Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Kentucky University
Colonels
football team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference
that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The school has traditionally had much success on the football
field, having won twenty OVC conference titles and two Division I FCS National Championships (then called Division I-AA) in 1979 and 1982, and reached 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.
Uniforms:
National Championships: 2 - 1979 & 1982
Conference Championships: Twenty - (Ohio Valley Conference
)
1954, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, and 2008
Conference History:
Consecutive wins: 18, 1982-1983
Consecutive National Title appearances: 4, 1979-1982
1989
Most rushing yards(season): 1,998 Elroy Harris in the 1988 season
Most rushing yards(career): 5,532 Markus Thomas 1989-1992
Most passing yards(game): 398 Josh Greco against Eastern Illinois 2005
Most passing yards(season): 2,861 Josh Greco in the 2005 season
Most passing yards(career): 5,992 Josh Greco 2004-2007
Most receiving yards(game): 316 Aaron Marsh against Northwood 1967
Most receiving yards(season): 1,150 Andre Ralston in the 2005 season
Most receiving yards(career): 3,095 Andre Ralston 2002-2005
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
Colonels
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
EKU fields teams in 15 varsity sports . The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I of the NCAA , having been a part of the conference since its inception in 1948...
football team is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The school has traditionally had much success on the football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
field, having won twenty OVC conference titles and two Division I FCS National Championships (then called Division I-AA) in 1979 and 1982, and reached the finals in 1980 and 1981. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coach Roy Kidd
Roy Kidd
Roy Kidd is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1964 to 2002, compiling a record of 314–124–8. Kidd's Eastern Kentucky Colonels won NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1979 and 1982 and were runners-up...
from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium Roy Kidd Stadium
Roy Kidd Stadium
Roy Kidd Stadium is Eastern Kentucky University's football stadium in Richmond, Kentucky. The stadium is home to the EKU Colonels football team, located on campus. Currently, Roy Kidd Stadium consists of upper and lower level seating areas with a predominant majority of the seats being metal...
. Eastern Kentucky's football team was able to secure 31 consecutive winning seasons before finally posting a losing season record in 2009.
Team information
Nickname: ColonelsUniforms:
- Home: Maroon
- Road: White
National Championships: 2 - 1979 & 1982
Conference Championships: Twenty - (Ohio Valley Conference
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
)
1954, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2007, and 2008
Conference History:
- 1948-Present Ohio Valley ConferenceOhio Valley ConferenceThe Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
Current Coaching Staff
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Dean Hood Dean Hood -External links:*... |
Head Coach |
| Dane Damron | Offensive Coordinator |
| Tony Hatmaker | Defensive Coordinator |
| Garry Fisher | Linebackers Coach |
| Ben Hodges | Tight Ends Coach/Recruiting Coordinator |
| Carson Jeffers | Offensive Line Coach |
| Jake Johnson | Defensive Line Coach |
| Klay Koester | Wide Receivers Coach |
| John Revere | Running Backs Coach |
Chronology of Eastern Kentucky Head Coaches
| Years | Coach | Record | Conference Championships |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | James Park | 0–0–4 | 0 |
| 1910–1911 | Clyde Wilson | 2–7–1 | 0 |
| 1912 | Charles Keith | 3–4–1 | 0 |
| 1913–1916 | Ben Bernard | 8–13–2 | 0 |
| 1919–1921 | Clyde McCoy | 3–6–1 | 0 |
| 1922–1928 | George Hembree | 21–29–4 | 0 |
| 1929–1934 | Charles "Turkey" Hughes | 8–29–6 | 0 |
| 1935–1946 | Rome Rankin | 56–24–6 | 0 |
| 1947–1953 | Tom Samuels | 41–24–2 | 0 |
| 1954–1963 | Glenn Presnell Glenn Presnell Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to... |
42–49–3 | 2 |
| 1964–2002 | Roy Kidd Roy Kidd Roy Kidd is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1964 to 2002, compiling a record of 314–124–8. Kidd's Eastern Kentucky Colonels won NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1979 and 1982 and were runners-up... |
315–123–8 | 16 |
| 2003–2007 | Danny Hope Danny Hope -External links:*... |
35–22 | 1 |
| 2008-Present | Dean Hood Dean Hood -External links:*... |
19–15 | 1 |
NCAA Division I FCS National Championships
Eastern Kentucky went to four consecutive national championship games, winning twice in 1979 and 1982.| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1979 | FCS National Champions |
| 1980 | FCS National Runners-Up |
| 1981 | FCS National Runners-Up |
| 1982 | FCS National Champions |
Bowl Games
| Year | Winning team | Losing team | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl Multiple events were named Tangerine Bowl:*The Tangerine Bowl is the original name of the college football bowl game that is currently called the Capital One Bowl. It was known as the Tangerine Bowl from 1947 to 1982.... |
Nebraska-Omaha | 7 | EKU | 6 | Lost |
| 1967 | Grantland Rice Bowl Grantland Rice Bowl The Grantland Rice Bowl was an annual college football bowl game, one of four regional NCAA college division championships from 1964 to 1972. It was the Mideast Regional championship, played in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1968... |
EKU | 27 | Ball State Ball State Cardinals football The Ball State Cardinals football team represents Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Mid-American Conference .-Recent history:... |
13 | Won |
| 1979 | Camellia Bowl Camellia Bowl - 1948, Lafayette, Louisiana :The Camellia Bowl was a post-season major college football bowl game played at McNaspy Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 30, 1948 between Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Wichita .... |
EKU | 30 | Lehigh Lehigh Mountain Hawks The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the athletic teams representing Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The Hawks participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Patriot League... |
7 | Won |
| 1980 | Camellia Bowl Camellia Bowl - 1948, Lafayette, Louisiana :The Camellia Bowl was a post-season major college football bowl game played at McNaspy Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 30, 1948 between Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Wichita .... |
Boise State 1980 Boise State Broncos football team The 1980 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos were led by fifth-year head coach Jim Criner... |
31 | EKU | 29 | Lost |
| 1981 | Pioneer Bowl Pioneer Bowl The Pioneer Bowl is a bowl game between football teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 2007 and is one of two bowl games between historically black colleges and universities... |
Idaho State | 34 | EKU | 23 | Lost |
| 1982 | Pioneer Bowl Pioneer Bowl The Pioneer Bowl is a bowl game between football teams from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 2007 and is one of two bowl games between historically black colleges and universities... |
EKU | 17 | Delaware | 14 | Won |
Conference championships
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conf. Record | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Ohio Valley | 8–1–1 | 5–0 | Glenn Presnell Glenn Presnell Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to... |
| 1962 | Ohio Valley | 6-3 | 4–2 | Glenn Presnell |
| 1967 | Ohio Valley | 8–1–2 | 5–0–2 | Roy Kidd Roy Kidd Roy Kidd is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1964 to 2002, compiling a record of 314–124–8. Kidd's Eastern Kentucky Colonels won NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1979 and 1982 and were runners-up... |
| 1968 | Ohio Valley | 8–2 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1974 | Ohio Valley | 8-2 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1976 | Ohio Valley | 8–3 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1981 | Ohio Valley | 12–2 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1982 | Ohio Valley | 13–0 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1983 | Ohio Valley | 7–3-1 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1984 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1986 | Ohio Valley | 10–3–1 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1987 | Ohio Valley | 9–3 | 5–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1988 | Ohio Valley | 11–3 | 6–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1990 | Ohio Valley | 10–2 | 5–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1991 | Ohio Valley | 12–2 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1993 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1994 | Ohio Valley | 10–3 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1997 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 2007 | Ohio Valley | 9–3 | 8–0 | Danny Hope Danny Hope -External links:*... |
| 2008 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 7–1 | Dean Hood Dean Hood -External links:*... |
| Total | 20 | |||
Team records
Consecutive winning seasons: 31, 1977-2008Consecutive wins: 18, 1982-1983
Consecutive National Title appearances: 4, 1979-1982
Individual records
Most rushing yards(game): 300 Markus Thomas against MarshallMarshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
1989
Most rushing yards(season): 1,998 Elroy Harris in the 1988 season
Most rushing yards(career): 5,532 Markus Thomas 1989-1992
Most passing yards(game): 398 Josh Greco against Eastern Illinois 2005
Most passing yards(season): 2,861 Josh Greco in the 2005 season
Most passing yards(career): 5,992 Josh Greco 2004-2007
Most receiving yards(game): 316 Aaron Marsh against Northwood 1967
Most receiving yards(season): 1,150 Andre Ralston in the 2005 season
Most receiving yards(career): 3,095 Andre Ralston 2002-2005