Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, (commonly abbreviated as SIUE), is a coeducational, public doctoral/professional university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States about northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It is the younger of the two major institutions of Southern Illinois University system, and as of 2018, has the largest enrollment within the system. The University offers graduate programs through its Graduate School.
Saint Louis–SIU Edwardsville men's soccer rivalry
In 1966, SIU Edwardsville began establishing an NCAA College Division (now Division II) athletic program. In doing so, SIUE hired away two coaches from St. Louis U.'s higher profile University Division (now Division I) program. Bob Guelker was hired as the Cougars' first soccer coach, and he would later succeed Harry Gallatin as athletic director. As he had done at SLU, Coach Guelker quickly turned his new program into a regional and national power. In their first three seasons of eligibility. the Cougars were in the NCAA Tournament and nationally ranked. 1972 was the first year of the NCAA College Division Men's Soccer Championship. As his Billikens had won the first NCAA title in 1959, Guelker's Cougars won the first College Division/Division II crown in 1972. After the 1972 season, SIU Edwardsville and a number of other schools that emphasized their soccer programs took advantage of a then-current NCAA rule that allowed a Division II school to play one sport in Division I and moved into the higher division. In addition to winning the first NCAA title in 1969 and the first Division II title in 1972, in 1979, Guelker's Cougars won Division I, and he became the first coach to win Division I and II titles and the only coach to win both divisions at the same school.