| 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
|---|---|
 | |
OVC co-champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 9–48 vs. Western Illinois | |
| Conference | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 15 |
| Record | 8–4 (5–1 OVC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Roy Wittke (13th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Roc Bellantoni (1st season) |
| Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Murray State +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Eastern Kentucky | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Southeast Missouri State | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee Tech | 2 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee State | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee–Martin | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season.[1] Led by 16th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiling an overall record of 8–4 and shared the OVC title with a mark of 5–1 in conference play. They were invited to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff, where they lost to Western Illinois in the first round.
Quarterback Tony Romo's efforts earned him the Walter Payton Award given to the most outstanding offensive player in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Despite not being selected at the 2003 NFL draft, Romo later signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, eventually landing the starting job in 2006 season, and earned four Pro Bowl selections before his retirement in 2016.
- ^ "College Football Statistics". www.totalfootballstatistics.com. Total Football Statistics. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2020.