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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.
The 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1981 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 19, 1981, at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Idaho State Bengals won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the Pioneer Bowl, 34−23.
The 1978 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1978, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in December 1978 at Lobo Stadium in Longview, Texas. The Eastern Illinois Panthers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, 10–9, to win their first Division II national title.
The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 16th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiling an overall record of 8–4 and shared the OVC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. They were invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff, where they lost to Western Illinois in the first round.
The 2005 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Northern Iowa Panthers and the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The game was played on December 16, 2005, at Finley Stadium, home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This was the final season that the NCAA football classification now known as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) operated as Division I-AA. The culminating game of the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Appalachian State, 21–16.
The 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Southern Illinois Salukis and the Western Carolina Catamounts. The game was played on December 17, 1983, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The culminating game of the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Southern Illinois, 43–7.
The 1981 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season, and completed the 80th season of Panther football. The Panthers were led by fourth-year head coach Darrell Mudra and played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. Eastern Illinois finished the season with an overall record of 7–4 and shared the conference title with Northern Iowa and Western Illinois.
The 1986 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Al Molde, the Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. Eastern Illinois finished the season with an overall record of 11–2 and won the GCAC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. The team was invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Murray State in the first round before losing to Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals.
The 1987 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. Led by first-year head coach Bob Spoo, Eastern Illinois compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, tying for third in the GCAC.
The 1988 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois.
The 1991 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. Eastern Illinois finished the season with on overall record of 4–7 and a conference mark of 2–4, tying for fifth place.
The 1992 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois.
The 1996 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiled and overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the OVC. Eastern Illinois was invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Northern Iowa in the first round.
The 1999 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University in the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season.
The 2000 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 8–4, finishing second in OVC with a conference mark of 6–1. Eastern Illinois was invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Montana. The Bobcats were ranked 17th in the final Sports Network poll. Their starting quarterback, Tony Romo, went on to play 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
The 2001 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 15th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 9–2, winning the OVC title with a conference mark of 6–1. Eastern Illinois was invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Northern Iowa. The Bobcats were ranked ninth in the final Sports Network poll.
The 1999 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University in the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Todd Berry and played their home games at Hancock Stadium. Illinois State was a member of the Gateway Football Conference. The Redbirds finished the season with an 11–3 record overall and a 6–0 record in conference play, making the team conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, where they defeated Colgate and Hofstra before losing to Georgia Southern in the semifinals. The team was ranked #3 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.
The 1991 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by second-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. Western Illinois was a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–4–1 record overall and a 4–2 record in conference play. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Marshall in the first round.
The 2006 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, as head coach Bob Spoo was unable to coach for medical reasons, and played their home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois. The Panthers finished the season with an 8–5 record overall and a 7–1 mark in conference play, sharing the OVC title with Tennessee–Martin. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Illinois State in the first round. Eastern Illinois was ranked No. 15 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I FCS teams.
The 2009 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by 22nd-year head coach Bob Spoo and played their home games at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois. The Panthers finished the season with an 8–4 record overall and a 6–2 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Southern Illinois in the first round. Eastern Illinois was ranked No. 19 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I FCS teams.
References
- ↑ "Nicholson, Eastern show 'em". Herald and Review (Decatur, Illinois). November 6, 1983. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Eastern Illinois forgets protest, storms past Western Kentucky". The Courier-Journal . November 13, 1983 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "ISU wins, 16-13, on Bridges boots". The Indianapolis Star. November 27, 1983. pp. Sports 1, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics.