Box's journey to head of Lady Redhawks basketball at University of Miami (OH) has passed through every level. In the usual manner, his coaching journey started out as a player. But it wasn't at RLC.
He started on scholarship with one of the Warriors' conference opponents, but eventually stepped away. He was working and still going to school, but only played when he could find free time.
"I knew I should be playing. I needed to play," Box said.
He decided to contact Coach Wills at RLC.
Wills was in his third year as the head coach at RLC and hadn't had a winning season yet. He was on the recruiting trail and looking for players who could help change that. "To be honest, I didn't recruit Box," said Wills, RLC Athletic Director and its 1996 Alumnus of the Year. "He called to ask if he could come to RLC to play on the basketball team … as a walk-on."
"Rend Lake was my lifeline," Box said. "If Coach Wills didn't answer the phone … I never would have played basketball, probably never would have continued my college career. It would have been very difficult for me to achieve much, had he simply not picked up the phone when I called."
Box said he had an instant connection with Wills. Two days after meeting, Box was set on transferring, he said. He had saved up just enough to pay for one semester. After a few months, Wills awarded him a scholarship. The next season, Wills and the Warriors logged one of the best years in program history.
"It became evident early on that he had talent," Wills said. "He became our starting point guard on one of the most successful teams in the history of Rend Lake College's Men's Basketball. He was an integral part of a team that won 20 games and was ranked as high as #5 nationally."
"It was one of those situations where I just had to keep moving forward," Box said. He always believed he was destined to accomplish great things, and he pushed himself to achieving those dreams through taking risks and overcoming fears that otherwise might have held him back.
The impact RLC left on Box's life was a positive one. It gave him the tools he needed to shape his future and a sense of community being on a team again during a difficult time in his life. On the student athlete questionnaire Box filled out more than 28 years ago, he wrote that he believed one of his greatest strengths was his leadership skills and that a goal for himself was, "To win a national title and finally gain respect that I feel I deserve as a ballplayer."
Box had plenty of confidence and drive. What he needed was a shot. After graduating from RLC in 1996, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State in 1998. After SEMO, Box headed back to Cairo and started coaching at his old high school. He returned to RLC in 2002 as an assistant to Wills.
As an assistant coach, Wills said he saw in him the natural talent, desire, and determination to become an outstanding basketball coach. "Since that time, he has continually moved his way up within the college coaching ranks and has been a major part of many successful teams and programs," he added. "As great a coach he is, he is truly an even better human being. He was one of the most well-liked and respected people on our campus during his tenure as a player, coach, and employee of RLC."
In 2005, Box made the switch to coaching women's basketball. He took over the head coaching position for the Lady Warriors and it's no secret why he was gone after just three seasons. He had 19 wins in his first year and RLC suddenly caught the attention of programs across the country. A 24-8 campaign the next year carried the Lady Warriors to their first Region XXIV Finals, where they came one possession short of a national tournament berth. Ranked Preseason No. 20 in 2007-08 — what would be his final season coaching at RLC — they lived up to the ranking. Rend Lake started out 16-3, but season-ending injuries and the loss of its leading scorer resulted in a 21-11 mark. Nevertheless, Box's meteoric debut had him rising toward the top of coaching recruiting lists.
He joined Western Michigan in 2008 where he was an assistant for two years before heading to Saint Louis University from 2010-2012, and then Akron for two seasons where the Zips played in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. He returned to SLU for two more years and then spent seven seasons at Indiana — the last four as associate head coach. During his tenure at IU, the Hoosiers made the NCAA tourney five times with two Sweet-16 appearances and one Elite Eight finish (2020-21). Finishing 28-4 this past season, the Hoosiers won the Big Ten for the first time in four decades and were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing by a bucket to University of Miami (FL) in the second round. Box was named Miami-Ohio's 10th head coach on May 8.
He says it is a rewarding career just as much as it is challenging, and he continues to learn more about himself as a person and a coach with every team he joins. "You're a psychologist. You wash clothes. You mop the floors. You do scheduling. You're their academic advisor. You do everything for your students. You accrue a lot of experience in a lot of different areas. And it has been great."
He understands the responsibility of being a coach for student athletes. He knows he is not just their coach, but their mentor, just as Wills was to him. Box will continue to call Wills when he is in search of professional advice, he said.
When he was approached by the University of Miami (OH) to be the head coach for the women's basketball team, he was extremely surprised, he said, adding that it was an honor, but also extremely emotional. It gave him the opportunity to reflect on everything he and his family had been through to get to this point.
"Box continues to represent the best of Rend Lake College, and we are honored by his accomplishments as a proud alumnus of our institution," said RLC President Terry Wilkerson.
"Glenn Box is a standout Alumni of Rend Lake College," said Amy Newell, Assistant Director of Development for the Rend Lake College Foundation. "What impresses me about Box is he has taken his passion, skills, and life lessons he learned at RLC and used them find success and make a positive impact on others. We are honored to add him to the list of accomplished RLC Alumnus of the Year and to celebrate his accomplishments at the 44th RLC Foundation Annual Dinner."
"The RLC Foundation could not have chosen a better individual to be the 2023 Alumnus of the Year than Glenn Box," said Wills. "I am proud of his accomplishments and proud to call him a great friend!"
Whether it's at his first gig back home in Cairo or his new role at Miami-Ohio, Box will always be a Warrior, warning the world not to sell him short.
If he could talk to his younger self — that kid who was so hungry to make a name for himself — Box said he would tell him "keep moving forward. There's more than where we came from. There's more than Southern Illinois. The whole world is yours. You just have to keep going."
Box will be recognized as 2023 Alumnus of the Year at the 44th Annual RLCF Dinner on December 7th at 6:00 p.m. It will take place at the Event Center on RLC campus in Ina. The Annual Dinner is one of the many ways the Foundation raises money for the school and student scholarships.
Tickets to the RLCF Annual Dinner cost $60 per person or $480 for a table of eight and must be purchased by November 17th. To purchase tickets, contact the RLC Foundation at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1324 or foundation@rlc.edu.
Alumnus of the Year
2022 — DEAN MERDER ('84), Santa Clause, Indiana
President & CEO at TrueScripts Management Services
2021 — CLINT McDONNOUGH ('73), Pinckneyville
Retired Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP
2019 — CHAD W. KERN ('91), Whittington
President & CEO, Schirm USA
2018 — CURTIS SMITH ('82), Benton
(Awarded posthumously)
RLC Basketball legend and local coach, Correctional Officer - IL Dept. of Corrections
2017 — BOB KELLEY ('69), Mt. Vernon
Retired Director of Marketing & Public Information, Rend Lake College
2016 — RODNEY CABANESS ('90), Sesser
Co-Owner, Black Diamond Harley-Davidson
2015 — DR. BRIAN KERN ('94), Ewing
Orthopedic Surgeon, Orthopedic Institute of Western Kentucky
2014 — JAMES "JIM" MOUNIER ('72), Caledonia
Senior Vice President & Wealth Management Advisor, Merrill Lynch
2013 – TRISH REED ('87), Scheller
President, GM, UpTime Parts LLC
2012 – PETER JOHNSON ('85), Mt. Vernon
Instrumentation Engineer, NASA
2011 – RON SMITH ('74), Benton
Assistant Basketball Coach, SIUC; Entrepreneur
2010 – HON. MIKE D. McHANEY ('77), Salem
Judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit of Illinois
2009 – JIM MUIR ('97), Sesser
Publisher, Southern Illinois Sports Connection, Marion Living & Saluki Illustrated; Radio Broadcaster
2008 – RANDY RUBENACKER ('78), Dahlgren
Co-Owner, Rubenacker Farms/4R Equipment, McLeansboro
2007 – BRAD GESELL ('80), Benton
Co-Owner, Gesell's Pump Sales & Service Inc., Whittington
2006 – CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON ('98), Valier
Distribution Center Manager, Walgreens, Mt. Vernon
2005 – BILL SHIELDS (MVCC '58), Mt. Vernon
Assistant Professor/Workforce Ed Coordinator, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
2004 – LINDA L. SANDERS ('82), Mt. Vernon
Warden, Federal Correctional Complex, Forrest City, AR
2003 – DONALD H. DAME ('72 / '76), Sesser
Vice President/Human Resources & Government Relations, Freeman unity Coal Mining Company
2002 – ROSE M. MYLES ('68), Mt. Vernon
Manager / Network Services, AT&T
2001 – CARL ROWLEY ('77), Sesser
Team Leader / Building Management Systems, Panduit Corporation
2000 – HOLLY McCANN ('76), Benton
Acting National Director, Internal Revenue Service Office of Interest and Penalty Administration
1999 – LAIRD D. WISELY ('71), Benton/Mt. Vernon
(Awarded posthumously)
Owner, Therapy Resource Associates & Physical Rehab Works
1998 – MARK MICHALIC ('78), West Frankfort
1999 ICCTA CO-"ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR"
Special Agent, U.S. Department of the Treasury/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
1997 – JOHNATHAN W. THOMAS ('71), Sesser
CEO (Executive Dean), Ivy Tech State College, Madison/Lawrenceburg, IN
1996 – TIM WILLS ('84), Benton
Associate Professor of Health/A.D./Coach, RLC
1995 – COURTNEY COX ('72), Benton
Partner, Hart and Hart Attorneys-At-Law, Benton
1994 – FLO DUDLEY ('76), Bonnie
Retired elementary school teacher
Mt. Vernon City Schools District 80
1993 – SEN. J. BRADLEY BURZYNSKI ('79), Benton
Illinois State Senator / 35th District, Sycamore
1992 – CINDA CHULLEN ('79), Benton
Technical Manager, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
1991 – CRAIG M. SINCLAIR ('74), Mt. Vernon
Vice President of Advertising, The Walgreen Company
1990 – GLORIA J. SLOAN-REEL ('74), McLeansboro
Product Brand Manager, Phone-Poulenc Ag Company, Research Triangle Park, NC
1989 – KEVIN DAVIS ('72), Mt. Vernon
Comptroller/Treasurer, Rend Lake Conservancy District
1988 – CAROL DILLEY-JAUDES ('75)
Stage actress, St. Louis, and New York
1987 – DR. MARY KAY WITGES BENGTSON ('71), Scheller
Staff/Athletic Physician, N. Carolina State U.
1986 – DR. GARY R. SWEETEN (MVCC '60), Ina
Minister of Christian Growth, College Hill Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati
1985 – DR. HALE E. RYDER JR. (MVCC '58), Mt. Vernon
Professor of Economics/Director of Graduate Studies, Brown University
1984 – DR. LESLIE JOHNSON ('74), Thompsonville
Family Practitioner, Mt. Vernon (now in Peoria)
1983 – ROBERT L. BROWN (MVCC '66), Mt. Vernon
Guidance Counselor, Mt. Vernon Township H.S./Part-time Rend Lake College GED Instructor
1982 – DAVID N. JUNKINS ('71), Mt. Vernon
Social Worker, Illinois Dept. of Children & Family Services