A history of Eastern Illinois football has been written and will be released in the coming days as EIU alumnus and author, Dan Verdun, has documented the long rich history of EIU Panther football.   Verdun will have three campus signings at EIU during the 2014 football season where the book will be available for purchase along with autographs from the author and several EIU greats.  Eastern Illinois Panthers Football is also available from NIU Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book outlets. It will be available at the EIU campus bookstore.
 
Verdun will have his first on-campus signing at the Panthers home opener on Saturday, Sept. 6 against Southern Illinois.  The signing will take place in the EIU tailgate area with Verdun, former head coach Bob Spoo and 2014 EIU Hall of Fame inductee Brad Fichtel available to sign the book.   The Sept. 6 book signing will take place from 5 until 5:45 p.m. and is sponsored by the EIU Athletic Department.
 
The second on-campus signing will be at the Sept. 20 Family Weekend game against Austin Peay.  The signing will take place in the EIU tailgate area with Verdun scheduled to be joined by former EIU greats Rod Butler and Nate Anderson.  The Sept. 20 book signing will take place from 12:30 until 1:15 p.m. and is sponsored by the EIU Parent's Club.
 
The final on-campus signing will be on Oct. 25 Homecoming game against Tennessee State.  The signing will take place in the EIU tailgate area with Verdun, former head coach Bob Spoo and former EIU great Tim Carver available to sign the book.  The Oct. 25 book signing will take place from 12:30 until 1:15 p.m. and is sponsored by the EIU Alumni Association.
 
Season and single game tickets are now on sale for the 2014 EIU Football season and can be purchased by calling 217-581-2106 or online at www.eiupanthertickets.com   The Panthers open the 2014 season on Thursday, August 28 at Minnesota.
 

 
Official EIU Book Press Release
 
                For the first time ever, the story of Eastern Illinois Panther football is told. Eastern Illinois Panthers Football chronicles the legend and lore from the early days under coach and university auditor of accounting Otis Caldwell to today's perennial Ohio Valley Conference power. It's all here:  15 FCS playoff appearances, seven OVC championships since 2001, two Walter Payton Award winners and the 1978 NCAA Division II national championship.
                Published by Northern Illinois Press, this hardbound book closely resembles a college yearbook. With over 230 pages of text and more than 100 vintage photos, Eastern Illinois Panthers Football not only tells the history of the program but also includes insight on topics such as rivalries, recruiting, the marching band, the Pink Panthers dance team and more.
                Panther fans will recognize the names of Charles Lantz, Burl Ives, Bill Glenn, Maynard "Pat" O'Brien, Lou Stivers, Ray Fisher, Roger Haberer, Willie White, Nate Anderson, Mike Heimerdinger, Mike Shanahan, Ted Petersen, Darrell Mudra, Poke Cobb, Pete Catan, Randy Melvin, Jeff Gossett, Jeff Christensen, Robert Williams, Sean Payton, John Jurkovic, Brad Fichtel, Bob Spoo, Tony Romo, Dino Babers, Jimmy Garoppolo and Erik Lora. There's even a chapter on former Illinois governor Jim Edgar and his Panther athletics memories.
                Eastern Illinois Panthers Football tells these men's stories from extensive research and personal interviews. Find out where these men came from, how they arrived at EIU, what they accomplished in their time wearing the blue and gray as well as the paths their lives took once graduation day arrived and the cheering stopped.
          The greatest moments in EIU Panther football glory are recounted with fresh new insight. Read about the legendary days of quarterback Bill Glenn who found success on the NFL of the 1940s. Relive the dominance and get the inside stories of the greatest teams in EIU football history. They're all
here:  the1978 NCAA Division-II national champions, the 1980 runner-ups, the quarterfinalist 1982, '86, '89 and 2013 teams along with the 1995 and 2001 conference champions and playoff qualifiers.
                Author Dan Verdun graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1988 with a double major in journalism and history. A former Daily Eastern News sports editor, Verdun won a number of awards for writing, including placing in the William Randolph Hearst Collegiate Awards (the first in EIU history).
                Eastern Illinois Panthers Football is available from NIU Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book outlets. It is also available at EIU campus bookstore. In addition, the author and some former Panther greats will be on hand for book signings prior to the Sept. 6, 20 and Oct. 25 home games.

What They're Saying about Eastern Illinois Panthers Football:

"Dan Verdun has written a remarkable book in bringing to life the unbelievable rise of EIU football to the national stage."
                                --Jim Edgar, former Illinois governor and EIU Class of 1968
 
"The history of Eastern Illinois football is well captured by Dan Verdun's book. I have many great memories and have developed numerous relationships that I still maintain today from my time at Eastern Illinois. This book brings that history and those memories back to life for me."
       --Sean Payton, Head Coach Super Bowl XLIV Champion New Orleans Saints

"What Eastern has done is amazing. They are the lost cousin out there. What they've produced over the years down there in Charleston is really incredible."
                                --Len Ziehm, longtime Chicago Sun-Times college football writer
 
"Eastern Illinois football has produced some of the most compelling figures in sports, with very little fanfare nationally. This book can help correct that. It's a better story than people realize. Also: Like everyone, I can't stop saying 'Bob Spoo.'"
                                -- Will Leitch, Founder of Deadspin & Mattoon native
 
"Winning my first Super Bowl was incredibly exciting. Believe me when I say I was just as excited when the 1978 Panther team won the National Championship!"
                                --Ted Petersen, former Eastern and Pittsburgh Steelers lineman
 
"EIU has become a top notch college program while doing things the right way and this book does an unbelievable job of capturing that journey"
                   --Jimmy Garoppolo, 2013 Walter Payton Award winner

"Eastern Illinois football has risen from near extinction to national prominence and Dan Verdun captures that rise."
                                --Mike Bradd, Eastern play-by-play announcer
 
"My job is to know about Eastern Illinois football, but I learned plenty I didn't know from Dan Verdun's book. Plus, the stories I already knew were fun to relive and will be for EIU fans as well."
                --Brian Nielsen, Mattoon Journal Gazette/Charleston Times-Courier sports editor