| Eastern Kentucky Colonels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Eastern Kentucky University |
| Conference | Atlantic Sun (primary) UAC (football; primary in 2026) |
| NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
| Athletic director | Kyle Moats |
| Location | Richmond, Kentucky |
| Varsity teams | 16 (7 men's, 9 women's) |
| Football stadium | Roy Kidd Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Baptist Health Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Turkey Hughes Field |
| Softball stadium | Gertrude Hood Field |
| Soccer stadium | EKU Soccer Field |
| Tennis venue | Tom Higgins Outdoor Courts |
| Mascot | The Colonel |
| Nickname | Colonels |
| Fight song | Yea Eastern & Hail, Hail Eastern Maroons |
| Colors | Maroon and white[1] |
| Website | ekusports |
 | |
TheEastern Kentucky Colonels are the intercollegiate athletic teams ofEastern Kentucky University (EKU), located inRichmond, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of theNCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in theAtlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) since the 2021–22 academic year. Itsfootball team competes in theUnited Athletic Conference (UAC), which started play in 2023 as a football-only merger of the ASUN and theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). In July 2026, the UAC will become an all-sports conference as a rebranded WAC, with EKU as a member.[2] The Colonels previously competed in theOhio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 2020–21.
The Colonels athletic program competes inNCAA Division I as a member of theAtlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).[3][4] Thefootball team plays in the second level of Division I football, theFootball Championship Subdivision (FCS). Before joining the ASUN in July 2021, EKU had spent the previous 73 years as a charter member[5] of theOhio Valley Conference (OVC).[6] The EKU mascot is The Colonel, and the school colors are maroon and white. While the women's teams were formerly known as the Lady Colonels, the school now emphasizes that all teams are now Colonels.
The ASUN did not officially sponsor football until the 2022 season.[7] In 2021, EKU football competed as a de facto associate member of theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC), competing in a football partnership between the two leagues officially branded as the "ASUN–WAC Challenge".[8] The ASUN–WAC alliance was renewed for the 2022 season, and the two conferences fully merged their football leagues after that season, announcing the football league's new branding of United Athletic Conference in April 2023.[9]
NCAA
EKU's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Colonels.[10] Maroon has been the official color of Eastern athletics since the school was begun as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School in 1906, and the school's official team nickname was the "Maroons" from the start of intercollegiate competition in 1909–10 until 1963, when then-president Robert Martin changed the nickname to the "Colonels".[11]
An ASUN member since July 2021, Eastern Kentucky University sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women'sNCAA sanctioned sports.[12]
EKU competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Beach volleyball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Football | Golf |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Tennis | Softball |
| Track and field1 | Tennis |
| Track and field1 | |
| Volleyball | |
| 1 – includes both indoor and outdoor. | |
Eastern has traditionally been quite successful on the football field, having won 20 OVC titles and two Division I-AA National Championships in 1979 and 1982. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coachRoy Kidd from 1964 to 2002. In 1990, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadiumRoy Kidd Stadium.[13] With their win overSoutheast Missouri State University in 2008, Eastern's football team secured their 31st consecutive winning season. The team is currently coached by Walt Wells, former assistant head coach at Eastern and most recently a quality control assistant at theUniversity of Kentucky.
In September 2013, theLexington Herald-Leader, the daily newspaper of nearbyLexington, reported that EKU was considering moving its program to the top-levelFootball Bowl Subdivision. However, under NCAA rules, such a move would require that EKU first receive an all-sports invitation from an existing FBS conference.[14] In the end, no such move was made.
As noted previously, EKU football now plays in the UAC.
| Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Ohio Valley | 8–1–1 | 5–0 | Glenn Presnell |
| 1962 | Ohio Valley | 6–3 | 4–2 | Glenn Presnell |
| 1967 | Ohio Valley | 8–1–2 | 5–0–2 | Roy Kidd |
| 1968 | Ohio Valley | 8–2 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1974 | Ohio Valley | 8–2 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1976 | Ohio Valley | 8–3 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1981 | Ohio Valley | 12–2 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1982 | Ohio Valley | 13–0 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1983 | Ohio Valley | 7–3–1 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1984 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1986 | Ohio Valley | 10–3–1 | 6–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1987 | Ohio Valley | 9–3 | 5–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1988 | Ohio Valley | 11–3 | 6–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1990 | Ohio Valley | 10–2 | 5–1 | Roy Kidd |
| 1991 | Ohio Valley | 12–2 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1993 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1994 | Ohio Valley | 10–3 | 8–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 1997 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 7–0 | Roy Kidd |
| 2007 | Ohio Valley | 9–3 | 8–0 | Danny Hope |
| 2008 | Ohio Valley | 8–4 | 7–1 | Dean Hood |
| Total | 20 | |||
The current head coach of the Colonels isA. W. Hamilton.
The Colonels have appeared in theNCAA tournament eight times. The Colonels play their home basketball games atAlumni Coliseum, located on EKU's campus.
The men's golf team has won 12 Ohio Valley Conference championships: 1975, 1980, 1982–86, 1992, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2015.[15]
Historically, theWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers served as the primary rival to EKU, especially in football. Their matchups, known as the "Battle of the Bluegrass," date back to 1914, withWestern leading the overall series 34–47–3.[16] With WKU's recent move up to theFootball Bowl Subdivision, any future games between the two teams are uncertain.
Outside of Western, EKU has maintained rivalries with the only remaining in-stateOVC member,Morehead State, andMurray State, which left the OVC in 2022 for theMissouri Valley Conference.
| Facility | Sport(s) | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Roy Kidd Stadium | Football | 20,000 |
| Baptist Health Arena | Basketball | 6,500 |
| Gertrude Hood Field | Softball | 400 |
| Turkey Hughes Field | Baseball | 900 |
| Arlington | Golf | n/a |
| Tom Samuels Track | Outdoor Track and Field | n/a |
| Full members |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Associate members | ||
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