DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University men's basketball head coach Mark Montgomery announced on Tuesday (July 23) the hiring of Anthony Beane Sr. as an assistant coach with the Huskie men's basketball program. Beane comes to NIU following seven seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois and has over 20 years of Division I coaching experience, including 14 in the State of Illinois. 

"I am very happy to have Coach Beane joining our staff here at NIU," said Montgomery. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience to our bench, having been in Division I for more than 20 years with a number of successful programs. He is an excellent teacher of the game, a terrific recruiter and is very familiar with the State of Illinois; he is a great addition to our staff."

The Salukis posted winning seasons in each of Beane's final four seasons on staff, including a 22-win campaign in 2015-16 and a 20-win season in 2017-18, while also finishing in the top-four in the Missouri Valley Conference in each of those four years. 

SIU had nine all-conference honorees during Beane's seven seasons, along with a pair of players selected to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Newcomer Team. 

"I'm really excited to be joining the staff here at NIU," said Beane. "When Coach Montgomery first called me and we talked I was excited, so I thank him and the administration for the opportunity to join this program. While at SIU last year, we had the chance to play Buffalo twice, so I know that this is a highly competitive conference. I think the program is right there on the cusp of a championship, we have all the right pieces in place and now it is just about coming together as a unit and taking that step, and I look forward to being part of that process."

Beane's first Division I coaching opportunity came at Southeast Missouri State, where he spent three seasons from 1997-2000. During that time, Beane helped SEMO to a pair of 20-win seasons, including a 24-7 mark in 1999-2000 which included Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships as well as a trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

Following his time at Southeast Missouri State, Beane had the first of two stints at Illinois State, working under Tom Richardson for a pair of seasons (2000-02), helping the Redbirds reach the NIT during the 2000-01 campaign.

A four-year stretch at Saint Louis followed those two seasons in Bloomington as Beane worked on the staff of Brad Soderberg with the Billikens from 2002-06. Saint Louis appeared in the NIT during both the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. 

Beane then returned to Illinois State in 2007, spending five seasons under Tim Jankovich (2007-12) as the Redbirds made four trips to the NIT (2008, '09, '10, '12). 

A native of Bernie, Mo., Beane started his collegiate playing career at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he earned All-America honors and led the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in 1991. Beane finished his collegiate career at Kansas State, playing for current Oregon head coach Dana Altman, where he was named the 1992 Big Eight Conference Newcomer of the Year and was twice an All-Big Eight honoree. 

Beane began his coaching career in 1995-96 as an assistant at Allen County Community College in Iola, Kan., and spent the following season at West Plains Community College (now Missouri State-West Plains), helping both teams to 20-win seasons before moving into the Division I ranks at Southeast Missouri State in 1997-98. 

Beane and his wife, Katina, have two sons, Anthony Jr., who ranks third all-time in scoring at Southern Illinois, and Darius, a sophomore on the NIU men's basketball team.