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Eastern Kentucky Colonels
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File:Eastern Kentucky Colonels logo.svg
First season 1891
Head coach {{{HeadCoachDisplay}}}
Home stadium [[Roy Kidd Stadium]]
Field Hanger Field
Year built 1969
Stadium capacity 20,000
Stadium surface SF II Synthetic Turf
Location Richmond, Kentucky
Conference {{{ConferenceDisplay}}}
All-time record 602–386–38
Postseason bowl record 3–3
Claimed national titles 2
Conference titles 21
Division titles N/A
Rivalries Western Kentucky (rivalry)
Morehead State (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans 46
Colors {{{Color1}}}             
Fight song Hail, Hail and Yea, Eastern
Mascot The Colonel
Marching band Eastern Kentucky University Marching Colonels
Outfitter Adidas
Website EKUSports

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels football program represents Eastern Kentucky University in college football as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), and competes at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (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 from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium Roy Kidd Stadium. 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. However, under NCAA rules, such a move would require that EKU receive an invitation from an existing FBS conference.[1]

Conference affiliation[]

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.

Season Coach Selector Record Opponent Result
1979 Roy Kidd NCAA I-AA Playoff 11–2 Lehigh W 30–7
1982 Roy Kidd NCAA I-AA Playoff 13–0 Delaware W 17–14

Conference championships[]

Eastern Kentucky has won 21 conference championships, 16 outright and 5 shared.[2]

Year Conference Overall Record Conference Record Head Coach
1954 Ohio Valley Conference Glenn Presnell 8–1–1 5–0
1962 Glenn Presnell 6–3 4–2
1967 Roy Kidd 8–1–2 5–0–2
1968 Roy Kidd 8–2 7–0
1974 Roy Kidd 8-2 6–1
1976 Roy Kidd 8–3 6–1
1981 Roy Kidd 12–2 8–0
1982 Roy Kidd 13–0 7–0
1983 Roy Kidd 7–3-1 6–1
1984 Roy Kidd 8–4 6–1
1986† Roy Kidd 10–3–1 6–1
1987† Roy Kidd 9–3 5–1
1988 Roy Kidd 11–3 6–0
1990† Roy Kidd 10–2 5–1
1991 Roy Kidd 12–2 7–0
1993 Roy Kidd 8–4 8–0
1994 Roy Kidd 10–3 8–0
1997 Roy Kidd 8–4 7–0
2007 Danny Hope 9–3 8–0
2008 Dean Hood 8–4 7–1
2011 Dean Hood 7–5 6–2

† Co-champion

Bowl games[]

Eastern Kentucky has participated in five 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.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
1954 Glenn Presnell Tangerine Bowl Omaha L 7–6
1967 Roy Kidd Grantland Rice Bowl Ball State W 27–13
1980 Roy Kidd Camellia Bowl Boise State L 29–31
1981 Roy Kidd Pioneer Bowl Idaho State L 23–34
1982 Roy Kidd Pioneer Bowl Delaware W 17–14

NCAA Division I FCS Playoff appearances[]

Eastern Kentucky has made 21 appearances in the I-AA/FCS playoffs since 1978. They have a record of 16–19.

Season Round Opponent Result
1979 Semifinals
Championship
Nevada
Lehigh
W 33–302OT
W 30–7
1980 Semifinals
Championship
Lehigh
Boise State
W 23–20
L 29–31
1981 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Delaware
Boise State
Idaho State
W 35–28
W 23–17
L 23–34
1982 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Idaho
Tennessee State
Delaware
W 38–30
W 13–7
W 17–14
1983 First Round Boston University L 20–24
1984 First Round Middle Tennessee L 10–27
1986 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Furman
Eastern Illinois
Arkansas State
W 23–10
W 24–22
L 10–24
1987 First Round
Quarterfinals
Western Kentucky
Northeast Louisiana
W 40–17
L 32–33
1988 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
UMass
Western Kentucky
Georgia Southern
W 28–17
W 41–24
L 17–21
1989 First Round Youngstown State L 24–28
1990 First Round Furman L 17–45
1991 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Appalachian State
Middle Tennessee
Marshall
W 14–3
W 23–13
L 7–14
1992 First Round Marshall L 0–44
1993 First Round Georgia Southern L 12–14
1994 First Round
Quarterfinals
Boston University
Youngstown State
W 30–23
L 15–18
1995 First Round Montana L 0–48
1997 First Round Western Kentucky L 14–42
2007 First Round Richmond L 14–31
2008 First Round Richmond L 10–38
2011 First Round James Madison L 17–20
2014 First Round Indiana State L 16–36

Head coaches[]

Years Coach Record Conference Championships
1909 James Park 0–0–4 0
1910–1911 Clyde Wilson 2–7–1 0
1912 Charles Keith 3–4–1 0
1913–1916 Ben Bernard 8–13–2 0
1919–1921 Clyde McCoy 3–6–1 0
1922–1928 George Hembree 21–29–4 0
1929–1934 Charles "Turkey" Hughes 8–29–6 0
1935–1946 Rome Rankin 56–24–6 0
1947–1953 Tom Samuels 41–24–2 0
1954–1963 Glenn Presnell 42–49–3 2
1964–2002 Roy Kidd 315–123–8 16
2003–2007 Danny Hope 35–22 1
2008–2015 Dean Hood 55–38 2
2015–present Mark Elder 15–19 0

Rivalries[]

Western Kentucky[]

Morehead State[]

School 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 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 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

References[]

External links[]

Template:Eastern Kentucky University

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