A basketball program that had made multiple Sweet 16 runs within a decade dropped to the cellar of the Missouri Valley Conference along with the football team that was once a Missouri Valley Football Conference power. These two teams served as a small part of an entire athletic department that had fallen on hard times.
This year may be remembered as the year that SIU experienced its worst budget crisis and social tumult in recent history, but Saluki athletics gave students and fans alike a light in the dark year. Two conference championships, three postseason appearances and numerous fallen records later, the 2015-16 academic year has given Saluki fans life again and reason for optimism.