Athletics
| Cougar Mascots SIUE once housed two live cougar mascots. From 1968 to 1985, the female cougar, Chimega (an Apache word for cougar), was the official mascot. On March 18, 1985, Chimaga died of old age. In July 1982, Kyna became the second official mascot of SIUE. After only five years at SIUE, Kyna was sent to a wildlife preserve in Southern Illinois near Metropolis. SIUE no longer houses live mascots. |
The SIUE athletic teams are nicknamed the Cougars. SIUE is a member of the NCAA at the Division I level. The university is a member in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and most teams compete in the OVC. However, the university also fields certain sports that the OVC does not sponsor competition in; SIUE is an associate member of the Missouri Valley Conference for men's soccer and an associate member of the Southern Conference for wrestling. Until 2008, SIUE competed in the NCAA's Division II as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The university has won 17 NCAA National Championships, 16 of which, occurred while the university was a member of Division II.
The school mascot was Cory the Cougar until 2010, when the school decided to get a new mascot. Eddie debuted his new name and a new jersey wearing the number 57 during a men's basketball game January 24, 2011 against UT Martin. The number 57 on Eddie's jersey is in honor of the university's founding in 1957.
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