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EIU Athletic Hall of Fame | Hall of Fame Tickets (info to follow)
Eastern Illinois Athletics will induct teams to its Athletic Hall of Fame for the second time as the EIU Class of 2026 will be a team induction with eight teams set to be honored on Friday, September 11, 2026. The teams will be inducted at the Hall of Fame Ceremony on Friday evening and once again recognized at halftime of the Panthers September 12 football game against Indiana State.
The eight teams set to be inducted include the 1951-52 men's basketball team, 1975-76 men's basketball team, 1981 baseball team, 1981 men's soccer team, 1986 football team, 1987-88 women's basketball team, 2001 women's soccer team and 2001 volleyball team.
The Friday night banquet will include the induction of each of those teams with each team member receiving a commemorative Hall of Fame gift. Each Hall of Fame team member can attend the weekend events for free with a $25 per person fee for each additional guest.
Members of those Hall of Fame teams are being contacted with information EIU currently has on file, but we ask each Hall of Fame member of those teams to
RSVP with this online link.
Teams
1951-52 Men's Basketball
The 1951-52 EIU Men's Basketball rolled to a record of 22-0 during the regular season winning the IIAC with a 12-0 record. The Panthers would suffer their first loss in the NAIA District Championship game but still received an at-large berth to the NAIA National Finals in Kansas City. The team finished the season at 24-2 losing in the second round of the national finals.
1975-76 Men's Basketball
The 1975-76 EIU Men's Basketball Team played as an independent at the NCAA Division II level earning a tournament berth as an at-large team. The Panthers posted a record of 23-8 winning the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and an Elite Eight game to advance to the national semifinals. EIU would lose in the national semifinal but won the consolation game against Old Dominion to post a national third place finish.
1981 Baseball
The EIU Baseball team rolled to a record of 36-14 during the season as the played as an NCAA Division II Independent and secured an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. The Panthers won the Midwest Regional with a 4-1 record advancing to the College World Series where they lost in the national championship game to Florida Southern finishing second in the nation.
1981 Men's Soccer
The EIU Men's Soccer Team made a splash during its first season at the NCAA Division I level earning an at-large selection as an Independent. The team finished with a 19-2-2 record for the season winning their opening three matches of the NCAA Tournament before a loss in the NCAA National Semifinals. The Panthers won the consolation match against Philadelphia University to finish third in the nation.
1986 Football
The 1986 EIU Football team rolled to an 11-2 record including a 5-1 record as champions of the Gateway Football Conference. The team finished third in the final NCAA national rankings as they beat Murray State in the opening round of the I-AA (now FCS) playoffs before a quarterfinals loss to Eastern Kentucky.
1987-88 Women's Basketball
The 1987-88 EIU Women's Basketball team finished with a record of 22-8 including a 14-4 record in the Gateway Conference finishing as regular-season co-champions. The team would win the Gateway Conference Tournament beating Illinois State and go on to play in the program's first NCAA Tournament as the Panthers hosted Colorado in a first round tournament game in Lantz Arena.
2001 Women's Soccer
The 2001 EIU Women's Soccer team posted a 14-5 record during the season while going 4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The team won the OVC Tournament over Southeast Missouri to make what would be the first of four consecutive NCAA College Cup appearances. The team would lose its first round NCAA Tournament match to Notre Dame.
2001 Volleyball
The 2001 EIU Volleyball team posted a 21-9 record including a 12-4 record in the Ohio Valley Conference. The team beat both Morehead State and UT Martin to win the OVC Tournament and make the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Panthers would lose their opening round match to Arizona.
