Southern Arkansas Muleriders men's basketball

Southern Arkansas Muleriders
Southern Arkansas Muleriders
University	Southern Arkansas University
Head coach	Andy Sharpe (8th season)
Conference	Great American Conference
Location	Magnolia, Arkansas
Arena	W.T. Watson Athletic Center ; (Capacity: 2,500)
Nickname	Muleriders
Colors	Royal Blue and Gold [1] ;
Uniforms
NCAA Tournament Appearances
	NAIA: 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1989
Conference Tournament Champions
	Southeastern Junior College Championship: 1948; NAIA District 17: 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1983, 1989
Conference Regular Season Champions
	AIC: 1934, 1935, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1989

Last updated September 29, 2019

The Southern Arkansas men's basketball program is the college basketball program that represents Southern Arkansas University, competing in the Great American Conference. The program began as early as 1911. Though it has been sporadic, the Muleriders have had successes on the hardwood.

College basketball today is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including the United States's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Governing bodies in Canada include U Sports and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Each of these various organizations are subdivided into from one to three divisions based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes.

Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas.

The Great American Conference (GAC) is a collegiate athletic conference of twelve schools, with headquarters located in Russellville, Arkansas. It is affiliated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division II level. Athletic competition began play during the 2011–12 school year. Member schools are located in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the South Central United States.

Coaches

There have been 9 Mulerider Basketball coaches since 1947. The school's all-time winningest coach was W.T. Watson. Watson also lead the Muleriders' to three conference regular season championships. Watson's contributions to SAU as basketball coach and later athletic director lead to the Muleriders home gym to be named the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Tenure	Coach	Seasons	Won	Lost	Pct.	Conf. Champs.
Southern Arkansas Coaching History^[2]
1927–1937	Ves Godley	11	80	59	.576	1934, 1935
1937–1946	Unknown	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
1946–1954	Elmer Smith	7	108	74	.593
1954–1957	P.T. "Duddy" Waller	3	45	24	.652
1957–1963	Delwin T. Ross	6	39	86	.312
1963–1980	W.T. Watson	17	300	151	.665	1966, 1967, 1971
1980–1997	Monroe Ingram	17	257	193	.571	1990
1997–1998	Burt West	1	12	14	.462
1998–2005	Brian Daugherty	7	84	106	.442
2005–2012	Eric Bozeman	7	73	116	.386
2012–Present	Andy Sharpe	7	101	98	.508
TOTAL		83	1,099	921	.544	6 (1934, 1935, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1990)

Players

1500 Point Club

Six players have scored more than 1,500 points in their Mulerider careers.

1500 Point Club
No.	Player	Year
2290	John Holmes	1986–1990
1886	Greg Alexander	1975–1979
1647	Calvin Thomas	1949–1954
1609	Alfred Flanigan	1968–1972
1604	Billy Barnes	1967–1971
1556	Shawn Mason	1998–2002

All-Americans

Eight players have been named to an All-American team a total of ten times.

All-Americans
No.	Player	Year
1968–1969	Donnie Denton	HM
1970–1971	Billy Barnes	HM
1973–1974	James Armstrong	HM
1973–1974	Johnny White	HM
1978–1979	Greg Alexander	HM
1987–1988	Dwayne Smith	HM
1988–1989	John Holmes	2nd
1989–1990	John Holmes	1st
1990–1991	John Holmes	1st
1993–1994	Cedric Williams	HM

Postseason results

NAIA National Tournament results

Southern Arkansas has appeared in the NAIA National Tournament six times. Their combined record is 2–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1957	First Round	Western Illinois	L 70–101
1966	First Round Second Round	Guilford, NC Georgia Southern	W 72–67 L 62–80
1967	First Round Second Round	East Montana St. Benedict's	W 75–62 L 56–67
1971	First Round	Eau Claire	L 50–66
1983	First Round	Ft. Hayes St.	L 65–71
1989	First Round	Siena Heights	L 70–83

Arena

The W.T. Watson Center, a 2,500-seat multipurpose arena, is home to the SAU men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the SAU volleyball team.^[3]

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators.

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The Southern Arkansas Mulerider baseball team represents Southern Arkansas University in NCAA Division II college baseball. SAU has competed in the Great American Conference (GAC) since 2011. Prior to joining the GAC, SAU competed in the NAIA's Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference from 1950 until moving to the NCAA in 1996. Upon moving to the NCAA, SAU competed in the Western Division of the Gulf South Conference from 1996–2011. The Muleriders play their home games on campus at Walker Stadium at Goodheart Field. Justin Pettigrew is the current head coach.

Allen Gum is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Central Arkansas Bears baseball team. He was named to that position prior to the 2011 season.

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The 2014 Southern Arkansas Muleriders football team represented Southern Arkansas University in the 2014 NCAA Division II football season. The team was coached by Bill Keopple, who finished his sixth season as head coach at SAU. The Muleriders played their home games at Wilkins Stadium in Magnolia, Arkansas and competed in the Great American Conference (GAC).

References

↑ "Colors" . Retrieved April 18, 2016.
↑ "2014–2015 Media Guide". MuleridersAthletics.com. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
↑ "Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ". AuburnTigers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-06.

External links

Official website

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[1] "Colors" . Retrieved April 18, 2016.

[tigers-hist-2] "2014–2015 Media Guide". MuleridersAthletics.com. Retrieved 2015-04-17.

[arena-3] "Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ". AuburnTigers.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-06.