Dan Muller, the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, has proven his ability to win an MVC championship. Now in his tenth season as head coach of the program, Muller has led the Redbirds to a share of the MVC regular-season title (2017), which was the program's first since he helped ISU win the Valley championship as a player in 1998, three MVC Tournament Championship Game appearances, and three postseason appearances.

Muller was named the 19th men’s basketball coach in school history May 8, 2012, and led Illinois State to a better MVC record and higher conference finish during each of his first five seasons. In 2016-17, Muller guided the Redbirds to program bests in MVC wins (17-1, en route to the Valley title), regular-season victories (25) and overall triumphs (28).

Through his first nine seasons, Muller amassed a 156-135 record and has coached the Redbirds to four victories over Top-25 programs, three postseason appearances (2017 National Invitation Tournament, 2015 NIT and 2014 College Basketball Invitational), four postseason wins, and victories against the Big Ten, the BIG EAST, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the American Athletic Conference. Muller is the first coach in Illinois State basketball history to beat four Top-25 teams in his first four seasons, and his four Top-25 victories are also tied for the most ever recorded by a Redbird head coach.

Muller has guided ISU student-athletes to 16 All-Missouri Valley Conference selections (four first team, eight second team and four honorable mention), six MVC All-Defensive accolades, five MVC All-Newcomer honors and one MVC All-Freshman accolade. 

The 2018-19 season saw the Redbirds never dip below .500 during the season despite playing one of its most challenging home schedules in recent memory with Florida Gulf Coast, BYU, San Diego State, and Ole Miss all making trips to Redbird Arena during the season. For their efforts Phil Fayne (first team) and Milik Yarbrough (second team) were named to the All-Conference and All-Region squads.

In 2017-18 the Redbirds battled injuries all season and had just one player appear in every game. The team's 18-15 record was deceiving; however, as it included wins over the SEC's South Carolina and Ole Miss, and the American Athletic Conference's Tulsa (twice). Muller helped coach junior guard/forward to MVC Newcomer of the Year honors and a spot on the All-Conference First Team, as the team battled its way to the championship game of the MVC Tournament.

The 2016-17 Illinois State men's basketball program teamed up to win a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship while setting program records in total victories (28), regular-season wins (25) and MVC triumphs (17). After finishing second at the State Farm MVC Tournament, ISU earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Redbirds won their NIT first-round matchup before bowing out in the second round.

As a fourth-year coach (2015-16), Muller and the Redbirds faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history, ranked No. 7 in the nation at the end of the regular season, according to the Collegiate Basketball News Report. The Redbirds finished the 2015-16 campaign with an 18-14 overall record and tied for second place with a 12-6 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference, signifying ISU's highest league finish and most conference wins since 2007-08. Illinois State’s upset victory over No. 21 Wichita State (Feb. 6) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena marked Muller’s fourth Top-25 win in as many seasons.

Illinois State’s individual accolades in 2015-16 included: DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: All-MVC Second Team; Paris Lee: MVC Honorable Mention Team, All-Defensive Team; MiKyle McIntosh: MVC Honorable Mention Team, Most-Improved Team (team captain); Nick Banyard: All-Bench Team; Justin McCloud: MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team.

In his third season with the Redbirds (2014-15), Muller guided ISU to a 22-13 overall record, marking ISU’s most victories since 2009-10. Illinois State tied for third place in the Missouri Valley Conference with an 11-7 mark. As the MVC Tournament’s fourth seed, the Redbirds upset No. 8 Wichita State in the semifinals, marking a Redbird win over ISU’s highest ranked opponent since 1978. Illinois State also became just the second MVC team to beat Wichita State in more than two years.

After falling to No. 11 Northern Iowa in the tournament championship game, the Redbirds earned an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the 13th time in program history. Fourth-seeded ISU advanced to the NIT second round by beating fifth-seeded Green Bay at home (March 18).

Along with Illinois State’s team success, ISU earned seven individual MVC honors under Muller’s guidance: Akoon-Purcell: Newcomer of the Year, All-Newcomer Team; Daishon Knight: All-MVC Second Team; Reggie Lynch: All-MVC Second Team, All-Defensive Team; Lee: All-Defensive Team; Bobby Hunter: All-Bench Team. Knight and Lynch were additionally named to the MVC All-Tournament Team. The Redbirds also excelled in the classroom, establishing a team grade-point average record in the fall of 2014 with a 2.99 GPA, breaking the previous mark by 0.13 points.

During his second season as Illinois State’s head coach (2013-14), Muller was charged with leading the most inexperienced team in NCAA Division I basketball. With just two-and-a-half years of returning experience, Muller guided ISU to another 18-win season, including marquee victories over a Top-25 program (vs. No. 25 Dayton, Dec. 7), a Big Ten team (at Northwestern, Nov. 17), a BIG EAST opponent (vs. DePaul, Dec. 22) and an SEC foe (vs. Texas A&M, March 24). ISU had never before earned wins against the Big Ten, the BIG EAST and the SEC in the same season.

The Redbirds also tied for fourth place in the final Missouri Valley Conference standings, with a 9-9 record. Illinois State played particularly well on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, where the Redbirds went 14-3 with a dominant 8-1 record against Valley foes. ISU advanced to the postseason by earning a spot in the 16-team College Basketball Invitational (CBI) field. Muller led the Redbirds to two victories in the CBI which tied for the most-ever postseason wins by an ISU team.

Under Muller’s guidance, newcomers Knight and Lynch both earned All-MVC accolades, as Knight was named to the All-MVC Honorable Mention Team and the All-Newcomer Team, while Lynch was placed on the All-Newcomer Team and the All-Freshman Team. Nick Zeisloft was also named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team in 2013-14.

In his first year at Illinois State (2012-13), Muller led the Redbirds to an 18-win season, with at least one victory against eight of the Missouri Valley Conference’s nine opponents. Muller also guided ISU to the Valley Tournament semifinals.

During the regular season, Illinois State earned a marquee win at No. 16 Creighton, 75-72, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,494 at CentryLink Center Omaha. The Bluejays went on to win the Valley regular-season and tournament titles. The victory was ISU’s first over a nationally ranked team on the road since topping No. 17 Tulsa in 1985.

Under Muller’s tutelage, ISU was awarded two All-Missouri Valley Conference selections for the first time since 2010, as senior forward Jackie Carmichael received All-MVC First Team recognition, and senior guard Tyler Brown garnered All-MVC Second Team accolades. Additionally, Carmichael earned All-MVC Tournament and All-Defensive Team honors, and he was named to the 2013 Lou Henson (mid-major) All-America Team. Muller also helped sophomore guard Johnny Hill land a spot on the MVC Most-Improved Team.

For Muller’s first-year efforts, he was named one of 10 national finalists for the 2013 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.

Before becoming Illinois State’s leader, Muller spent 12 years as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt. Under former Illinois State head coach Kevin Stallings, Muller was regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the country. As Vanderbilt’s recruiting coordinator, Muller spearheaded the program’s recruiting efforts beginning in 2006, which were the highest-rated recruiting classes in the history of the program.

Since 2006, the Vanderbilt men’s basketball program signed six four-star recruits and Rivals 150 Prospects, in addition to five-star recruit John Jenkins in 2009, the nation’s leading high school scorer and a PARADE and Reebok All-American.

During Muller’s tenure, Vanderbilt had 18 players named to the All-Southeastern Conference First and Second teams and a player named to the All-SEC Defensive Team three consecutive years (2010, 2011 and 2012).

Once Muller joined the Vanderbilt staff in 2000, the staff and team accomplished seven 20-win seasons. Starting in 2003, Vanderbilt was recognized nationally as a Top-25 team in the Associated Press Poll for a total of 51 weeks. In 2007-08, Vanderbilt was ranked in the AP Top-25 for the most consecutive weeks in school history.

Muller’s efforts, both on and off the court, helped propel the Commodores to the 2012 SEC Tournament Championship, the Commodores’ first league tournament title since 1951. In addition, Vanderbilt appeared in six NCAA Tournaments, including five in the last six seasons, and posted two Sweet 16 appearances during Muller’s tenure.

Along with his recruiting, scouting and on-court responsibilities, Muller directed the student-athletes’ academic progress. During that time, Vanderbilt collected a 100 percent senior graduation rate and one of the highest APR’s in NCAA Division I college basketball.

As a player, Muller guided Illinois State to two regular-season and Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships and four postseason appearances, including trips to the NCAA Tournament in his final two seasons (1997 and 1998).

Muller ranks 11th in career scoring with 1,445 points, while leading the Redbirds to a 91-37 overall record, and he still owns the school record with 128-consecutive starts (every game of his career). Muller was also a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was named the MVP of the Valley Tournament as a senior. In 2009, he was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame.

Off the court, Muller was just as successful. He was a two-time GTE Academic All-American and a recipient of the NCAA’s Post-Graduate Scholarship. He also was named a Bone Scholar, the highest academic honor at ISU, and he is the only men’s basketball student-athlete to earn the award.

After playing for the Redbirds, the Lafayette, Indiana, native spent two years playing professionally, including a stint with the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies.

Muller is a 1998 graduate of Illinois State and graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership. He later earned his master’s in business administration from Florida in 2003. He is married to Melissa Muller and has one stepson, Sib.