EIUPanthers Podcast

Episode 43 of EIUPanthers Podcast talks hoops with former Eastern Illinois women’s basketball standout Rachel Galligan.  Galligan, a EIU Athletic Hall of Fame selection, ended her EIU playing days as the Panthers career scoring leader.   On this episode, we talk about her time as a Panthers player, her career in the college coaching world and her current occupation which has kept her tied to the g...

This week Eastern Illinois hosts the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships so our guest this week for Episode 42 of EIUPanthers Podcast is current EIU Director of Track & Field, Brenton Emanuel.  We talk to Emanuel about his experience as a track athlete here at Eastern Illinois, his transition into coaching and what it was like to return to his alma mater to take over the Pan...

Episode 41 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with former Eastern Illinois football player Donovan Johnson.  Johnson played for the Panthers from 2006-08 after transferring from Arkansas.  On today’s episode, Johnson talks about his time playing football, his decision to transfer to Eastern Illinois, what got him interested in following a career in the medical field and what the future holds for him as...

Episode 40 of EIUPanthers Podcast as we talk with current EIU cross country and track runner Adam Swanson.  This season as a redshirt freshman Swanson has burst onto the scene winning the 800 meter and 1,500 meter races at the Texas Relays.  He added a win and second place finish in those events this past weekend at the Drake Relays.  Swanson talks about his season to date, how he got into the spo...

Episode 39 of EIUPanthers Podcast talks Eastern Illinois records as we visit with Panthers softball infielder Megan Burton who over the weekend became the EIU single season record holder for home runs.  Burton leads the OVC heading into the weekend with 14 home runs which ranks 12th in the NCAA.   She entered the season already ranked in the EIU career top ten for stolen bases and on this week's e...

This week on Episode 38 of EIUPanthers Podcast we talk to former Eastern Illinois baseball player Rick Royer who talks about his time playing for the Panthers, following in the footsteps of his older brother, how he got hooked on competing in Triathlons and his new passion to compete in Ultra Marathons.  

Episode 37 of EIUPanthers Podcast as this week we talk to the Panthers new men’s basketball coach Marty Simmons about his start in basketball, what excited him about the opportunity at Eastern Illinois, what he has learned along the way as a head coach and oh yeah, a few stories about his standout prep career at Lawrenceville High School where they won back-to-back Illinois State Championships wit...

Episode 36 of EIUPanthers Podcast  jumps back into the water and visits this with former EIU swimmer Scott Ebinger.  Scott grew up in Charleston first swimming at CHS and later as a member of the Eastern Illinois swim team in the 1980’s under long time head coach Ray Padovan.   Ebinger recalls how he got into the sport of swimming, some of his memories with the program and his focus now on helping...

Episode 35 of EIUPanthers Podcast talks with former Eastern Illinois volleyball standout Marah Bradbury.  Bradbury finished her career playing for the Panthers ranked third all-time in career assists earning All-Ohio Valley Conference honors multiple times.   We talk to her about how that leadership role as a setter on the court helped carry her to her current career as an EMT and Firefighter in F...

Episode 34 of EIUPanthers Podcast we visit with a former Panthers kicker Ray D’Alessio.    D’Alessio kicked for the Panthers in the late 1980’s and was part of the Panthers 1989 NCAA FCS quarterfinal playoff team.  Following his playing career he moved into a career in television, starting in Terre Haute before later moving to a 10-year career at CNN.  He now works as an anchor and show producer f...

Episode 33 of EIUPanthers Podcast includes multiple guests as we chat with Dan Verdun and Barry Bottino, the creators of Prairie State Pigskin, a website that provides coverage of the four FCS football schools in the state of Illinois.   In addition to being the creators of that source of information five years ago, Dan and Barry are both Eastern Illinois alums that worked at one time for the Dail...

On this week’s episode (No. 32) we visit with former three-sport athlete Wayne Stingley.   A native of Chicago, he came to EIU in the early 1960’s as a track athlete and quickly worked his way on to the football and basketball teams with the Panthers.  After becoming the first college graduate in his family, he moved into teaching and coaching.  It was some advice from a friend that would then get...

On this week’s episode of EIUPanthers Podcast (No. 31) we hit the links as we talk with former Eastern Illinois men’s golfer David Lawrence.  Lawrence talks about his time playing at EIU where he posted several first place tournament finishes and was runner-up at the OVC Championship.  He also recalls some early advice coach Mike Moncel gave him as he looked to turn pro and make a living playing g...

Episode 30 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with former EIU swimmer Amanda Bos.  Bos was a Hall of Fame swimmer for the Panthers who worked internationally in marketing and sales before returning to Charleston to work in Athletic Administration at EIU when her husband Matt was hired as the Panthers swim coach.  Bos talks about those experiences and the journey that has followed as she now works in co...

Episode 29 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with EIU’s newly hired Director of Athletic Development Mike Murray as he transitions into the role on an interim basis while concluding his work as a Development officer in the EIU Office of Advancement and the EIU Foundation.  Today we talk to Murray at about his time as a student-athlete, his first exposure to intercollegiate athletics, his connections t...

Episode 28 of EIUPanthers Podcast as this week episode we visit with former EIU All-American runner Mike Hatfield who had a long career in athletic administration before retiring and taking on a new role.  We catch up with Mike as he talks about how he got into running, his success and memories at EIU, some of the highlights from his long athletic administrative career and a program he and several...

With the NFL season winding down and once again several former Eastern Illinois Panthers playing or coaching in the league, Episode 27 of EIUPanthers Podcast takes this week to visit with one of the newest Panthers in the EIU NFL Family, Alexander Hollins.   Ally B. as he was known earned All-American honors playing for the Panthers in 2018 before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings...

Episode 26 of EIUPanthers Podcast is a little different as earlier this week the Ohio Valley Conference held its Virtual Media Day for football which will be played in the OVC this spring.   The Panthers were represented by head coach Adam Cushing and quarterback Harry Woodbery.   For this week’s episode of EIUPanthers Podcast we bring you the audio recording of EIU’s session from OVC Media Day.  ...

Episode 25 of EIUPanthers Podcast.  On this week’s episode we visit with former Eastern Illinois women’s basketball guard Megan Edwards who was recently selected for the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.  Edwards played for the Panthers in the mid-2000’s and was a part of a recruiting class that helped build a foundation of success for the Panthers for nearly a decade.  Edwards talks about...

Episode 24 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with the newest member of the Eastern Illinois coaching family as Paul Jarzynka was recently hired as the Panthers new men’s tennis head coach.  Jarzynka becomes the 20th head coach in program history.  A former NCAA Division III player, Jarzynka talks about his playing days reaching the NCAA Tournament and his path to coaching college tennis which includes...

Episode 23 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with Eastern Illinois Director of Football Performance Derek Stein.  Stein was hired in December and will take over the position in January.  A former graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Eastern Illinois, Stein was able to work the spring and summer of 2019 with EIU head football coach Adam Cushing and his staff helping to create the oppor...

Episode 22 of EIUPanthers Podcast as we talk with former Eastern Illinois baseball pitcher Matt Wivinis.  Wivinis was recently selected with the second pick of the Major League Baseball Tiriple-A Rule 5 Draft.  Wivinis talks about his unique journey into professional baseball, his time in the New York Yankess farm system and what his recent draft selection by the Texas Rangers might mean for his b...

Episode 21 of EIUPanthers Podcast talks with Eastern Illinois senior guard Mack Smith.  Smith moved into a tie in the NCAA Division I record books last Saturday (Dec. 12) against Western Illinois when he knocked down a 3-pointer for the 88th consecutive game.  Smith is now tied with former Illinois standout guard Cory Bradford.  Smith will attempt to break the record on Monday, Dec. 21 when the Pa...

Episode 20 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with former Eastern Illinois women's golfer Amanda Minchin.   Minchin was a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference performer for the Panthers in the early days of the program in the early 2000's.   Minchin won two individual tournament titles and turned that success into a professional opportunity on the Canadian Tour.  She is now a PGA of Canada professiona...

Throwing things has always come naturally for former Eastern Illinois track & field standout Braidy Miller.  On episode 19 of EIUPanthers Podcast we talk to the former three-time All-American about his unusual path to the Panthers program along with records he still owns at EIU.  In addition we talk to him about one his new passions, the Scottish Highland Games where is a world record holder in se...