Panthers with five home games, Sept. 12 home opener
Eastern Illinois football will open the 2026 season against a familiar opponent and end with a home game at O’Brien Field in late November as the Panthers released their completed schedule for the upcoming season.
The OVC Big South Football Association released its conference slate of games with an eight-team line-up on Tuesday (Jan. 13) afternoon with EIU releasing all 12 of its scheduled games.
The non-conference slate begins at Murray State with a Thursday night Week Zero Game on Aug. 27 as the two schools announced a home-and-home series for the next two seasons. The Racers will come to Charleston next year.
EIU then plays the following Thursday at Minnesota with a Sept. 3 trip to face the Golden Gophers.
The Panthers home opener will be on Saturday, Sept. 12 hosting Indiana State, the first of five home games for the season. EIU will host four OVC Big South games at O’Brien Field in the unbalanced schedule.
The final two non-conference games round out the month of September on the road with the Mid-America Classic at Illinois State on Sept. 19 and a trip to South Dakota State on Sept. 26.
After a bye-week, EIU opens the OVC Big South schedule on the road on Oct. 10 at Gardner-Webb. EIU will also travel to UT Martin (Oct. 31) and Tennessee State (Nov. 14).
The Panthers four conference home games begin on Oct. 17 hosting Lindenwood. This year’s homecoming game will be Oct. 24 against Southeast Missouri.
November home games include in-state rival Western Illinois on Nov. 7 and the final regular season game on Nov. 21 against Charleston Southern.
2026 EIU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 27 at Murray State
Sept. 3 at Minnesota
Sept. 12 vs. INDIANA STATE
Sept. 19 at Illinois State
Sept. 26 at South Dakota State
Oct. 10 at Gardner-Webb *
Oct. 17 vs. LINDENWOOD *
Oct. 24 vs. SOUTHEAST MISSOURI *
Oct. 31 at UT Martin *
Nov. 7 vs. WESTERN ILLINOIS *
Nov. 14 at Tennessee State *
Nov. 21 vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN *
* OVC Big South Game
