Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber has been inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, as announced by the League office. The 28th MVC Hall of Fame class also includes coaching figures Bob Warn from Indiana State and Lisa Bluder from Drake, track and field athlete Tyler Mulder from UNI, Betty Wiseman from Belmont, and basketball player Marcellus Sommerville from Bradley.

With these six new inductees, the MVC Hall of Fame now honors 157 former athletes, administrators, coaches, and contributors. Weber began his Division I coaching career at Southern Illinois in 1998. During his five-year tenure there, he achieved a 103-54 overall record (.656) and a 62-28 record in MVC games-only (.689), placing him with the 13th best win percentage in MVC history.

Weber led Southern Illinois to two MVC regular-season titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003. His team reached the Sweet 16 in 2002. That year’s team was ranked nationally at number 22 in the final USA Today/ESPN poll of the season. Weber's contributions earned him recognition as MVC Coach of the Year in 2003.

Weber's career extended beyond Southern Illinois to include head coaching positions at Illinois (2003-2012) and Kansas State (2012-2022). His teams secured six conference championships and participated in thirteen NCAA tournaments including a Final Four appearance in 2005.

His national accolades include AP Coach of the Year (2005), Henry Iba Award (2005), NABC Coach of the Year (2005), among others. Currently, Weber works as an analyst for the Big Ten Network.

The annual Hall of Fame ceremony will be part of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship held March 6-9, 2025, at Stifel Theatre next to Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

Tickets for this event are available through contacting the league office on a first-come-first-served basis.