After a year back at his alma mater, Anthony Beane will be returning to the NCAA Division I level as he accepted an assistant coaching job at Lindenwood University.

"When I coached at Saint Louis, my wife and I lived in St. Charles and it's probably one of our favorite places besides Poplar Bluff," Beane said. "(Lindenwood head coach) Kyle Gerdeman approached me around late-February and asked if it was something I would be interested in. I just told him to give me some time to think about it and it was something that I've wanted to be doing."

Lindenwood will be making the jump to NCAA Division I athletics from Division II this coming season and will be playing in a competitive basketball conference in the Ohio Valley Conference.

This won't be Beane's first rodeo at the mid-major level as he's been on the coaching staffs at Illinois State, Saint Louis, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois.

"The OVC has always had strong teams in men's basketball," Beane said. "Despite Murray State and Belmont leaving for the Missouri Valley Conference, there's still some tough competition in that conference and I look forward to competing this season.

"I was only out of Division I for one year, so it'll be an easy transition for me going back to that level from the junior college level," Beane continued. "The biggest thing is going to be recruiting because for the first time, Lindenwood is becoming a Division I program, so you have to be creative when recruiting, but also land talented players to be able to compete at that level."

Lindenwood is hoping that Beane's experience of over 25 years in coaching will help with the transition to Division I.

"Really excited about the addition of Coach Beane to our staff," Gerdeman said in a statement. "Not only a good coach, but a first class person. His experience will impact our program in many areas, we are glad to have him on board,"

This past season, Beane, a 1990 graduate of Bernie High School, returned to Poplar Bluff to be an assistant coach at Three Rivers, where he helped the Raiders win an NJCAA national championship as a player in 1992.

"This past year was a great opportunity for me to first of all see Coach (Gene) Bess again after he just retired," Beane said. "It was also great to work with Brian (Bess) everyday and this past year was extra special with the reunion with my teammates from the 1992 national championship team."

With St. Charles just a short drive away, Beane said that he won't be a stranger to the Three Rivers basketball program.

"I'll have to come down on some recruiting trips," Beane said. "I'm excited about the recruiting class that's coming into Three Rivers this year and the team Coach Bess will have on the floor."

Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic