Former Ohio Valley Conference rivals will meet once again on the football gridiron as Eastern Illinois and Murray State announced a home-and-home series between the two schools.
 
The two will meet in 2026 and 2027 in the season opener for both teams to played as part of the newly allowed FCS Week Zero contests.
 
EIU will travel to Murray State on Thursday, August 27, 2026 with the Racers returning the trip to Charleston in 2027, scheduled for Thursday, August 26.
 
The two schools last met in 2022, Murray State's last season in the Ohio Valley Conference for football with the Panthers picking up a 35-21 win in Murray.  The game was the first EIU win for current Panthers head coach Chris Wilkerson.
 
All-time the two schools have met 39 times with EIU holding a 20-19 all-time series lead.  They faced each other from 1996-2022 as OVC members.  The series also includes a 1986 FCS playoff win by the Panthers led by quarterback Sean Payton, now the head coach with the Denver Broncos.
 
EIU's complete 2026 schedule will be released in January as the OVC-Big South Football Association is adjusting the schedule based on conference realignment and the departure of Tennessee Tech from the conference after this season.