Eastern Illinois University Athletics

Position: Assistant Head Coach / Offensive Line
Years at EIU: 1st year
Alma Mater: Hamline, 1983

Mike Markuson enters his first season at Eastern Illinois on head coach Kim Dameron’s staff.  Markuson will serve as the assistant head coach as well as coaching the offensive line.

Markuson comes to EIU following a long career as an offensive line coach in the Southeastern Conference from 1998-2011 as a member of staffs at both Arkansas and Ole Miss.  He coached the 2012 season at Wisconsin and the 2013 season at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

During his tenure in the SEC he helped his teams advance to five Cotton Bowls as well as playing in the 2002 and 2006 SEC Championship games.  He coached six different All-Americans with the most well-known of those players being Michael Oher, the subject of the movie “Blind Side”, who was a first team All-American and first round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens in 2009.  He coached 2007 Rimington Trophy winner Jonathan Luigs and two-time first team All-American and 2004 NFL first round draft pick Shawn Andrews.

At both SEC schools, Markuson helped develop potent run games.  In his decade at Arkansas no other SEC school had a more effective running game than the Razorbacks.  The 2006 and 2007 seasons featured the backfield of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones with both backs rushing for more then 1,000 yards.  McFadden won the Doak Walker Award in both seasons and twice was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

Markuson’s association at both Arkansas and Ole Miss came as a member of head coach Houston Nutt’s staff.  Markuson began his association with Houston Nutt at Ohio Valley Conference member Murray State in 1993 also beginning his association with Kim Dameron.  Markuson coached the offensive line at Murray State from 1993-96 and then followed Houston Nutt to Boise State as the offensive coordinator for the 1997 season.    From 2003-2011 at Arkansas and Ole Miss Markuson was the run-game coordinator as well as the offensive line coach.  He served as the co-offensive coordinator at Ole Miss for the 2010 season.

Markuson played defensive line at Hamline University in Minnesota.  His began his college coaching career as the defensive line coach at South Dakota State from 1984-85.  He then returned to his alma mater for the 1986 season.  Markuson was a graduate assistant for two seasons as Oklahoma State as the Cowboys were led by Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders at running back.  He was a graduate assistant for head coach Lou Holtz at Notre Dame for the 1989 season as the Fighting Irish went 12-1 and were ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press poll.

He coached the 1990 season as the offensive line coach at Austin Peay before two seasons as the offensive line coach at Alabama A&M.  Markuson was also the offensive coordinator at Alabama A&M in 1992.

He is a 1983 graduate of Hamline University having earned a masters degree from South Dakota State in 1986.  He and his wife Dottie have two children: daughter Noelle and son Elliot Bryan.