| Eastern Kentucky Colonels football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1891; 133 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Kyle Moats | ||
| Head coach | Walt Wells 5th season, 26–25 (.510) | ||
| Stadium | Roy Kidd Stadium (capacity: 20,000) | ||
| Field | CG Bank Field | ||
| Year built | 1969 | ||
| Field surface | SF II Synthetic Turf | ||
| Location | Richmond, Kentucky | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FCS | ||
| Conference | United Athletic Conference | ||
| All-time record | 607–391–38 (.604) | ||
| Bowl record | 4–3 (.571) | ||
| Playoff appearances | 22 | ||
| Claimed national titles | 2 | ||
| Conference titles | 22 | ||
| Rivalries | Western Kentucky (rivalry) Morehead State (rivalry) | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 46 | ||
| Colors | Maroon and white[1] | ||
| Fight song | Hail, Hail and Yea, Eastern | ||
| Mascot | The Colonel | ||
| Marching band | Eastern Kentucky University Marching Colonels | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | EKUSports | ||
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels football program represents Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in college football, competing at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The school has traditionally had much success on the football field, having won 21 OVC conference titles and two Division I FCS National Championships (then called Division I-AA) in 1979 and 1982, and reaching the finals in 1980 and 1981. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coach Roy Kidd from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium Roy Kidd Stadium. Eastern Kentucky's football team was able to secure 31 consecutive winning seasons before finally posting a losing season record in 2009.
In September 2013, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the daily newspaper of nearby Lexington, reported that EKU was considering moving its program to the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision. However, under NCAA rules, such a move would require that EKU receive an invitation from an existing FBS conference.[2] In the end, no such move was made.
EKU left the OVC for the Atlantic Sun Conference, then officially known as the ASUN Conference, in July 2021. At the time, the ASUN did not sponsor football, but had committed to launching an FCS football league in the near future.[3] During the 2021 season, EKU competed as a de facto associate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in a football partnership between the two leagues officially branded as the "ASUN–WAC Challenge".[4] While the ASUN launched its own football league in 2022, it maintained its partnership with the WAC for the 2022 season. Shortly after that season, the two conferences fully merged their football leagues,[5][6] announcing the new branding of United Athletic Conference in April 2023.[7]
- ^ Eastern Kentucky University Brand Guide. December 5, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ Story, Mark (September 14, 2013). "Mark Story: EKU is 'discussing' moving its football program up to the FBS". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Announces Three New Institutions; Adds Football as 20th Sport" (Press release). ASUN Conference. January 29, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "ASUN, WAC Conferences Announce Football Partnership for 2021" (Press release). ASUN Conference. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands As The United Athletic Conference" (Press release). ASUN Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.