Eastern Illinois Panthers football

The Eastern Illinois Panthers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Eastern Illinois University located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1899. The team plays its home games at the 10,000 seat O'Brien Field, which is named after head coach Maynard O'Brien.

This article is about the Eastern Illinois football program. For more information on all of Eastern Illinois athletics programs, see Eastern Illinois Panthers.
Eastern Illinois Panthers football
2021 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
First season1899
Athletic directorTom Michael
Head coachAdam Cushing
3rd season, 2–16 (.111)
StadiumO'Brien Field
(capacity: 10,000
Record: 12,600)
Year built1970
Field surfaceArtificial Turf
LocationCharleston, Illinois
NCAA divisionDivision I FCS
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Past conferencesIIAC (1912–1969)
AMCU (1978–1984)
GCAC/GFC (1985–1995)
All-time record559–551–42 (.503)
Bowl record0–1 (.000)
Playoff appearances2 (Div. II)
1978, 1980
16 (Div. I FCS)
1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015
Playoff record5–1 (Div. II)
4–16 (Div. I FCS)
Claimed national titles1 – (Div. II): 1978
Conference titles19
1912, 1913, 1914, 1928, 1948, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013
RivalriesIllinois State (rivalry)
ColorsBlue and gray[1]
   
Fight songEastern State March
MascotBilly the Panther
Marching bandPanther Marching Band
OutfitterAdidas
Websiteeiupanthers.com

History
See also: List of Eastern Illinois Panthers football seasons and List of Eastern Illinois Panthers in the NFL Draft

Affiliations

Classifications

Conference memberships

Championships

National championships

Eastern Illinois has won one national championship, doing so in 1978. They also made an appearance in the Division II National Championship Game in 1980, losing 13–21 to Cal Poly.

Year Selector Coach Record Opponent Score
1978Division IIDarrell Mudra12–2Delaware10–9

Conference championships
Season Conference Coach Overall Record Conference Record
1912Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceCharles Lantz6–14–0
1913Charles Lantz6–25–1
1914Charles Lantz8–0–15–0–1
1928Charles Lantz7–15–1
1948Maynard O'Brien7–34–0
1980Association of Mid-Continent UniversitiesDarrell Mudra11–34–0
1981Darrell Mudra6–52–1
1982Darrell Mudra11–1–12–0–1
1983Al Molde9–33–0
1984Al Molde6–52–1
1986Gateway Collegiate Athletic ConferenceAl Molde11–25–1
1995†Gateway Football ConferenceBob Spoo10–25–1
2001Ohio Valley ConferenceBob Spoo9–26–0
2002†Bob Spoo8–45–1
2005Bob Spoo9–38–0
2006Mark Hutson8–57–1
2009Bob Spoo8–46–2
2012Dino Babers7–56–1
2013Dino Babers12–28–0

† Co-champion

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs
YearFirst Round Home TeamFirst Round Away Team Second Round Home Second Round AwayQuarterfinal HomeQuarterfinal Away
1982 OTEastern Illinois16Jackson State13 Tennessee State20Eastern Illinois19
1983 2OTIndiana State16Eastern Illinois13
1986Eastern Illinois28Murray State21 Eastern Illinois22Eastern Kentucky24
1989Idaho21Eastern Illinois38 Montana25Eastern Illinois19
1995Stephen F. Austin34Eastern Illinois29
1996Northern Iowa21Eastern Illinois14
2000Montana45Eastern Illinois13
2001Eastern Illinois43Northern Iowa49
2002Western Illinois48Eastern Illinois9
2005Eastern Illinois6Southern Illinois21
2006Eastern Illinois13Illinois State24
2007Southern Illinois30Eastern Illinois11
2009Southern Illinois48Eastern Illinois7
2012South Dakota State58Eastern Illinois10
2013ByeBye Eastern Illinois 51 Tennessee State 10Eastern Illinois39Towson49
2015Northern Iowa53Eastern Illinois17

NCAA Division II playoffs

The Panthers made two appearance in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 5-1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1978 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		 UC Davis
Youngstown State
Delaware		 W, 35–31
W, 26–22
W, 10–9
1980 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		 Northern Colorado
North Alabama
Cal Poly		 W, 21–14
W, 56–31
L, 13–21

Bowls

Eastern Illinois has participated in one bowl game, going 0–1.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1948Maynard O'BrienCorn BowlIllinois WesleyanL 0–6

All-time record vs. current OVC teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current OVC opponents as of the completion of the 2021 spring season.[3]

Opponent Won Lost Pct. First meeting
Murray State 19 17 .528 1946
Southeast Missouri State 18 10 .643 1956
UT Martin 15 11 .577 1995
Tennessee State 15 9 .625 1982
Tennessee Tech 20 7 .741 1975
Totals 87 54 .617 5 opponents

Rivalries

Illinois State
Main article: Mid-America Classic

The Mid-America Classic is the rivalry game between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois. The rivalry began in 1901 and is the oldest in the state of Illinois. With the 100th game in the series, representatives from both schools met and developed the Mid-America Classic renaming for the rivalry. The two schools also collaborated on a traveling trophy, which holds plaques with the results of the previous 100 games in the series and has room for results of future games in the series.[4] The two teams have played 109 times in total, with Illinois State holding a 58–42–9 advantage in the all-time series as of the end of the 2021 game.

Head coaches
Years Name
1899–1901 Otis Caldwell
1902 Thornton Smallwood
1903 Thomas Briggs
1904–1909 Joseph Brown
1910 Harold Railsback
1911–1934 Charles Lantz
1935 Winfield Angus
1936–1937 Gilbert Carson
1938 Harold Ave
1939–1941 Gilbert Carson
1942 Clayton Miller
1944 Charles Lantz
1945 James Goff
1946–1950 Maynard O'Brien
1951 Rex Darling
1952–1955 Maynard O'Brien
1956 Keith Smith
1957–1964 Ralph Kohl
1965–1971 Clyde Biggers
1972–1974 Jack Dean
1975–1977 John Konstantinos
1978–1982 Darrell Mudra
1983–1986 Al Molde
1987–2005 Bob Spoo
2006 Mark Hutson#
2007–2011 Bob Spoo
2012–2013 Dino Babers
2014–2018 Kim Dameron
2019– Adam Cushing

# Interim head coach

Individual accomplishments

1st Team All Americans

Selectors: AP-Associated Press, AFCA-American Football Coaches Association, FBG-FB Gazette, SN-Sports Network, WC-Walter Camp Football Foundation[5]

Player Year Organization
Nate Anderson 1972 AFCA
Ted Petersen 1976 AP
James Warring 1978 AP, AFCA
Pete Catan 1979, 1980 AP, AFCA
Poke Cobb 1979 AP, AFCA
Kevin Gray 1981 AFCA
Robert Williams 1982, 1983 AP, AFCA
Bob Norris 1982 AP
Chris Nicholson 1983 AP
Jerry Wright 1984 AFCA
Roy Banks 1986 AP, AFCA
John Jurkovic 1988, 1989 AP, AFCA, SN
Tim Lance 1990 AP, SN, WC
Dan Dee 1992 WC, SN
Tim Carver 1995 FBG
Willie High 1995 FBG
J.R. Taylor 2002 AP, FBG, SN, WC
Nick Ricks 2002 AP, FBG, SN
Kevin Hill 2002 FBG, SN, WC
Tony Romo 2002 AP, AFCA, SN, WC
Clint Sellers 2005 AFCA, FBG
Tristan Burge 2006 AFCA
Erik Lora[6] 2012, 2013 AP, AFCA, SN, WC
Jimmy Garoppolo 2013 AP, AFCA, SN, WC
Collin Seibert[7] 2013, 2014 AP, AFCA, SN, WC
Dino Fanti[8] 2015 AFCA

Award winners
  • Walter Payton Award
    Tony Romo - 2002
    Jimmy Garoppolo - 2013
  • Walter Payton Award finalists
    Tim Lance - 1990...3rd
    Willie High - 1994...15th
    Tony Romo - 2000...11th
    Tony Romo - 2001...10th
    Jimmy Garoppolo - 2012...10th
    Erik Lora - 2012...4th
    Erik Lora - 2013...7th
    Alexander Hollins - 2018...21st

College Football Hall of Fame members

Eastern Illinois has two inductees in the College Football Hall of Fame as of 2021.

Name Position Years Inducted Ref.
Darrell MudraCoach1978–19822000[9]
Tony RomoQB1999–20022021[10]

Retired numbers
No. Player Position Career Date of Retirement Ref.
17Tony RomoQB1999–2002October 17, 2009[11]
18Sean PaytonQB1983–1986September 11, 2010[12]

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of September 24, 2021.[13]

2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
at Northern Illinois at Indiana State vs Indiana State at Indiana State vs Indiana State
at Chattanooga vs Illinois State at Illinois State vs Dayton at Minnesota
at Bowling Green at Illinois

Notable former players

Notable alumni include the following.

References
  1. "Eastern Illinois University Panthers - Media Relations". October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  2. "2017 NCAA FCS Records" (PDF).
  3. "2021 EIU Record book page 44" (PDF).
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2012-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Division I EIU All Anericans" (PDF). p. 71.
  6. "Five OVC Players Named to College Sporting News FCS Fabulous Fifty All-American Team". ovcsports.com.
  7. "Seibert, Drake named AP All-Americans | Eastern | jg-tc.com". jg-tc.com.
  8. "JSU's Dunn, EIU's Fanti Named to AFCA FCS All-American Team". ovcsports.com.
  9. "Darrell Mudra (2000) - Hall of Fame". National Football Foundation.
  10. "Tony Romo Selected for College Football Hall of Fame's 2021 Class ✭". 11 January 2021.
  11. "EIU Retired Numbers - Eastern Illinois University Athletics".
  12. Kilhoffer, Kevin. "Sean Payton Jersey Retirement". JG-TC.com.
  13. "Eastern Illinois Panthers Football Schedules and Future Schedules". Retrieved March 16, 2020.
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