The Eastern Kentucky Colonels football program represents

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 u ...

(EKU) in college football, through the 2020-21 season as a member of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...

(OVC), and competes at the

NCAA Division I 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) level. The school has traditionally had much success on the football field, having won 21 OVC conference titles and two Division I FCS National Championships (then called ''Division I-AA'') in 1979 and 1982, and reaching the finals in 1980 and 1981. 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 uppe ...

. Eastern Kentucky's football team was able to secure 31 consecutive winning seasons before finally posting a losing season record in 2009. In September 2013, the '' Lexington Herald-Leader'', 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 receive an invitation from an existing FBS conference. In the end, no such move was made. EKU left the OVC for the ASUN Conference in July 2021. While 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 will become a de facto associate member of 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, and Texas. Due to mos ...

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

Conference affiliation

Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historical ...

(1927–1948) *

(1948–2020) * ASUN–WAC Challenge (2021) * ASUN Conference (2022)

Championships

National championships

Eastern Kentucky went to four consecutive national championship games, winning twice in 1979 and 1982 while finishing as runner-up in 1980 and 1981 to Boise State and Idaho State, respectively.

Conference championships

Eastern Kentucky has won 21 conference championships, 16 outright and 5 shared. † Co-champion

Bowl games

Eastern Kentucky has participated in six bowl games. Four of these bowl games served as a sort of championship game, whether as a regional championship game or as the NCAA Division I Football Championship. The EKU Colonels played in the inaugural Opportunity Bowl presented by Raising Cane's, and in memory of Dr. Sheila Pressley, on Nov. 21, 2020. Eastern Kentucky University hosted the second annual Opportunity Bowl presented by Dinsmore & Shohl on Nov. 20, 2021. The game was matchup EKU and Jacksonville State University.

Playoff appearances

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS

Eastern Kentucky University football is considered the first dynasty in FCS football. Including a four year run to the championship game from 1979 to 1982. During this time period they went 46-7 under legendary coach Roy Kidd. Eastern Kentucky is third all time in the FCS for playoff appearances with 21 total appearances (Montana 26/UNI 22). Below is a list of all playoff appearances.

NCAA Division II

The Colonels made one appearance in the Division II playoffs, with a combined record of 5-1.

Head coaches

Rivalries

Western Kentucky

Morehead State

Program records

Team records

*Consecutive winning seasons: 31, 1977–2008 *Consecutive wins: 18, 1982–1983 *Consecutive National Title appearances: 4, 1979–1982

Individual records

*Most rushing yards (game): 300 Markus Thomas against

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

1989 *Most rushing yards (season): 1,998 Elroy Harris in the 1988 season *''Most rushing yards (career): 5,532 Markus Thomas 1989–1992 *Most passing yards (game): 464 Bennie Coney against

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

2015 *Most passing yards (season): 2,861 Josh Greco in the 2005 season *Most passing yards (career): 5,992 Josh Greco 2004–2007 *Most receiving yards (game): 316 Aaron Marsh against Northwood 1967 *Most receiving yards (season): 1,150 Andre Ralston in the 2005 season *Most receiving yards (career): 3,095 Andre Ralston 2002–2005 *Most completions (season):225 Bennie Coney 2015

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 26, 2022.

References

External links

* {{ASUN Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1909 1909 establishments in Kentucky