CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois head football coach Dino Babers has announced the members of his first coaching staff as the Panthers prepare to sign Babers first recruiting class on Feb. 1.  Babers was hired as the 22nd head coach in EIU football history on Dec. 9, 2011.

Babers announced the addition of new coaches Nick Caley, Sterlin Gilbert, Dino Kaklis, Tom Kaufman, Sean Lewis, Kim McCloud, George Ricumstrict and Andrew Sowder.  Babers also announced that Brian Callahan and Mike Lynch were retained from head coach Bob Spoo's coaching staff.  Callahan will coach the offensive line and Lynch will coach running backs.

 Caley will be the secondary coach and comes to EIU after spending the last three seasons as a graduate assistant at Iowa State.  Caley helped the Cyclones reach two bowl games in the last three years.  He spent the 2008 season as an administrative assistant at Auburn.  He worked on the staff at Akron from 2006-07 and was a volunteer recruiting assistant in 2005.  He helped the Zips assemble the Mid-American Conference's top ranked recruiting classes in 2005 and 2006.  Akron made its first bowl appearance in 2005 playing in the Motor City Bowl.  Caley graduated from John Carroll University in Ohio in 2006.

Gilbert will serve as the Panthers offensive coordinator and coach quarterbacks.  Gilbert was a successful prep coach in Texas most recently serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Temple High School.  Gilbert was a head coach at San Angelo Lake View High School for three seasons being named the West Texas High School Coach of the Year in 2008.  Gilbert served as a graduate assistant for Coach Art Briles at Houston in 2005 earning a trip to the Fort Worth Bowl.  He was a two-time All-Lone Star Conference quarterback at Angelo State earning his degree in 2002.

Kaklis will coach defensive tackles and comes to EIU following ten years as the head coach at NAIA member Bethel University in Tennessee.  At Bethel Kaklis compiled a school record 60 wins including an 8-3 record in 2011 that resulted in an NAIA playoff appearance.  He was named the Mid-South Conference West Division Coach of the Year four times and was the NAIA Sportexe Coach of the Year in 2006.  Kaklis began his coaching career at Bishop Verot High School in Florida before working at Maine Maritime Academy and Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania.  He was a stand out long snapper at Purdue taking part in NFL mini-camps between 1996-99.  Kaklis is a 1996 graduate of Purdue.

Kaufman will coach linebackers and comes to EIU after spending last season as a quality control coach at Texas as the Longhorns played in the Holiday Bowl.  Kaufman was the quality control coach at Kansas in 2010 and a graduate assistant at Mississippi State in 2009.  In 2008 he was the defensive coordinator at the University of Chicago.  Kaufman began his coaching career with five years at two Ohio based NCAA Division III schools.  He coached two seasons at Heidelberg College and three seasons at Case Western Reserve.  In 2007 he helped Case Western advance to the second round of the playoffs.  He is a 2003 graduate of John Carroll University in Ohio.

Lewis will coach inside wide receivers and comes to EIU after one season as a graduate assistant at Akron.  In 2010 he was the tight ends coach at Nebraska Omaha.  Lewis has Illinois prep ties as he coached three seasons as Richards High School in Oak Lawn.  He was the offensive coordinator as the program advanced to the second round of the 2009 IHSA Class 6A playoffs.  Lewis offense ranked eighth in IHSA Class 6A scoring 34 points per game.  Lewis was a four-year member of the Wisconsin program earning his degree in 2007.  Wisconsin made four straight bowl appearances during Lewis playing days.

McCloud will serve as the Panthers defensive coordinator.  He was the secondary coach at Baylor from 2008-10 working alongside Coach Dino Babers on the Bears staff.  McCloud spent last season coaching defensive backs at Akron.  Prior to joining Coach Art Briles staff at Baylor, McCloud spent eight years on the staff at Nevada.  He coached the defensive secondary in seven of those eight seasons.  During his final three seasons at Nevada the team made three straight bowl appearances including winning the 2006 Western Athletic Conference title.  McCloud also has coaching stops at Missouri and Idaho.  He was a three-year starter at Hawai'i earning his degree in 1991.  McCloud signed a free agent contract with San Diego and played two seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Ricumstrict will coach defensive ends and outside linebackers.  He comes to EIU following one season as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Central Missouri.  Ricumstrict has more than 20 years of coaching experience including six years at Indiana from 2005-10 when the Hoosiers made the 2007 Insight Bowl.  He worked in the Mid-American Conference from 2000-04 with time at both Miami University and Central Michigan.  Ricumstrict is a 1990 graduate of Central Michigan and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at CMU in 1991.  He then coached at Northwood University and Wayne State. 

Sowder will coach outside wide receivers and comes to EIU following one season as the running backs coach at West Texas A&M.  Sowder was a student coach at Baylor for two years assisting Coach Dino Babers with the wide receivers and special teams in 2009 and 2010.  Sowder played under Coach Art Briles at Baylor as a tight end in 2007 and 2008.  He earned his degree from Baylor in 2011.  Sowder attended Shallowater High School and played for Coach Speedy Faith, the same high school coach that Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher played for.

National signing day for football is February 1.  The Panthers open the 2012 season against Southern Illinois on Thursday, August 30 at O'Brien Field.