2003 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

2003 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
2003 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	4–8 (3–5 OVC)
Head coach	Bob Spoo (17th season);
Defensive coordinator	Roc Bellantoni (2nd season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium

2003 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Jacksonville State $^	7	–	1	8	–	4
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	2	7	–	5
Samford	5	–	3	7	–	4
Tennessee State	5	–	3	7	–	5
Southeast Missouri State	5	–	3	5	–	7
Murray State	3	–	5	4	–	8
Eastern Illinois	3	–	5	4	–	8
Tennessee Tech	1	–	7	2	–	9
Tennessee–Martin	1	–	7	2	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Eastern Illinois Panthers represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by 17th-year head coach Bob Spoo, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the OVC.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6		California (PA)*	No. 17	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 27–0
September 13	1:00 p.m.	at Missouri*	No. 15	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 0–37	49,440
September 20		Illinois State*	No. 19	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (rivalry)	L 14–21	6,318	^[1]
September 27		at Indiana State*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	L 7–23
October 4		at Southeast Missouri State		Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	L 17–30
October 11		Eastern Kentucky		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 0–41
October 18		at Murray State		Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	W 27–17
October 25		Tennessee–Martin		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 29–12
November 1		at Tennessee State		The Coliseum Nashville, TN	L 14–24	25,037	^[2]
November 8		Tennessee Tech		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 37–10
November 15	4:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Jacksonville State		Paul Snow Stadium Jacksonville, AL	L 24–36	8,674
November 22	1:30 p.m.	Samford		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 14–17	1,024	^[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

2003 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`16`	Andy Vincent	Jr
G	`64`	Ryan Schulz	Fr
C	`65`	Steve Sobolewski	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`6`	Fred Miller	Sr
DE	`91`	Mike Morley	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`33`	Tom Schofield	So

^ Reinhardt, Randy (September 21, 2003). "Safety spurs Redbirds on to victory". The Pantagraph. p. D1. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "E. Illinois capitalizes on early TSU mistakes". The Tennessean. November 2, 2003. Retrieved March 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Samford spoils season finale for Eastern Illinois football". The Daily Chronicle. November 23, 2003. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics.

Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Venues	O'Brien Field (1970–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Illinois State: Mid-America Classic
Culture & lore	Billy the Panther
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold