Southern Arkansas Muleriders men's basketball

The Southern Arkansas men's basketball program is the college basketball program that represents Southern Arkansas University, competing in the Great American Conference. The program began as early as 1911. Though it has been sporadic, the Muleriders have had successes on the hardwood.

Southern Arkansas Muleriders
University	Southern Arkansas University
Head coach	Andy Sharpe (8th season)
Conference	Great American Conference
Location	Magnolia, Arkansas
Arena	W.T. Watson Athletic Center (capacity: 2,500)
Nickname	Muleriders
Colors	Royal blue and gold
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament appearances
NAIA: 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1989
Conference tournament champions
Southeastern Junior College Championship: 1948 NAIA District 17: 1957, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1983, 1990
Conference regular season champions
AIC: 1934, 1935, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1989 GAC: 2021 (Eastern Division)

Coaches

There have been 9 Mulerider Basketball coaches since 1947. The school's all-time winningest coach was W.T. Watson. Watson also lead the Muleriders' to three conference regular season championships. Watson's contributions to SAU as basketball coach and later athletic director lead to the Muleriders home gym to be named the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.

Southern Arkansas Coaching History Tenure Coach Seasons Won Lost Pct. Conf. Champs. 1927–1937 Ves Godley 11 80 59 .576 1934, 1935 1937–1946 Unknown n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1946–1954 Elmer Smith 7 108 74 .593 1954–1957 P.T. "Duddy" Waller 3 45 24 .652 1957–1963 Delwin T. Ross 6 39 86 .312 1963–1980 W.T. Watson 17 300 151 .665 1966, 1967, 1971 1980–1997 Monroe Ingram 17 257 193 .571 1990 1997–1998 Burt West 1 12 14 .462 1998–2005 Brian Daugherty 7 84 106 .442 2005–2012 Eric Bozeman 7 73 116 .386 2012–Present Andy Sharpe 9 127 118 .518 2021 TOTAL 85 1,125 941 .545 7 (1934, 1935, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1990, 2021)

Players

1500 Point Club

Six players have scored more than 1,500 points in their Mulerider careers.

1500 Point Club No. Player Year 2290 John Holmes 1986–1990 1886 Greg Alexander 1975–1979 1647 Calvin Thomas 1949–1954 1609 Alfred Flanigan 1968–1972 1604 Billy Barnes 1967–1971 1556 Shawn Mason 1998–2002

The Muleriders men's basketball team in action against the Texas A&M–Commerce Lions in 2013

All-Americans

Eight players have been named to an All-American team a total of ten times.

All-Americans No. Player Year 1968–1969 Donnie Denton HM 1970–1971 Billy Barnes HM 1973–1974 James Armstrong HM 1973–1974 Johnny White HM 1978–1979 Greg Alexander HM 1987–1988 Dwayne Smith HM 1988–1989 John Holmes 2nd 1989–1990 John Holmes 1st 1990–1991 John Holmes 1st 1993–1994 Cedric Williams HM

Postseason results

The Muleriders men's basketball team in action against Texas A&M–Commerce in 2014

NAIA National Tournament results

Southern Arkansas has appeared in the NAIA National Tournament six times. Their combined record is 2–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1957	First Round	Western Illinois	L 70–101
1966	First Round Second Round	Guilford, NC Georgia Southern	W 72–67 L 62–80
1967	First Round Second Round	East Montana St. Benedict's	W 75–62 L 56–67
1971	First Round	Eau Claire	L 50–66
1983	First Round	Ft. Hayes St.	L 65–71
1989	First Round	Siena Heights	L 70–83

Arena

The W.T. Watson Center, a 2,500-seat multipurpose arena, is home to the SAU men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the SAU volleyball team.

External links

• Official website