With no fall sports currently underway for 2020, EIU Athletics looks back at some events that took place during the week for This Week In EIU Athletics History presented by Consolidated Communications...Â
Nov. 16, 2001 – Eastern Illinois women's soccer played in its first of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances as the Panthers opened at Notre Dame. The Panthers would lose to the No. 7 seed Fighting Irish, 2-0, to wrap up a 14-6 season. EIU had beaten Tennessee Tech (4-1) and Southeast Missouri (1-0) to win the OVC Tournament. Â
Nov. 17, 1951 - EIU closed out a 4-2-2 campaign under head coach Rex Darling as the Panthers pulled away from Millikin 46-6. Leading 13-6 after three quarters EIU scored 33 points in the final quarter with an offensive attack led by Ed Soergel and J.D. Anderson. The 40-point margin of victory would be the largest for an EIU team until the final game of the 1968 season. Â
Nov. 18, 1995 – Playing in their final Mid-Continent Conference Tournament the Eastern Illinois volleyball team opened with a five-set win over Youngstown State in the opening round.  Vanessa Wells led EIU with 24 kills as five players finished with double figure kills. Kara Harper would finish with 61 assists. EIU would lose the next day to Valparaiso in the Mid-Continent Conference Championship
Nov. 19, 1977 - Eastern Illinois closed the 1977 season on a high note as they blanked Evansville 17-0 to pick up the Panthers only win of the season. Mark Stettner scored on the first drive for EIU and Jim Cotten returned an interception 32 yards for a first quarter score. Poke Cobb paced the EIU offense with 146 yards rushing as the Panthers attempted only three passes in the game.
Nov. 20, 2000 – Jason Bialka would make the first of two consecutive trips to the NCAA National Cross Country Championships representing Eastern Illinois.  Bialka would place 229th in his first appearance but came back the next year and placed 99th at the 2001 NCAA Nationals. He joined Todd Moroney (1997) as the only two EIU runners to advance to the NCAA National Championships at the Division I level
Nov. 21, 1980 - Eastern Illinois volleyball played four matches in a single day in the Midwest AIAW Division II Tournament as the Panthers picked up wins over Indiana Tech, Milwaukee and Lake Superior State before losing in the title match to Wright State. The Panthers, with 41 wins, advanced to the AIAW Division II National Tournament in December posting a 1-2 record in the finals.
Nov. 22, 1981 – Eastern Illinois men's soccer opened a run to a third place finish in the NCAA Division I College Cup as the Panthers beat Saint Louis, 1-0, in the opening round. Vincente DiBella scored the game winning goal for the Panthers off an assist from Graham Whitehead.  EIU would lose to UConn in the semifinals and then beat Philadelphia Textile in the 3rd place match.
