What conference does Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball compete in?

Eastern Illinois Panthers Men's Basketball competes in the Ohio Valley Conference conference at the NCAA D1-FCS level.

Where does Eastern Illinois play men's basketball home games?

Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball plays home games at Groniger Arena in Charleston, IL.

Who is the head coach of Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball?

The head coach of Eastern Illinois Panthers Men's Basketball is Marty Simmons.

When was Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball program established?

The establishment date for Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball is not currently available.

EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS MEN'S BASKETBALL

Ohio Valley ConferenceD1-FCSwinter

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Marty Simmons helms a Charleston-based program at Eastern Illinois University, founded in 1895 and serving 8,107 students across its campus. The Panthers compete in the Ohio Valley Conference within the Division I-FCS classification, playing their home contests at Groniger Arena where they've posted a solid 9-4 record this season. The squad's overall 11-16 mark reflects significant struggles on the road, where Eastern Illinois stands just 2-12 compared to their home success rate.

Scoring patterns reveal balanced competition through the Panthers' 14-player roster, as Eastern Illinois averages 67.2 points per game while allowing opponents 70.3 points—a narrow 3.1-point deficit that suggests close contests throughout their schedule. Conference play has proven particularly challenging at 2-5, indicating the competitiveness of their Ohio Valley Conference competition. Simmons has work ahead in translating their home-court advantage into road success and conference wins, as the gap between Groniger Arena results and away-game performance stands at 7-14 in differential records.

KEY FACTS

School	Eastern Illinois University
Sport	Men's Basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Division	D1-FCS
Location	Charleston, Illinois
Venue	Groniger Arena
Head Coach	Marty Simmons

ROSTER (2025-26)

#	Name	Pos	Ht	Wt	Class
15	Andrew Austin	F	6' 7"	220 lbs	Sophomore
1	Markus Blackwell	G	6' 2"	180 lbs	Freshman
2	JT Elder	G	6' 7"	200 lbs	Junior
13	Nazareth Fisher	F	6' 10"	220 lbs	Senior
5	Zion Fruster	G	6' 2"	170 lbs	Senior
40	Kooper Jacobi	F	6' 7"	200 lbs	Senior
7	Prince Johnson	F	6' 8"	215 lbs	Junior
6	Kyle Layton	G	6' 0"	175 lbs	Junior
24	Terry McMorris	F	6' 7"	185 lbs	Sophomore
11	Malik Olafioye	G	6' 2"	190 lbs	Sophomore
23	Shane Sims	G	6' 4"	200 lbs	Freshman
10	Preston Turner	G	6' 6"	185 lbs	Junior
4	Andre Washington	G	5' 11"	180 lbs	Senior
3	Meechie White	G	6' 1"	175 lbs	Junior

SEASON RECORD

13-20

Overall

9-6

Home

4-14

Away

2-6

Conference

67.1 PPG / 70.3 Opp PPG

SCHEDULE (2025-26)

Date	Opponent	H/A	Result	Venue
Nov 5	Valparaiso Beacons	Away	L 63-66	Athletics-Recreation Center
Nov 8	Nicholls Colonels	Home	W 65-57	Groniger Arena
Nov 12	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Away	L 58-78	Purcell Pavilion
Nov 15	Kentucky Wildcats	Away	L 53-99	Rupp Arena
Nov 20	Tiffin Dragons	Home	W 62-50	Groniger Arena
Nov 26	Central Arkansas Bears	Away	L 60-81	Farris Center
Nov 28	Purdue Boilermakers	Away	L 62-109	Mackey Arena
Dec 2	Blackburn Beavers	Home	--	Groniger Arena
Dec 7	Lindenwood Lions	Home	L 74-82	Groniger Arena
Dec 11	Eastern Kentucky Colonels	Home	L 59-68	Groniger Arena
Dec 14	Iowa State Cyclones	Away	L 53-78	Hilton Coliseum
Dec 18	SIU Edwardsville Cougars	Home	W 76-72	Groniger Arena
Dec 22	East West Phantoms	Home	W 110-56	Groniger Arena
Jan 2	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	Away	L 59-68	Show Me Center
Jan 3	UT Martin Skyhawks	Away	L 61-65	Kathleen and Tom Elam Center
Jan 9	Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles	Home	W 71-61	Groniger Arena
Jan 10	Tennessee State Tigers	Home	W 74-70	Groniger Arena
Jan 14	Western Illinois Leathernecks	Home	W 57-55	Groniger Arena
Jan 16	Little Rock Trojans	Away	L 63-74	Jack Stephens Center
Jan 18	Blackburn Beavers	Home	W 105-49	Groniger Arena
Jan 23	Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles	Away	W 59-51	Liberty Arena (IN)
Jan 24	Morehead State Eagles	Away	L 68-73	Ellis T. Johnson Arena
Jan 30	UT Martin Skyhawks	Home	L 68-76	Groniger Arena
Jan 31	Southeast Missouri State Redhawks	Home	L 59-77	Groniger Arena
Feb 6	Tennessee State Tigers	Away	L 68-77	Gentry Center
Feb 7	Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles	Away	W 60-54	Hooper Eblen Center
Feb 11	Western Illinois Leathernecks	Away	L 70-79	Western Hall
Feb 14	Little Rock Trojans	Home	W 78-72	Groniger Arena
Feb 20	Morehead State Eagles	Home	L 70-73	Groniger Arena
Feb 21	Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles	Home	L 68-70	Groniger Arena
Feb 27	Lindenwood Lions	Away	W 71-67	Hyland Arena
Feb 28	SIU Edwardsville Cougars	Away	L 50-77	First Community Arena
Mar 5	SIU Edwardsville Cougars	Away	W 77-71	Ford Center
Mar 6	UT Martin Skyhawks	Away	L 63-66	Ford Center

ANALYTICS

-3.2

Pt Diff

Streak

56.6%

SOS

#309

T-Rank

Barthag: 0.2243

#301

98.6

Adj O

#286

109.8

Adj D

Last 5: 2-3Last 10: 4-6Best W Streak: 3Worst L Streak: 5

View full analytics →

OTHER SPORTS AT EASTERN ILLINOIS

Baseball Football Men's Cross Country Men's Golf Men's Soccer Men's Tennis Softball Women's Basketball Women's Cross Country Women's Golf Women's Lacrosse Women's Soccer Women's Swimming & Diving Women's Tennis Women's Volleyball

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAMS

MORE MEN'S BASKETBALL IN ILLINOIS

Browse all NCAA Division I men's basketball programs in Illinois.

Illinois Men's Basketball Programs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What conference does Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball compete in?: Eastern Illinois Panthers Men's Basketball competes in the Ohio Valley Conference conference at the NCAA D1-FCS level.
Where does Eastern Illinois play men's basketball home games?: Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball plays home games at Groniger Arena in Charleston, IL.
Who is the head coach of Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball?: The head coach of Eastern Illinois Panthers Men's Basketball is Marty Simmons.
When was Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball program established?: The establishment date for Eastern Illinois Men's Basketball is not currently available.