Southern Illinois Salukis
MVFCCarbondale, ILSaluki Stadium
2026: 3–5 (1–3 MVFC). Last: lost to Illinois State 35–14 at home. Next: Northern Iowa, Saturday, Oct 24, 2 p.m. ET.
- L 31–34at West Florida
- W 22–18at Samford
- W 34–20Southeast Missouri State
- L 10–48at Illinois
- W 46–6at Murray State
- L 16–28Youngstown State
- L 10–31at South Dakota
- L 14–35Illinois State
- Oct 24Northern Iowa
- Nov 7at Indiana State
- Nov 14South Dakota State
- Nov 21at North Dakota
Southern Illinois has played football since 1913 and is officially 494–566–32; 491 of its 1,092 games are in our file. They have won five Missouri Valley Football Conference titles (the last in 2009) and four Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, counting shared titles. Since 1961, the NFL Draft has taken 15 players from here in its first seven rounds, 2 of them in the first round. The AFL draft also took one player from here. Rey Dempsey (1976–1983) won more games here than any other coach: 54. The most-played rival is Illinois State: 36 meetings, Southern Illinois leads 21–14–1. This season, they’re 3–5.
Résumé
- All-time record
- 494–566–32 official; 238–250–3 on file; how we count
- Postseason
- 1–1 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 0 ranked
- Elo now
- 1307
- Computer rankings
- Massey No. 19 · Composite No. 26 in FCS, Oct 17; up 1 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
- Conference titles
- 9 last in 2009
- Bowl record
- 2–0 official, bowls only
- Seasons
- 62 since 1914, 491 games
Identity
- Band
- Marching Salukis since 1960, 190 members
2026 season 3–5
RosterFull 2026 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27 | at West Florida | L 31–34 | 51% |
| Sep 3 | at Samford | W 22–18 | 71% |
| Sep 12 | vs Southeast Missouri State | W 34–20 | 70% |
| Sep 19 | at Illinois | L 10–48 | 20% |
| Sep 26 | at Murray State | W 46–6 | 72% |
| Oct 3 | vs Youngstown State | L 16–28 | 55% |
| Oct 10 | at South Dakota | L 10–31 | 31% |
| Oct 17 | vs Illinois State | L 14–35 | 43% |
| Oct 24 | vs Northern Iowa | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 7 | at Indiana State | Preview | 58% |
| Nov 14 | vs South Dakota State | Preview | 37% |
| Nov 21 | at North Dakota | Preview | 25% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 2026 rosterThe moneyOn the 2026 team
- D.J. Williams1,337 passing yards, 6 TD (leads Southern Illinois in passing yards)
- Chandler Chapman515 rushing yards (leads Southern Illinois in rushing yards)
- Kyle Thomas32 catches, 523 yards, 3 TD (leads Southern Illinois in receiving yards)
- Ben Fiegel60 tackles, 1 INT (leads Southern Illinois in tackles)
- Andrew Behm55 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
- Vinny Pierre Jr.52 tackles
Program strength since 1914
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Rey Dempsey | 1976–1983 | 54–37 |
| Doug Weaver | 1974–1975 | 3–18–1 |
| Dick Towers | 1973 | 3–7–1 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Illinois State
21–14–1 in 36
- 2015 L 21–42
- 2016 L 28–31
- 2017 W 42–7
- 2018 L 3–51
- 2019 L 7–21
- 2021 W 35–17
- 2022 W 19–14
- 2024 L 10–45
- 2025 W 37–7
- 2026 L 14–35
Lost the last one.
- Indiana State
22–14 in 36
- 2014 L 26–41
- 2015 L 36–39
- 2016 L 14–22
- 2017 W 45–24
- 2018 L 21–24
- 2019 W 23–14
- 2021 W 47–21
- 2023 W 38–9
- 2024 L 17–20
- 2025 W 55–27
Won the last one.
Next: Nov 7
- Missouri State
17–9 in 26
- 2015 W 73–26
- 2016 L 35–38
- 2017 L 28–36
- 2018 W 49–35
- 2019 W 37–14
- 2020 L 27–30
- 2021 L 28–38
- 2022 W 38–21
- 2023 W 33–20
- 2024 L 17–38
Lost the last one.
| Opponent | Games | SIU record |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois State | 36 | 21–14–1 |
| Indiana State | 36 | 22–14 |
| Missouri State | 26 | 17–9 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 24 | 18–6 |
| Youngstown State | 24 | 11–13 |
| Western Illinois | 24 | 18–6 |
| Northern Iowa | 21 | 11–10 |
| North Dakota State | 17 | 3–14 |
Rivals the program names: Northern Iowa.
Every opponent (94)
Every program Southern Illinois has played, A to Z, with Southern Illinois’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Akron 1–0
- App State 0–1
- Arkansas State 1–15
- Arkansas–Pine Bluff 2–0
- Austin Peay 2–0
- Ball State 1–0–1
- Baylor 0–1
- Bowling Green 0–5
- BYU 0–1
- Central Michigan 0–1
- Charleston (WV) 1–0
- Dayton 4–2–1
- Delaware State 1–0
- Drake 7–7
- East Carolina 2–8
- Eastern Illinois 9–4
- Eastern Michigan 0–1
- Eastern Washington 0–1
- Florida Atlantic 0–1
- Florida State 0–1
- Fresno State 1–2
- Hampton 2–0
- Idaho 0–1
- Illinois 0–5
- Illinois State 21–14–1
- Incarnate Word 1–1
- Indiana 1–1
- Indiana State 22–14
- Kansas 0–3
- Kansas State 0–1
- Kentucky 0–1
- Lamar 3–2
- Liberty 1–0
- Lincoln 1–0
- Lock Haven 1–0
- Long Beach State 0–2
- Louisiana 3–4
- Louisiana Tech 0–1
- Louisville 3–7
- Marshall 2–1
- Massachusetts 2–0
- McNeese 0–2
- Memphis 0–1
- Miami (OH) 0–1
- Mississippi Valley State 1–0
- Missouri State 17–9
- Montana 0–1
- Murray State 7–0
- Nevada 1–0
- New Hampshire 0–1
- New Mexico State 4–3
- Nicholls 1–0
- North Dakota 3–2
- North Dakota State 3–14
- North Texas 0–4
- Northern Illinois 4–10
- Northern Iowa 11–10
- Northern Michigan 1–0
- Northwestern 1–1
- Oklahoma State 0–1
- Ole Miss 0–2 †
- Purdue 0–2
- Quincy 3–0
- Samford 1–0
- SE Louisiana 1–0
- South Carolina 0–1
- South Dakota 4–8
- South Dakota State 4–11
- Southeast Missouri State 18–6
- Southern Utah 2–0
- Southwest Baptist 1–0
- St. Joseph’s (IN) 1–0
- Tampa 1–2
- Taylor 1–0
- Temple 1–1
- Tennessee State 1–1
- Thomas More 1–0
- Toledo 0–3
- Tulsa 2–7
- Union College 1–0
- UT Martin 3–0
- Washington St. Louis 0–1
- Weber State 1–0
- West Florida 0–1
- West Texas 4–4
- Western Carolina 1–0
- Western Illinois 18–6
- Western Kentucky 3–1
- Western Michigan 0–1
- Wichita State 3–8
- William & Mary 0–1
- William Penn 1–0
- Xavier 1–0
- Youngstown State 11–13
Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.
Conference titles
9, counting shared titles- Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 4
- 1930, 1947, 1960, 1961
As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.
Conferences
- Independent 1913–1917, 1919 and 1921–1924
- Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 1925–1942 and 1944–1961
- Independent 1962–1976
- Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference 1985–1991
- Gateway Football Conference 1992–2007
- MVFC since 2008
- 1985Joined the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference from the MVC (Held dual membership for one year) in football. Source
- 1986Joined the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference from the MVC in football. Source
Southern Illinois’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the draft
By college- NFL picks, rounds 1–7
- 15 since 1961
- First-round picks
- 2
- AFL picks
- 1 1963
| 1984 | Terry Taylor DB | No. 22, Seattle Seahawks |
| 1972 | Lionel Antoine OT | No. 3, Chicago Bears |
The school
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale- Enrollment
- 11,790 8,553 undergraduates, fall 2024
- Where
- Carbondale, Illinois
- Public or private
- Public Research 1
- Founded
- 1869
- Graduates’ median earnings
- $53,390 10 years after starting
Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3–5 | 1–3 | 1307 | ||||
| 2025 | 7–5 | 4–4 | 1396 | ||||
| 2024 | 4–8 | 2–6 | 1279 | ||||
| 2023 | 8–5 | 4–4 | 1390 | ||||
| 2022 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1370 | ||||
| 2021 | 8–5 | 5–3 | 1391 | ||||
| 2020 | 6–4 | 1391 | |||||
| 2019 | 7–5 | 5–3 | 1390 | ||||
| 2018 | 2–9 | 1–7 | 1236 | ||||
| 2017 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1269 | ||||
| 2016 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1284 | ||||
| 2015 | 3–8 | 2–6 | 1301 | ||||
| 2014 | 6–6 | 3–5 | 1331 | ||||
| 2013 | 7–5 | 5–3 | 1383 | ||||
| 2012 | 6–5 | 5–3 | 1360 | ||||
| 2011 | 4–7 | 2–6 | 1301 | ||||
| 2010 | 5–6 | 4–4 | 1388 | ||||
| 2009 | 11–2 | 8–0 | 1560 | ||||
| 2008 | 9–3 | 7–1 | 1527 | ||||
| 2007 | 12–1 | 4–1 | 1590 | ||||
| 2006 | 9–4 | 3–2 | 1475 | ||||
| 2005 | 9–4 | 3–2 | 1505 | ||||
| 2004 | 10–2 | 5–0 | 1551 | ||||
| 2003 | 10–1 | 4–1 | 1471 | ||||
| 2002 | 0–1 | 1246 |
Every season back to 1914 (37 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0–1 | 1233 | |||||
| 2000 | 0–1 | 1244 | |||||
| 1995 | 0–1 | 1235 | |||||
| 1994 | 0–2 | 1220 | |||||
| 1993 | 0–3 | 1228 | |||||
| 1992 | 0–1 | 1260 | |||||
| 1991 | 0–1 | 1261 | |||||
| 1990 | 0–3 | 1251 | |||||
| 1989 | 0–1 | 1271 | |||||
| 1988 | 0–2 | 1264 | |||||
| 1987 | 0–2 | 1265 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–1 | 1266 | |||||
| 1985 | 4–7 | 1–1 | 1262 | -8.5 | |||
| 1984 | 3–8 | 0–5 | 1262 | -22.8 | |||
| 1983 | 13–1 | 5–1 | Rey Dempsey | 1540 | 7.8 | ||
| 1982 | 6–5 | 4–1 | Rey Dempsey | 1457 | -8.7 | ||
| 1981 | 7–4 | 5–2 | Rey Dempsey | 1499 | 7.1 | ||
| 1980 | 3–8 | 1–5 | Rey Dempsey | 1337 | -12.6 | ||
| 1979 | 8–3 | 4–1 | Rey Dempsey | 1466 | -6.7 | ||
| 1978 | 7–4 | 3–2 | Rey Dempsey | 1402 | -17.6 | ||
| 1977 | 3–8 | 0–4 | Rey Dempsey | 1287 | -25.9 | ||
| 1976 | 7–4 | Rey Dempsey | 1383 | -9.6 | |||
| 1975 | 1–9–1 | Doug Weaver | 1171 | -23.6 | |||
| 1974 | 2–9 | Doug Weaver | 1167 | -15.8 | |||
| 1973 | 3–7–1 | Dick Towers | 1142 | -3.8 | |||
| 1972 | 1–8–1 | 1087 | -4.0 | ||||
| 1971 | 2–2 | 1207 | |||||
| 1970 | 2–0 | 1157 | |||||
| 1969 | 0–2 | 1121 | |||||
| 1968 | 2–2 | 1167 | |||||
| 1967 | 1–4 | 1152 | |||||
| 1966 | 2–2 | 1170 | |||||
| 1965 | 0–3 | 1073 | |||||
| 1964 | 1–4 | 1086 | |||||
| 1963 | 1–3 | 1109 | |||||
| 1962 | 0–2 | 1082 | |||||
| 1914few games on file | 0–1 | 1091 |
Officially 494–566–32 since 1913 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 238–250–3 (491 of its 1,092 games are on file). Our file starts in 1914; the program began in 1913. Some games are missing from our source.
No season on file for 1915–61, 1996–99: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.