GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College Women's basketball coach Missy Tiber has announced she will be stepping down after four successful seasons at the helm of the Pioneer program. Tiber was named the new Women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University, Thursday afternoon in Carbondale, Ill.

In just four years, Tiber resurrected the storied Tusculum Women's basketball program back to prominence, leading the Pioneers to four consecutive winning seasons, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Since her arrival at the Greeneville, Tenn. campus, she guided the TC women to a sterling 86-34 record for a .717 winning percentage including back-to-back South Atlantic Conference Championships and two trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, both program firsts. She also guided the Pioneers to three runner-up finishes in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

This past year, the Pioneers finished the season ranked 21st in the final USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches? Poll, after posting a 26-6 record en route to its second straight SAC title. The Pioneers also posted its first-ever win in the NCAA II Tournament, defeating Lander University in last month's opening round. Tusculum set or tied 10 individual and team program marks in its historic 2008-09 campaign, including a school-record 73.6% team free throw percentage. The Pioneers as a team set a new program record in blocked shots (157), as well as a pair of Pioneer Arena marks for points in a single game (107) and margin of victory (54) in TC's 107-53 win over North Greenville on Jan. 13.

"It truly is a sad day for the Tusculum College Women's basketball team, but a very happy and deserving day for Missy Tiber,? said TC Director of Athletics Frankie DeBusk. ?Southern Illinois is getting a quality person, a great basketball coach and a winner. I am very appreciative of everything Missy has given the community, the College, the athletic department and most importantly, her players in her four years at Tusculum.?

Including a successful four-year run at Belmont Abbey College, Tiber has accounted for an impressive 167-70 career record (.705) as her teams have posted a winning campaign in each of her eights seasons, including four with 20 or more victories.

While at Tusculum, Tiber has coached an up-tempo style that produced some staggering numbers in her four Tusculum seasons.

?It has been a great experience at Tusculum these past four years,? said Tiber. ?I?m very grateful to the Tusculum community. I would especially like to thank (former TC athletic director) Ed Hoffmeyer and Frankie DeBusk for all their support over the years. The friendships and relationships I have developed over the years with the staff and the community mean so much to me and I will always cherish. But I especially want to thank the players I have had the privilege to be associated with at Tusculum. All the success we accomplished is because of them and I will always be truly thankful.?

In 2007-08, the Pioneers enjoyed one of its finest seasons ever as Tusculum posted a 26-5 record and won the program's first-ever SAC title. TC mounted winning streaks of 12 and 11 games as the Pioneers claimed its first 20-win season in 11 years, while garnering the school's first NCAA Division II Tournament berth. The team finished nationally ranked in 10 statistical categories, including the seventh-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 78.7 points per game.

In her first season at Tusculum, Tiber took the Pioneers to new heights, leading the squad to an 18-10 showing, including a 7