Dodie Dunson enters his second season as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Western Illinois Men's & Women’s basketball programs. Dunson is a former standout basketball player at Bradley University who joined the Western Illinois Athletic Department in August 2014.
Dunson oversees the day-to-day operations of the men’s and women’s basketball program, recruiting visits, team travel, video exchange, direct summer camps, alumni relations, supervise student managers, and oversee academic progress of the student-athletes.
Dunson joined the Leathernecks after serving as the associate head basketball coach at Wabash Valley College two seasons ago. He was in charge of the recruiting, coaching, scouting, and day-to-day operations. Prior to Wabash, he served two seasons as the boys varsity basketball coach at Bloomington High School where he helped turn around a 3-26 team (last place in conference) to a state ranked, 18-13 team (3rd place in conference).
Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, Dunson began his collegiate playing career at Iowa State. Dunson is ranked fourth in school history for most three point field goals made by a freshman. He transferred to Vincennes University, helping the Trailblazers to a 28-6 record. He was named MVP of the National Junior College Association of America District 3 Tournament, and led the team to an NJCAA National Tournament appearance in 2008.
He continued his career at Bradley University and in 2009 was a member of the team that qualified and finished runner-up at the College Insider Tournament (CIT) postseason tournament.
As a senior, Dunson was voted Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team. He made the Dean’s List at Bradley, was a Lowe’s Senior CLASS ‘Top 10’ finalist, and member of the Illinois Kappa Chapter of the National Athlete Honors Society (Chi Alpha Sigma).
Dunson holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work from Bradley University and is currently perusing his Master’s in Sports Management at Western Illinois University. Dodie and his wife Tameka reside in Macomb.
