SIU assistant resigns in wake of indictment

CARBONDALE, Ill.-- A Southern Illinois University assistant men's basketball coach indicted as part of a federal investigation into a Kansas community college's athletic program where he used to work resigned from the Salukis on Monday, SIU announced.

Shane Hawkins, 29, had been on a paid leave of absence since Oct. 20, a day after being accused of making a false statement before a federal grand jury investigating athletic improprieties at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan.

Hawkins served as a Barton County assistant from 1999 until 2001, according to the SIU men's basketball media guide. A former SIU player who graduated in 1999 and holds the school record for career 3-point shooting, Hawkins was promoted to assistant coach at SIU last season after working as a graduate assistant in athletics at the Carbondale school.

Chris Lowery, the Salukis' men's basketball coach, did not indicate when Hawkins' successor would be hired.

Coaches at Barton County have been accused of getting athletes grants they were not qualified to receive and campus jobs that paid them for work they did not perform; of helping the athletes with correspondence courses and tests; and of sending false academic credentials to other schools on the athletes' behalf.

The investigation also led to the firing of former Barton County president Veldon Law.