Eastern Illinois University was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1912 to 1970.
The football team is coached by Chris Wilkerson and competes at home in O’Brien Field.
Current National Football League head coach, Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos, is an alumnus of Eastern Illinois. Brad Childress, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2010, is also a graduate, preceding Sean Payton at Eastern Illinois. Additionally, Tony Romo, the former starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and Jimmy Garoppolo, backup quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, are alumni of the university.
Eastern Illinois is also the host of the IHSA Boys and Girls State Track and Field Finals, which have been held at O'Brien Field since the 1970s. They also host the IHSA Girls State Badminton Finals and previously hosted the State Journalism Finals.
== Notable alumni ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
EIU Athletics website
