EIU Fall Kickoff Saturday; Football To Appear on ESPN3

Eastern Illinois Athletics will have a Fall Sports Kickoff event Saturday, August 25 at O’Brien Field open to all Panther Club members, season ticket holders, fans, corporate sponsors and EIU students.

The event begins at 4:30 pm with Panther Club Benefit packet and 2018 football season ticket pick-up.  At 5 pm the EIU football team will hold a scrimmage as they prepare for the season opener at Arkansas on Sept. 1.   Representatives from several of the EIU athletic teams will meet-and-greet with fans starting at 4:30 p.m. with players from the football team participating in a meet-and-greet following the scrimmage.   Following the “Under The Lights” event, all fans are invited to watch the EIU volleyball team take on Valparaiso at 7 pm in Lantz Arena as part of the EIU Panther Invitational hosted by Holiday Inn Express.   The “Under The Lights” event is sponsored by the Pilson Auto Center of Charleston & Mattoon.

Fans can still purchase season and single game football tickets for the 2018 season by calling 217-581-2106 or online at www.eiupanthertickets.com   

For information on Panther Club Benefit levels or to join the Panther Club call 217-581-6014 or email pantherclub@eiu.edu

The event is free and open to the public.

EIU To Be Featured Twice On ESPN3

The Ohio Valley Conference has announced an eight-game football "Game of the Week" package that will be carried exclusively on ESPN3 this fall.  Two of the four announced match-ups will feature Eastern Illinois as the Panthers head into their fifth season under head coach Kim Dameron.

EIU will make its first ESPN3 appearance on Oct. 13 when the Panthers play at OVC defending champion Jacksonville State.  EIU will then host UT Martin for the Panthers annual homecoming game on Oct. 20 on ESPN3.   EIU could have up to three additional opportunities to be featured as the league will also have four wild card games in the final four weeks of the season.

In the five previous seasons that the OVC has featured an ESPN3 Game of the Week, EIU football has played in 13 of those contests with at least one OVC Game of the Week selection each season.

This first four matchups of the package are:

• September 29 - Austin Peay at Jacksonville State, 3 p.m. CT

• October 6 - Tennessee State at Austin Peay, 6 p.m. CT

• October 13 - Eastern Illinois at Jacksonville State, 3 p.m. CT

• October 20 - UT Martin at Eastern Illinois, 2 p.m. CT

The final four games of the package (to be played on October 27, November 3, November 10 and November 17) will be "Wildcard" selections which will be announced roughly 12 days before the contest.

This marks the sixth-straight season the league has produced the Game of the Week package in conjunction with Tupelo Raycom.

Tupelo Raycom, a Raycom Media company, brings together Tupelo-Honey (founded 1996) and WebStream Sports (2006). With offices in New York, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Nashville and Los Angeles the company develops new programming and delivers live events, music specials and branded features for broadcast, digital and in-venue entertainment.

Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air talent and contributor at 104.1 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past six years in the league's TV package.

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the ESPN App. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.

EIU now has four announced television broadcast games this season with the season opener on Sept. 1 being carried on the SEC Network as EIU plays at Arkansas.  Week two’s Mid-America Classic at Illinois State will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago Plus.   Season and single game tickets for the 2018 season are now on sale by calling 217-581-2106 or online at www.eiupanthertickets.com

2018 OVC Football Game of the Week on ESPN3 Schedule

Sept. 29 - Austin Peay at Jacksonville State, 3 p.m. CT

Oct. 6 - Tennessee State at Austin Peay, 6 p.m. CT

Oct. 13 - Eastern Illinois at Jacksonville State, 3 p.m. CT

Oct. 20 - UT Martin at Eastern Illinois, 2 p.m. CT

Oct. 27 - Wildcard Selection

Nov. 3 - Wildcard Selection

Nov. 10 - Wildcard Selection

Nov. 17 - Wildcard Selection