head coach Ed Allen! Coach Allen takes us through the tough start to his coaching tenure at SIU, how those struggles have helped build this program into a championship contender. Plus, Allen takes us through his experience this past summer with the Marine Core!
You saw him score his first touchdown Saturday night at Saluki Stadium and now you get to hear his remarkable story. Kayleb Wagner was born without a left forearm and left hand due to Amniotic Band Syndrome. He broke Derrick Henry's high school record for rushing yards in a single game with 535 yards on 25 caries. How has he stayed so strong mentally and also physically? What got him connected to SIU? How much of a relationship he still has with Derrick Henry and more.
We know Saluki fans have been waiting for the 2023-24 schedule to be released and it is finally out! We preview the schedule with Coach Mullins but we also dive into his relationship with football head coach Nick Hill. It was a special weekend for Coach Hill and the Salukis for Football, but Coach Mullins brings up how all sports really come together at SIU. We also recap the summer, what are the biggest positives he has learned about his team so far, and then what 18 home games on the schedule means for the fans. Plus, what it means to welcome back Matt Painter to campus in October.
Coming off a spring where the Salukis won the 2023 MVC Tournament championship in Carbondale, head coach of Saluki Softball Jen Sewell joins us to recap the spring season that ended with some hardware. Plus, we go into the impact of Coach Blaylock's legacy, the impact of scheduling hard, and what she expects from her team heading into the fall.
The Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Austin Lane is our guest this week on the podcast. Chancellor Lane tells us how his experiences as a father with a son playing Division 1 football has helped him in understanding the Transfer portal, NIL, and mental health awareness. We also dive into the success of the University in increasing enrollment and how that was accomplished in just a three-year time span. Plus, college athletics is changing rapidly and where does he see the Missouri Valley Conference, as well as SIU, in the landscape of conference realignment.
Kelly Bond-White has had success at all levels, including her 19 year stint at Texas A&M where she helped lead the Aggies to the 2011 National Championship in Women's Basketball. Now Coach Bond-White is entering her second season as the head coach at SIU, which is in the state where she grew up. What went through her mind when she saw SIU was interested in her? Where is she at in terms of building the program she wants? We cover all of those topics and more in this week's episode of the Saluki Royalty Podcast.
Behind every great atmosphere in college athletics is a passionate student section. Southern Illinois has always been known for the "Dawg Pound" in Carbondale. We spotlight two of the main student leaders of the Dawg Pound in Dylan Chambers and Tyler Lawrence, as both play a big role in making environments special at all Saluki athletics events.
Lance Rhodes brought SIU its first MVC Regular Season Championship in baseball since 1990 back in the spring of 2022. Now Coach Rhodes is trying to break down the NCAA Tournament barrier, one the Salukis haven't broken through since 1990. He touches on where he believes the program is at today, what it will take for his program to accomplish those big goals. Plus, how does his roster look heading into this season and the challenges with scheduling. A bigger topic in college baseball is teams canceling games to protect RPI and that is an area we cover as well.
