EKU fields teams in 15 varsity sports (7 men's and 8 women's). The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I of the NCAA (FCS in football), having been a part of the conference since its inception in 1948. [1] The EKU Athletics Department is headed by Mark Sandy, who joined Eastern in 2005 from the University of Richmond [2].
EKU's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Colonels and Lady Colonels (for Women's Basketball only). Since the school's inception as Eastern Kentucky State Normal School, maroon has been the official color of Eastern athletics. Prior to 1963, when then-president Robert Martin had the school's nickname changed to the "Colonels", the school's official nickname was the "Maroons". [3]
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EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS TICKETS
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Athletic Teams
- Men's sports
- *Baseball
- *Basketball
- *Cross Country
- *Football
- *Golf
- *Indoor & Outdoor Track and Field
- *Tennis
- Women's sports
- *Basketball
- *Cross Country
- *Golf
- *Indoor & Outdoor Track and Field
- *Soccer
- *Softball
- *Tennis
- *Volleyball
Football
Eastern has traditionally been quite successful on the football field, having won 20 OVC conference 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 from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium
Roy Kidd Stadium [4]. With their win over
Southeast Missouri State University in 2008, Eastern's football team secured their 31st consecutive winning season. The team is currently coached by Dean Hood, a former defensive coordinator for
Wake Forest.
Conference championships
| Year
| Conference
| Overall Record
| Conference Record
| Coach
|
| 1954
| Ohio Valley
| 8–1–1
| 5–0
| Glenn Presnell
|
| 1962
| Ohio Valley
| 6-3
| 4–2
| Glenn Presnell
|
| 1967
| Ohio Valley
| 8–1–2
| 5–0–2
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1968
| Ohio Valley
| 8–2
| 7–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1974
| Ohio Valley
| 8-2
| 6–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1976
| Ohio Valley
| 8–3
| 6–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1981
| Ohio Valley
| 12–2
| 8–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1982
| Ohio Valley
| 13–0
| 7–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1983
| Ohio Valley
| 7–3-1
| 6–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1984
| Ohio Valley
| 8–4
| 6–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1986
| Ohio Valley
| 10–3-1
| 6–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1987
| Ohio Valley
| 9–3
| 5–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1988
| Ohio Valley
| 11–3
| 6–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1990
| Ohio Valley
| 10–2
| 5–1
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1991
| Ohio Valley
| 12–2
| 7–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1993
| Ohio Valley
| 8–4
| 8–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1994
| Ohio Valley
| 10–3
| 8–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 1997
| Ohio Valley
| 8–4
| 7–0
| Roy Kidd
|
| 2007
| Ohio Valley
| 9–3
| 8–0
| Danny Hope
|
| 2008
| Ohio Valley
| 8–4
| 7–1
| Dean Hood
|
| Total
| 20
|
Men's basketball
The current head coach of the Colonels is
Jeff Neubauer. Before coming to EKU, Neubauer was the assisstant head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball team. The Colonels have appeared in the
NCAA Tournament seven times. The Colonels play their home basketball games at
Alumni Coliseum, located on EKU's campus.
Rivalries
Historically, the
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 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 leading the overall series 34-47-3.
[5] With WKU's recent move up to the
Football Bowl Subdivision, any future games between the two teams are uncertain.
Outside of Western, EKU has maintained rivalries with its two other in-state
OVC foes:
Murray State and
Morehead State.
Facilities
| Facility
| Sport(s)
| Capacity
|
| Roy Kidd Stadium
| Football
| 20,000
|
| Alumni Coliseum
| Basketball
| 6,500
|
| Gertrude Hood Field
| Softball
| n/a
|
| Turkey Hughes Field
| Baseball
| n/a
|
| Arlington
| Golf
| n/a
|
| Greg Adams Indoor Tennis Center
| Tennis
| n/a
|
| Tom Samuels Track
| Outdoor Track and Field
| n/a
|
Fight Songs
Eastern Kentucky University is unusual as it recognizes two songs as their official fight songs. They are named
Rally Maroon and White
(a.k.a.
Yea, Eastern
) and
Hail, Hail Eastern Maroons
.
Rally Maroon and White
Lyrics
Yea Eastern let's win this fight,
Rally Maroon and White;
We've got the spirit; you've got the speed,
These two with grit are all that we need;
So carry and pass that ball;
Show them our boys beat all;
Show them we're right with main and might;
The way to win is fight, fight, fight.
Hail, Hail Eastern Maroons
Lyrics
Hail, Hail Eastern Maroons,
You're the pride of dear old Alma Mater.
Hail, Hail, Eastern Maroons,
For thee we'll give three rousting cheers.
Rah, rah, rah! Hail, Hail, Eastern Maroons,
Loyal to thee we stand,
Ever fight for the right,
We'll make our school the best in the land.
References
- http://www.ovcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=6200&KEY=&ATCLID=308246
- http://www.ekusports.com/staff.aspx?staff=1
- http://www.centennial.eku.edu/history/
- http://www.ekusports.com/sports/2008/10/1/GEN_1001081044.aspx?
- http://www.ekusports.com/documents/2008/7/28/08fbguide_history.pdf?id=351