Metro East Sun

After 35 years and more than 700 career wins, Mike Waldo is returning to the sidelines at his Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) alma mater.

SIUE men’s basketball coach Jon Harris recently announced Waldo will be joining the staff beginning Sept. 1.

“We are thrilled to have Mike Waldo join our staff,” Harris told the Belleville News-Democrat. “It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to hire a Hal-of-Fame coach with more than 700 career wins. In addition to his coaching expertise, he possesses the qualities that we look for. He is a tireless worker who will be trustworthy and loyal to the program.”

During his 30 seasons as coach at Edwardsville High, Waldo amassed 727 wins and a .732 winning percentage, including 21 regional titles, seven sectional titles and 10 Southwestern Conference championships.

Harris starred for Waldo at Edwardsville during the late 1990s, netting 1,269 points over his career to earn St. Louis Post-Dispatch Player of the Year honors in 1998.

Before joining the coaching ranks, Waldo played two seasons at SIUE.  

“I am glad to have this opportunity, which keeps me involved in basketball,” he told the News-Democrat. “I feel very fortunate to get to work with Jon and his staff. I am very happy to have a new role in basketball.”

Harris said he looks forward to being reunited with one of his longtime mentors.

“He is a part of where my bug for the profession came from,” he said. “The history that we have played heavily into us making this hire. We don’t simply talk about an extended basketball family and building lifelong relationships because it sounds good; this is who we are.”