CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University volleyball head coach Ed Allen announced today that he is stepping down after six seasons leading the program.

Allen currently ranks sixth in the nation in wins among active Division I head coaches with 715 career victories. He took over a Saluki team that finished last in the MVC in 2018 and steadily improved the program, posting back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023.

In 2022, the Salukis posted an 18-13 record, and the +12 improvement in the win column was the largest jump in school history. His 2023 team at SIU finished 20-12 overall and earned the program’s first appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship postseason tournament. The 20-win season was Southern’s first since 2015.

“I’m grateful for my time in Carbondale and the opportunity to coach so many outstanding young women,” Allen said. “I especially appreciate the efforts of my staff with their help in turning this program around.”

Allen finished with an overall record of 69-106 at SIU. In 34 seasons as a head coach, Allen has compiled a 715-390 record, posted 30 winning seasons, guided his teams to nine conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances, while winning conference coach-of-year honors six times.

“Ed is the definition of a winner and has led our volleyball program with integrity and class,” said SIU Director of Athletics Tim Leonard. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Prior to SIU, Allen spent eight seasons at Alabama (2011-18), taking a Crimson Tide program that had gone seven years without a winning season and building it into a postseason contender. The squad won 24 matches in 2013 and a school-record 26 victories in 2014. Of Alabama’s five NCAA Tournament appearances in its history, Allen led the Crimson Tide to two of those berths.

Allen had a remarkable five-year stint at Tulsa (2006-10), where he was 133-37 and became the fastest Golden Hurricane coach to reach 100 wins in school history. He won three Conference USA titles at Tulsa and earned the program’s first NCAA tournament berth in 2007. He was a two-time coach-of-the-year winner, including the 2010 season, when Allen guided the Golden Hurricane to a school-record 31 wins, a 20-0 conference record, and the program’s second NCAA Tournament bid.

Leonard said the department will conduct a nationwide search for Allen’s successor.