The Eastern Illinois Panthers football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and is a member of the OVCâÂÂBig South Football Association. 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. The school's most well-known player is former quarterback Tony Romo, who is the only Eastern Illinois player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2021).
The inaugural football team took the field only three weeks after the first students arrived on campus in 1899.
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 13âÂÂ21 to Cal Poly.
â Co-champion
The Panthers made two appearances in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 5-1.
Eastern Illinois has participated in one bowl game, going 0âÂÂ1.
Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current OVC opponents as of the completion of the 2024 season.
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 113 times in total, with Illinois State holding a 61âÂÂ43âÂÂ9 advantage in the all-time series as of the end of the 2025 game.
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Selectors: AP-Associated Press, AFCA-American Football Coaches Association, FBG-FB Gazette, SN-Sports Network, WC-Walter Camp Football Foundation
Eastern Illinois has two inductees in the College Football Hall of Fame as of 2021.
Announced schedules as of February 28, 2026.
Notable alumni include the following.