Eastern Illinois football head coach
Chris Wilkerson has announced the hiring of Jacob Hillmann as the Panthers new Director of Football Performance. Hillmann will oversee the development and execution of the strength and conditioning program for EIU football.
Hillmann is a former Division I football player at Iowa State where he earned Academic All-Big 12 Honors as part of the Cyclones football program from 2019-22.
He completed a professional internship with the Ohio State Football Strength and Conditioning staff in the spring of 2023 prior to earning his bachelor's degree from Iowa State in 2023.
This past year he worked as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Eastern Michigan working primarily with football but assisting with several other Olympic sports programs including women's rowing.
Hillmann holds a CSCS certification through the NSCA and is certified in Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED.
A native of Gilbert, Iowa, Hillmann began his collegiate career at Illinois Wesleyan before transferring to Iowa State. He hails from a family with an athletic background. His father, Aaron, is the Director of Player Development for Iowa State football. His mother, Dina, was a standout field hockey player winning three NCAA National Championships playing at Old Dominion.
EIU football is coming off an 8-3 season that saw the Panthers finish the regular season ranked No. 24 in the final FCS Coaches Poll.
