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.

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.

Conference championships

† Co-champion

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS playoffs

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.

Rivalries

Illinois State

The Mid-America Classic is the rivalry game between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois. The rivalry began in 1901 and is the second 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

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

Award winners

College Football Hall of Fame members

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

Retired numbers

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 23, 2023.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include the following.