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 is a member 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 former head coach Maynard O'Brien.

History
The inaugural football team took the field only three weeks after the first students arrived on campus in 1899.

Classifications

 * 1960–1972: NCAA College Division (Small College)
 * 1973–1980: NCAA Division II
 * 1981–present: NCAA Division I FCS (Formerly Division I-AA)

Conference memberships

 * 1899–1911: Independent
 * 1912–1949: Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
 * 1950–1969: Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
 * 1970–1972: NCAA College Division Independent
 * 1973–1977: NCAA Division II Independent
 * 1978–1984: Association of Mid-Continent Universities
 * 1985–1995: Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference/ Gateway Football Conference
 * 1996–present: Ohio Valley Conference

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.

Conference championships
† Co-champion

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

 * NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff appearances: 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015
 * All time playoff results

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

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

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 season.

Illinois State
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. For 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. The two teams have played 110 times in total, with Illinois State holding a 59–42–9 advantage in the all-time series as of the end of the 2022 game.

Head coaches

 * 1) Interim head coach

1st Team All Americans
Selectors: AP-Associated Press, AFCA-American Football Coaches Association, FBG-FB Gazette, SN-Sports Network, WC-Walter Camp Football Foundation

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.

Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of November 23, 2023.

Notable former players
Notable alumni include the following.


 * Evan Arapostathis
 * Greg Brown
 * Anthony Buich
 * Tristan Burge
 * Pete Catan
 * Brad Childress
 * Jake Christensen
 * Jeff Christensen
 * Frank Cutolo
 * Rob DeVita
 * Ron Ellett
 * Ray Fisher
 * Burl Ives


 * Jimmy Garoppolo
 * Jeff Gossett
 * Kamu Grugier-Hill
 * Mike Heimerdinger
 * Lenny High
 * Alexander Hollins
 * Otis Hudson
 * John Jurkovic
 * Tim Kelly
 * Andrew Manley
 * Pascal Matla
 * Ray McElroy
 * Greg McMahon
 * Randy Melvin
 * John Moyer


 * Ryan Pace
 * Steve Parker
 * Sean Payton
 * Ted Petersen
 * Tony Romo
 * Micah Rucker
 * Terrance Sanders
 * Mike Shanahan
 * Chris Szarka
 * Jeff Thorne
 * Chevon Walker
 * Pierre Walters
 * Chris Watson
 * Chris Wilkerson