List of Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball head coaches

Last updated February 10, 2024

The following is a list of Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball head coaches. There have been 15 head coaches of the Panthers in their 113-season history.^[1]

Eastern Illinois' current head coach is Marty Simmons. He was hired as the Panthers' head coach in March 2021,^[2] replacing Jay Spoonhour, whose contract was not renewed after the 2020–21 season.^[3]

No.	Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
1	1908–1910	Joseph Brown	2	4–6	.400
2	1911–1935^{[lower-alpha 1]} 1943–1944	Charles Lantz	24	197–208	.486
3	1935–1936	Winfield Angus	1	7–12	.368
4	1936–1942	Gilbert Carson	6	36–72	.333
5	1942–1943	Clayton Miller	1	8–10	.444
6	1944–1946	James Goff	2	20–25	.444
7	1946–1953	Bill Healey	7	136–41	.768
8	1953–1961 1962–1964	Robert Carey	10	134–108	.554
9	1961–1962 1964–1967	Rex Darling	4	42–55	.433
10	1967–1968	John Caine	1	9–16	.360
11	1968–1980	Don Eddy	12	208–129	.617
12	1980–2005	Rick Samuels	25	360–360	.500
13	2005–2012	Mike Miller	7	75–130	.366
14	2012–2021	Jay Spoonhour	9	119–157	.431
15	2021–present	Marty Simmons	2	14–48	.226
Totals		15 coaches	113 seasons	1,250–1,227	.505
Records updated through end of 2022–23 season Source^[1]

↑ Eastern Illinois did not field a team for the 1917–18 season.

Related Research Articles

The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the intercollegiate athletic programs of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. The Panthers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision. EIU's colors are blue and gray. Selected as the team mascot in 1930, EIU's panther was informally known as "Billy" for many years and was officially named "Billy the Panther" in 2008. Panther teams have won five NCAA national championships in three sports. The Panthers also won the 1969 NAIA men's soccer title.

Charles Graham Spoonhour was an American basketball coach.

Martin Ray Simmons is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University, a position he has held since 2021. Simmons served as the head men's basketball coach at Wartburg College from 1996 to 1997, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 2002 to 2007, and the University of Evansville from 2007 to 2018. As a high school player, Simmons was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 1983. He played college basketball at Indiana University Bloomington and Evansville.

The Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. They play their home games at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and are currently coached by Bart Lundy.

Jay Thomas Spoonhour is an American basketball coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University, a position he had held from 2012 until 2021. Previously, Spoonhour served as the head coach at Moberly Area Community College in Missouri. He has also held several assistant jobs, including at Saint Louis, UNLV, Missouri and Texas-San Antonio. He served as the interim head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 2004 after his father, Charlie Spoonhour, resigned mid-season.

The 2012–13 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by first year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 11–21, 6–10 in OVC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to Southeast Missouri State.

The SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) in the Ohio Valley Conference of NCAA Division I basketball. The Cougars play their home matches at the Sam M. Vadalabene Center located in the SIUE core campus in Edwardsville, Illinois.

The 2013–14 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by second year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 11–19, 7–9 in OVC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the Ohio Valley tournament to Southeast Missouri State.

Bradley Cole Underwood is the current head coach for the Illinois men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community College and assistant coach at Western Illinois, Kansas State, and South Carolina.

The 2014–15 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by third year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 9–7 in OVC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament where they lost to Belmont. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Oakland in the first round before losing in the second round to Evansville.

The 2015–16 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by fourth year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–17, 9–7 in OVC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Murray State.

The 2016–17 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by fifth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 14–15, 6–10 in OVC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division. They failed to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The 2017–18 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by sixth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 12–19, 7–11 in OVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Tennessee State in the first round of the OVC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.

The 2018–19 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by seventh-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 7–11 in OVC play to finish in sixth place. They lost to UT Martin in the first round of the OVC tournament.

The 2018–19 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by fourth-year head coach Jon Harris, played their home games at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–21, 6–12 in OVC play to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed, they lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Morehead State.

The 2019–20 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by first-year head coach Brian Barone, played their home games in the First Community Arena at Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 8–23, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.

The 2019–20 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by eighth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 9–9 in OVC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Jacksonville State in the first round of the OVC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.

The 2020–21 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by ninth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 9–18, 6–14 in OVC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the OVC Tournament.

The 2021–22 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by first-year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 5–26, 3–15 in OVC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the OVC Tournament.

The 2022–23 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by second-year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois, as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the OVC Tournament.

References

1 2 "Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Eastern Illinois Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
↑ "Simmons back close to home at EIU" . The State Journal-Register . March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
↑ "Eastern Illinois announces it's not renewing men's basketball coach Jay Spoonhour's contract" . Journal Gazette & Times-Courier. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

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[NoTeam-4] Eastern Illinois did not field a team for the 1917–18 season.

[RecordBook-1] 1 2 "Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Eastern Illinois Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2023.

[2] "Simmons back close to home at EIU" . The State Journal-Register . March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.

[3] "Eastern Illinois announces it's not renewing men's basketball coach Jay Spoonhour's contract" . Journal Gazette & Times-Courier. March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

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v t e Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
Venues	Pemberton Hall (1909–1938) Health Education Building (1938–1967) Lantz Arena (1967–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24