Eastern’s football team will kick off the year in August against Central Michigan.

The last time the Panthers faced the Chippewas was in 1999, and the Panthers prevailed 33-17.

In 2007, Central Michigan won the Mid-American Conference Championship for the second straight year when they defeated Miami, 35-10.

Eastern will then take on Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini which will be the second time in three years that the teams face each other.

“We are allowed twelve games,” Assistant head coach Roc Bellantoni said. “We make the decision to either play a Division II, AA or A team to bring in more money.”

The last time the Panthers faced the Fighting Illini in 2006, the Panthers lost 42-17.

Recently, the Fighting Illini made played in the 2008 Rose Bowl, but lost to Southern California University 49-17.

One game that has been added to the Panthers’ schedule is a game against Austin Peay. The Panthers haven’t played the Governors since 1997.

“Austin Peay went to having a non-scholarship football team,” Bellantoni said.

The Govenors abandoned scholarship football after their 1996 season, according to the Austin Peay Athletic Department, but it announced in April 2005 that it was returning to scholarship football for the 2006-2007 season. It returned to the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007.

One game Bellantoni is looking forward to the game against Illinois State.

“They are a big rival to us,” Bellantoni said. “We always seem to go head-to-head in recruiting.”

Although the Panthers have lost to the Redbirds five years in a row, three out of five times the Panthers have only lost by one touchdown or less.

The last time Eastern has beat ISU was in 2002.

Another game to be watching out for is the game against Eastern Kentucky University.

“EKU will probably be the favorite to win the (Ohio Valley Conference),” Bellantoni said.

Eastern and EKU have battled back and forth throughout the years.

Since 2004, Eastern has won two games while EKU also won two games.

The past two matches ended within a touchdown and an extra point of each other.

Both teams will square off later in the season.

Molly Clutter can be reached at 581-7944 or at mkclutter@eiu.edu.