Sidelines to spectator: Rodney Watson will have front-row seat for USI's D-I home opener

EVANSVILLE — Rodney Watson admits he’s going to feel like a “unique character” come Sunday afternoon.

When the University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball team hosts Southern Illinois in its Division I home opener, worlds will collide for Watson. Both programs hold a close spot in his heart.

Watson was the head coach at USI for 11 seasons before retiring in 2020. He’s the program’s all-time winningest coach and guided them to an NCAA Division II Final Four in 2019. Before that, he was a longtime assistant with the Salukis. His tenure on the bench in Carbondale spanned 21 years and he now calls SIU’s games on the radio as a color commentator.

It’s why Sunday’s meeting holds a special meaning for the 62-year-old.

“I love getting two teams to root for. Unfortunately, they’re both playing each other on Sunday,” Watson said. “It’s going to be a fun, fun game. A big game for both.”

Even in retirement, Watson finds himself representing USI constantly

As a member of SIU’s broadcasting crew, he travels to each Southern Illinois men’s basketball game, home and away. Although every contest is a road trip considering Carbondale is nearly two hours away from home.

Watson and his family still live on Evansville's West Side. He continues to operate a lawn care service from spring until fall, moving on to leaf removal at this point of the year. And he never seems to stop getting the word out about USI athletics.

“I always wear USI gear and talk about the program whenever I get a chance,” Watson said. “I want to encourage people to get out there and watch our guys play.”

Watson still refers to the Screaming Eagles as “we." The program will always be important to him. He follows closely with what Stan Gouard and Co. are accomplishing, and the Watson family owns USI season tickets.

While his broadcasting schedule has made it difficult, he tries to get out to Screaming Eagles Arena as much as possible. He’s enjoyed the ability to simply be a spectator.

“I love going into the arena, I love just being a fan,” Watson said.

Watson believes the move to Division I could make USI an "upper-echelon" team

When the university announced a few years ago it would upgrade athletic facilities by building a new arena on campus, Watson knew there had to be something bigger in the plans than its then-Division II reality.

That's why it was no surprise for Watson to see USI vote to move up in February. All along, he felt as if USI was a Division I-type campus. There were so many aspects of the school, especially on the academic side, that made him feel the university was already at that level.

“It was a no-brainer. When they made a commitment to building that facility, it was obvious that this thing was going in an upward direction,” Watson said. “We have Division I nursing, our engineering has put satellites into space – athletics was the last thing on this campus to go Division I.”

The past success in men’s basketball likely helped make the decision to join the Ohio Valley Conference simpler. Watson continued long-standing success at USI with a program record of 251 wins. He also noted former head coaches Rick Herdes and Bruce Pearl took the program to “another level” and were instrumental in elevating USI to where it is today.

That's kept expectations high, even at a new level. Scoring 91 points and losing by just six points to Missouri in the opener will raise those goals even more moving forward. Watson won’t be surprised to see USI experience immediate success.

He thinks it has the ability to be a mid-major power.

“I think we can be the Murray State of the OVC, I really do. I think that’s where this program is headed,” Watson said. “I think we can be an upper-echelon team in the OVC because of funding, fan support and basketball are important to the Evansville community. We have all of the ingredients for this thing to be fun and good.”

Broadcasting presents an opportunity to stay involved

Watson wasn’t exactly sure what was going to come next in his career when he stepped aside from coaching. He only knew he wanted to do something with basketball. That chance came shortly afterward.

He was hired to join the Southern Illinois Radio Network in 2020. When he started, he split time as the color commentator. Then he was named the full-time analyst to start last season alongside play-by-play broadcaster Mike Reis.

“There’s a lot more preparation than I ever dreamed would go into this,” Watson said. “But with that, comes the opportunity to really study both teams and stay a little connected. It’s fun to stay involved with the game.”

At this point, Watson is no stranger to calling games. But Sunday will feel a bit different. It will be his first time broadcasting a game against USI. It will also be the first time he’ll be on media row at Screaming Eagles Arena instead of the bench.

He believes there should be plenty of energy and intrigue on both sides. Southern Illinois recorded an impressive opening night win against Little Rock while there's been great anticipation for the hometown USI fans to see their beloved Eagles compete in D-I.

Watson says he's lucky to have a front-row seat.

“Both teams have size, both teams have shooters and both teams have depth,” Watson said. “I think it’s going to be a great crowd, lots of fans. I think it will be a fun game for this early in the season.”

Contact Courier & Press sports reporter Hendrix Magley via email at hendrix.magley@courierpress.com or via Twitter @TweetsOfHendrix.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Former USI coach Rodney Watson will return for Southern Illinois game