2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season.[1] Finishing the regular season with a record of 8–3, the panthers were invited to the I-AA (now FCS) playoffs, falling in the first round to Western Illinois by a final of 9–48. Quarterback Tony Romo's efforts earned him mass attention including making him the 2002 recipient of the Walter Payton Award. Despite not being selected at the 2003 NFL draft. Romo eventually signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent, eventually landing the starting job in 2006, racking up four Pro Bowl Selections until his retirement in 2016.

2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 15
FCS CoachesNo. 15
2002 record8–4 (5–1 OVC)
Head coach
Home stadiumO'Brien Stadium
(Capacity 10,000)
2002 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 13 Eastern Illinois +^  5 –1     8 –4  
No. 20 Murray State +^  5 –1     7 –5  
No. 21 Eastern Kentucky  4 –2     8 –4  
No. 24 Southeast Missouri State  4 –2     8 –4  
Tennessee Tech  2 –4     5 –7  
Tennessee State  1 –5     2 –10  
Tennessee–Martin  0 –6     2 –10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
August 31at Hawaii*
L 36–6139,958
September 14at Kansas State*
L 13–6345,642
September 21Indiana State
W 26–198,340
September 28Illinois State
W 45–1010,731
October 5at Tennessee Tech
W 35–2810,850
October 12Eastern Kentucky
W 25–248,397
October 19at Southeast Missouri State
W 44–279,178
November 2at Tennessee State
W 54–487,216
November 9UT Martin
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, Illinois
W 55–433,822
November 16FAU*
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, Illinois
W 47–63,740
November 23at Murray State
L 35–376,112
November 30at Western Illinois*
L 9–482,500
  • *Non-conference game

[2]

Roster
2002 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 17 Tony Romo Sr
RB 22 J. R. Taylor Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
CB 8 Nick Allison So
LB 99 Lance Thompson Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2002-12-16

Game summaries

at Kansas State
1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 13 0 0 0 13
Wildcats 15 28 13 7 63
See also: 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team


Tony Romo was 13-14 for 120 yards and a TD in the first quarter, but Kansas State grabbed control and cruised to the 50-point win.[3]

Team players in the NFL

No Eastern Illinois players were selected in the 2003 NFL Draft.

The following finished their college career in 2002, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.

PlayerPositionFirst NFL team
Tony RomoQuarterbackDallas Cowboys

References
  1. "College Football Statistics". www.totalfootballstatistics.com. Total Football Statistics. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. "Statistics Summary for 2002". static.eiupanthers.com. eiupanthers. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. "Kansas State Rout Is a Dunn Deal". Los Angeles Times. September 15, 2002. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
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