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MVFC CHAMPIONS
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2003
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2009
2013 SALUKI FOOTBALL
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SIUSALUKIS.COM
the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the
Year and went on to success at Northern
Illinois and now Minnesota.
Lennon, who came to SIU
with his own personal string of five-
consecutive playoff appearances, lived
up to the challenge during his first year
in Carbondale, claiming a share of the
MVFC title and a playoff berth.
In 2009, SIU became the first team
in league history to go 8-0 in conference
play, doing so in convincing fashion by
winning road games at No. 2 Northern
Iowa and at No. 9 South Dakota State. The
2009 season featured an 11-game overall
winning streak, the third longest winning
In five seasons at the helm of Southern Illinois University, Dale
Lennon ranks second in school history in winning percentage with a 35-
23 (.603) record and two FCS Playoff appearances. His 35 wins are the
most by an SIU coach in his first five years.
Lennon was named SIU’s 20th head coach in program history on
Dec. 27, 2007. He guided the Salukis to back-to-back Missouri Valley
Football Conference titles in 2008 and 2009 and
was tabbed as the MVFC and AFCA Region IV Coach of the
Year in both seasons. During that stretch, the Salukis won
14 consecutive conference games, which is the longest
conference winning streak in MVFC history.
Individual award winners have been plentiful
during Lennon’s tenure. Running back Deji Karim
was the 2009 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year
and one of three finalists for theWalter Payton Award,
which is given to the most outstanding player in the
FCS each year. Karim was a sixth-round draft pick of
the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010. Running back Larry
Warner was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award
in 2008, finishing 10th in the balloting. Linebacker
Brandin Jordan (2009) and cornerback Korey Lindsey
(2010) were finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award that
goes to the FCS’s most valuable defensive player.
In 2010, Lindsey won the College Football
Performance Awards’ Elite Defensive Back
Award. Lindsey was drafted in the
seventh round by the Cincinnati
Bengals in the 2010 NFL Draft.
In 2011, Bryan Boemer won
the Rimington Award as
the nation’s top FCS
center.
In Lennon’s five
seasons, SIU has had
eight First-Team All-
Americans, plus five
CoSIDA Academic All-
Americans. Before Lennon
arrived at Southern, the Salukis
had only six Academic All-
Americans in the previous
95 years. As of the start of
2013 NFL training camps,
six of Lennon’s former Saluki
players (Ken Boatright, Jayson
DiManche, Stephen Franklin,
Jewel Hampton, Deji Karim and
Korey Lindsey) had signed an
NFL contract.
During his first two seasons
in the MVFC, Lennon totaled a
15-1 record and won a pair of
conference titles.
In 2008, Lennon’s first
season in Carbondale, he
guided SIU to a 9-3 record. He
had the difficult task of replacing
the most successful coach in
school history, Jerry Kill, who was
The Lennon File
Personal
Born...................... Dec. 13, 1960
Birthplace.............. Knox, N.D.
Wife...................... Chris
Children................ Jared (24), Trevor (22),
.............................. Cody (19)
High School.......... Rugby (N.D.), 1978
College.................. North Dakota, 1983
Career
Overall Record...... 137-56
at SIU.................... 35-23 (5 years)
at North Dakota.... 90-24 (9 years)
at Mary (N.D.)....... 12-9 (2 years)
National Championships:
1
2001 - North Dakota (NCAA Division II)
Playoff Record:
15-9
at Mary: 0-1 - NAIA
at North Dakota: 14-6 - NCAA Division II
at SIU: 1-2 - FCS
Conference Championships:
8
at Mary: 1998 - NDCAC
at North Dakota: 1999, 2001, 2003,
2005, 2006 - NCC
at SIU: 2008, 2009 - MVFC
Overtime Games:
6-3
at Mary: N/A
at North Dakota: 4-3
at SIU: 2-0
Playing Experience
RB - University of North Dakota (1979-83)
Team Captain of 1983 team
Coaching Experience
Head Coach - SIU (2008-Pres.)
Head Coach - North Dakota (1999-07)
Head Coach - Mary
(Bismarck, N.D.)
(1997-98)
Def. Coordinator - North Dakota (1990-96)
Def. Line - North Dakota (1988-89)
Linebackers - Dickinson State (1987)
Def. Backs - .Valley City State (1986)
HEAD COACH
DALE LENNON