The Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Western Illinois Leathernecks have scheduled a home-and-home football series for 2024 and 2025, FBSchedules.com has learned.
A copy of the competition contract was obtained from Eastern Kentucky University via a state open records request.
In the first game of the series, Eastern Kentucky will host Western Illinois at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky., on September 14, 2024. The Colonels will travel to play the Leathernecks the following season at Hanson Field in Macomb, Ill., on September 13, 2025.
Eastern Kentucky, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, and Western Illinois, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, have never met on the gridiron.
The addition of the series with Western Illinois tentatively completes the non-conference schedule for Eastern Kentucky in 2024. EKU is scheduled to open the season with consecutive road contests at Mississippi State on Aug. 31 and at Western Kentucky on Sept. 7.
The Colonels now have two non-conference games scheduled for the 2025 season with the addition of Western Illinois. Eastern Kentucky is scheduled to open the season at Louisville on Aug. 30.
Eastern Kentucky is the first known non-conference opponent for Western Illinois for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Eastern Kentucky, 3-2 so far this season, is scheduled to host the UT Martin Skyhawks this Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium. Western Illinois, winless at 0-4, hosts the Missouri State Bears in Macomb.
Football Schedules