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Eastern Illinois Panthers track and field
Eastern Illinois Panthers track and field
Founded	Men’s: 1912; Women’s: 1974
University	Eastern Illinois University
Athletic director	Tom Michael
Head coach	Keith Roberts (1st season)
Conference	OVC
Location	Charleston, IL
Indoor track	Lantz Field House
Outdoor track	O'Brien Field
Nickname	Panthers
Colors	Blue and gray;
NCAA Outdoor National Championships
	Men's: Div. II 1974
Conference Indoor Championships
	Men's: 1967, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2023; ; Women's: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017
Conference Outdoor Championships
	Men's: 1981, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021; ; Women's: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017

The Eastern Illinois Panthers track and field program represents Eastern Illinois University in the sport of track and field. The program includes separate men's and women's teams, both of which compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Panthers host their home indoor meets in the Lantz Field House and their home outdoor meets at O'Brien Field, both located on the university's campus. The Panthers track teams are currently led by head coach Keith Roberts.

History

The Eastern Illinois men's track and field team was organized in 1912 and got its first official coach in 1933 in Winfield Angus. Before 1933, coaching duties were assumed by a male faculty member; the Panthers women's team was formed in 1974–75. Eastern Illinois joined the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 1996, and the Panthers track team began to compete in the OVC in the winter of 1996.

Historically, the Panthers have been a force in the OVC, and have won a total of 51 conference team championships since 1996-97. The Panthers men have won seventeen OVC outdoor championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021), and nineteen indoor championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2023). The Panthers women have won eight OVC outdoor championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017), and seven indoor championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).

NCAA individual event champions

Individual Champions:^[3]

1955: Ray White, NAIA Long Jump
1967: John Craft, NAIA Triple Jump
1969: John Craft, NCAA College Division Triple Jump
1972: Rodney Jackson, NCAA College Division 400 hurdles
1973: Rodney Jackson, NCAA College Division 400 hurdles
1974: Darrell Brown, NCAA Division II Long Jump
1975: Toni Ababio, NCAA Division II Long Jump
1975: Toni Ababio, NCAA Division II Triple Jump
1976: Ed Hatch, NCAA Division II 400 Meter Dash
1979: Robert Johnson, NCAA Division II 110 hurdles
1981: Augustine Oruwari, NCAA Division II 110 hurdles
1988: Jim Maton, NCAA Division I 800 meter run (Indoor)
1992: Dan Steele, NCAA Division I 400 hurdles

Group Champions:

1981: 4x400 Relay, Women’s Track & Field AIAW II

Eastern Illinois Olympic medalists

Dan Steele, Bronze Medalist at the 2002 Winter Olympics^[4]

Retired Jersey

Person	Event	Career	Date of Retirement	Ref.
John Craft	Triple jump	1965–1969	January 22, 2011	^[5]

Notable former athletes

Track

John Craft, placed 5th in the Men’s triple jump at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Sandy Osei-Agyemang, advanced to the second round in the Men's 100 metres and Men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Dan Steele, track All-American, 400-meter National Champion, and Bronze Medalist at the 2002 Winter Olympics^[6]
Darrin Steele, competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics^[7]

References

^ "Eastern Illinois Facilities". Retrieved April 30, 2019.
^ "EIU BRANDING, MARKETING & LOGOS". Retrieved January 1, 2024.
^ "EIU National Championships". Retrieved April 30, 2019.
^ "Dan Steel". Journal Gazette and Times-Courier. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^ "EIU Track and Field Record Book" (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
^ "Dan Steel". Journal Gazette and Times-Courier. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Darrin Steele Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2018.