The 2023 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

as a member of the

Big South–OVC Football Association The Big South–OVC Football Association is an association of football members of the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Big South–OVC covers the midwestern, southern, and Northeast U.S. with member institutions located ...

during the

2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season ...

. Led by second-year head coach

Chris Wilkerson Chris Wilkerson is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Eastern Illinois University a position he assumed in 2022, succeeding Adam Cushing. He served as the head football coach at the University of Chicago from 2013 ...

, the Panthers played home games at

O'Brien Field Dozer Park, originally O'Brien Field and formerly Chiefs Stadium, is a baseball field located in downtown Peoria, Illinois. It is the home of the Peoria Chiefs, the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals; the Chiefs previously played ...

Charleston, Illinois Charleston is a city in, and the county seat of, Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon. Both are p ...

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The Big South-OVC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 25, 2023. The Panthers were picked to finish in eighth place.

Preseason Watchlist

The Panthers had ten players selected to the preseason Big South-OVC watchlist.

Schedule

References

{{Eastern Illinois Panthers football navbox

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

Eastern Illinois Panthers football seasons

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 Division I FCS, NCAA Division I Football Championship Sub ...