The Eastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams of

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...

(EKU), located in

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. In 2019, the population was 36,157. Richmond is the fourth-la ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

ranks, primarily competing in the

ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisio ...

since the 2021–22 academic year; while its

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

competes in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) until the ASUN launches its own football league, most likely in the 2022 fall season. The Colonels previously competed in the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

(OVC) from 1948–49 to 2020–21.

Overview

The Colonels athletic program competes in

as a member of the

. The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team plays in the second level of Division I football, the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

(FCS). Before joining the ASUN in July 2021, EKU had spent the previous 73 years as a charter member of the

(OVC). The EKU mascot is The Colonel, and the school colors are maroon and white. While the women's teams were formerly known as the Lady Colonels, the school now emphasizes that all teams are now Colonels. Although EKU's new home of the ASUN does not currently sponsor football, it has committed to launching an FCS football league in the near future. Until ASUN football is established, EKU football competes as a de facto associate member of the

(WAC), competing in a football partnership between the two leagues officially branded as the "ASUN–WAC Challenge".

Varsity teams

EKU's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Colonels. Maroon has been the official color of Eastern athletics since the school was begun as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906, and the school's official team nickname was the "Maroons" from the start of intercollegiate competition in 1909–10 until 1963, when then-president Robert Martin changed the nickname to the "Colonels". A member of the

since July 2021, Eastern Kentucky University sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

sanctioned sports. EKU competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Football

Eastern has traditionally been quite successful on the football field, having won 20 OVC titles and two Division I-AA National Championships in 1979 and 1982. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coach

Roy Kidd Roy Kidd (born December 4, 1931) is a former collegiate football league player and coach. He served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1964 to 2002, compiling a record of 314–124–8. Kidd's Eastern Kentucky Colonels won N ...

from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium

Roy Kidd Stadium CG Bank Field at Roy Kidd Stadium is Eastern Kentucky University's football stadium in Richmond, Kentucky. The stadium is home to the EKU Colonels football team, located on campus. Currently, CG Bank Field at Roy Kidd Stadium consists of upper ...

. With their win over

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

in 2008, Eastern's football team secured their 31st consecutive winning season. The team is currently coached by Walt Wells, former assistant head coach at Eastern and most recently a quality control assistant at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. In September 2013, the ''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second large ...

'', the daily newspaper of nearby Lexington, reported that EKU was considering moving its program to the top-level

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. However, under NCAA rules, such a move would require that EKU first receive an all-sports invitation from an existing FBS conference. In the end, no such move was made. As noted previously, EKU football is now a WAC member on a temporary basis until the ASUN launches its own football league.

Conference championships

Men's basketball

The current head coach of the Colonels is A. W. Hamilton. The Colonels have appeared in the NCAA tournament seven times. The Colonels play their home basketball games at

Alumni Coliseum Alumni Coliseum is a multi-use sports arena located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. History Built in 1963, the Paul S. McBrayer Arena located inside Alumni Coliseum, is capable of seating around 6,500 peopl ...

, located on EKU's campus.

Men's golf

The men's golf team has won 12 Ohio Valley Conference championships: 1975, 1980, 1982–86, 1992, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2015.

Rivalries

Historically, the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Co ...

served as the primary rival to EKU, especially in football. Their matchups, known as the "Battle of the Bluegrass," date back to 1914, with

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

leading the overall series 34–47–3. With WKU's recent move up to the

, any future games between the two teams are uncertain. Outside of Western, EKU has maintained rivalries with the two remaining in-state OVC members of

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

and Morehead State.

Facilities

References

External links

* {{Kentucky Sports

Colonels Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel wa ...