With the 2011 Panther football season right around the corner, the official Eastern fan group, Panther Nation, is looking for new members to fill the stands at O’Brien Field this season.

Started three years ago, Panther Nation is a group who attend every home football and basketball game. The group currently has close to 500 members, but senior math major Ed Hotwagner, one of the group’s key leadership members, says he would like to see close to 600 this year.

Along with attending every home game, the group also plans road trips, such as taking a fan bus to Nashville, Tenn., for the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament. Last season, Panther Nation traveled to Bloomington for the Panthers’ football game against rival Illinois State. The Redbirds are coming to Charleston this season, so Panther Nation will look to attend a different road game. One possibility Hotwagner spoke of was the November 12 match-up against Southern Illinois- Carbondale.

Panther Nation sits in the front row at the 50-yard line for home football games and next to the marching band at basketball games. But along with registration, Panther Nation members receive more than just a seat at games.

“It’s $20 to join, and by joining you get a t-shirt, a shoestring bag, a rally towel, a pom-pom and you get a membership card,” Hotwagner said.

The membership card is equipped with a barcode, which is scanned when a member attends a Panther Nation event. For each event attended, members earn points, which lead to raffle drawings and prizes.

Though currently Panther Nation only attends football and basketball games, the group wants to attend at least one home game of every sports team.

Hotwagner said he wants to get in contact with each team’s coach to see if there is a special or specific game that the team would like to see Panther Nation attend.

“A lot of people say [Eastern’s] teams aren’t that good, but they are that good, it’s just that nobody knows about them,” Hotwagner said.

The group has their first meeting on Tuesday to prepare for the September 1 game against Illinois State. Hotwagner said the meeting will go over chants and practicing the school’s fight song.

With the adjustment to college life potentially being a rough transition for incoming freshman, Hotwagner said joining Panther Nation is a great way to meet people, especially those who share a common interest in Eastern sports.

The first Panther Nation meeting is Tuesday, August 22, in the University Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union at 9:00pm.

Panther football will open their season against Illinois State at home on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 6:30pm.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu