O'Brien Field (Charleston) - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from O'Brien Stadium) Stadium in Illinois, U.S.A.

O'Brien Field
Construction

Former names	Lincoln Field
Location	100 Grant Avenue Charleston, IL 61920
Coordinates	39°28′50″N 88°10′52″W / 39.48056°N 88.18111°W / 39.48056; -88.18111
Owner	Eastern Illinois University
Operator	Eastern Illinois University
Capacity	10,000
Record attendance	12,600 November 9, 1980 (vs. Northern Iowa)
Surface	Hellas Fieldturf
Broke ground	1968
Opened	1970
Renovated	1999
Construction cost	$1.7 million
Architect	Atkins, Barrow & Graham, Inc.
Tenants
Eastern Illinois Panthers (NCAA) (1970–present)

O'Brien Field is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Charleston, Illinois. It is home to the Eastern Illinois University Panthers football and track and field teams. O’Brien Field is named after Maynard O'Brien who coached football and track at Eastern Illinois University. The stadium features a nine-lane track and in 2004 an artificial turf field was installed. In 2009 a state of the art scoreboard was installed on the north end of the field with a video board and new sound system.

The stadium served as the summer home for the former St. Louis Cardinals football team in 1976 and 1977 and again from 1982 to 1987.

The record attendance for O'Brien Field was 12,600 on November 9, 1980, vs. Northern Iowa. The all-time record for the Panthers football team at O'Brien Field is 178–95–3 as of the end of the 2019 season.

The stadium also plays host to the IHSA State Finals in track and field every year. The Boys Track State Finals were first held there in 1972, have been conducted there every season since 1974. The Girls State Finals have been held there every season since it was first run in 1973.

Home records

Year	Record
Home Records
1970	1-4
1971	4-1
1972	0-5
1973	2-4
1974	3-2
1975	2-1-2
1976	3-3
1977	1-3
1978	7-0
1979	4-3
1980	7-0
1981	5-1
1982	7-0
1983	5-1
1984	4-2
1985	5-1
1986	7-1
1987	3-2
1988	4-2
1989	6-0
1990	3-2
1991	4-1
1992	4-1
1993	1-2-1
1994	4-2
1995	6-0
1996	3-2
1997	4-1
1998	3-3
1999	4-1
2000	5-0
2001	5-1
2002	5-0
2003	3-3
2004	3-2
2005	4-2
2006	5-1
2007	3-2
2008	3-2
2009	3-2
2010	1-4
2011	1-4
2012	5-0
2013	6-1
2014	3-2
2015	3-2
2016	2-3
2017	3-2
2018	2-3
2019	0–5
2020	1–2
2021	0–4
Totals 52 Years	180-103-3 .635

Attendance

Year	Games	Total attendance	Average attendance	Highest game attendance	Lowest game attendance
Attendance
2002	5	35,030	7,006	10,731	3,740
2003	6	29,413	4,902	NA	NA
2005	6	37,094	6,182	NA	NA
2006	6	38,690	6,448	NA	NA
2007	5	37,058	7,411	9,861	3,083
2008	5	25,447	5,089	7,996	1,919
2009	5	38,847	7,769	11,271	3,509
2010	5	28,343	5,669	8,007	4,311
2011	5	37,937	7,587	9,111	6,157
2012	5	35,681	7,136	9,154	5,319
2013	7	56,086	8,012	11,569	3,850
2014	5	32,476	6,496	9,169	2,170
2015	5	28,387	5,677	8,104	1,438
2016	5	29,067	5,813	7,907	3,054
2017	5	24,750	4,950	8,176	2,828
2018	5	26,715	5,343	7,670	2,149
2019	5	24,413	4,883	7,055	3,170
2020^	3	3,846	1,282	1,312	1,252

^Low attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attendance records

The following are the highest attendances at O’Brien Field as of the end of the 2019 NCAA football season.

**Highest attendances at O’Brien Field**
Rank	Attendance	Date	Game result
1	12,600	Nov. 9, 1980	Eastern Illinois 14, Northern Iowa 9
2	12,547	Nov. 5, 1983	Eastern Illinois 12, Southwest Missouri 3
3	12,425	Nov. 13, 1982	Eastern Illinois 73, Kentucky State 0
4	12,000	Nov. 3, 1979	Eastern Illinois 21, Youngstown State 49
5	11,856	Nov. 1, 1986	Eastern Illinois 64, Winona State 0
6	11,628	Oct. 27, 2001	Eastern Illinois 52, Tennessee State 49
7	11,569	Oct. 19, 2013	Eastern Illinois 55, Southeast Missouri 33
8	11,485	Nov. 7, 1987	Eastern Illinois 27, Southern Illinois 32
9	11,469	Sept. 28, 2013	Eastern Illinois 42, Eastern Kentucky 7
10	11,321	Oct. 31, 1998	Eastern Illinois 21, Tennessee State 27

References

"Nostalgia Surrounds O'Brien" (PDF). Eastern Illinois University. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Illinois January 21". Engineering News-Record. 182 (1). New York City: McGraw-Hill: 38. 1969.
"O'Brien Field". eiupanthers.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
"O'Brien Field" (PDF). p. 140. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
"2018 EIU Football Media Guide page 140" (PDF). Retrieved May 29, 2019.
"2003 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2005 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2006 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2007 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2008 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2009 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2010 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2011 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2012 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2013 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2014 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2015 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2016 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2017 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2018 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
"2019 NCAA Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
"O'Brien Field Top Ten Home Attendance" (PDF). p. 132. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

External links

O'Brien Field

v t e Eastern Illinois University
Athletics	Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Men's soccer
Buildings	Booth Library Carman Hall Coaches Stadium at Monier Field Lantz Arena McAfee Gym O'Brien Field Old Main Pemberton Hall
Media	The Daily Eastern News WEIU FM WEIU TV

v t e 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
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Football stadiums of the Ohio Valley Conference
O'Brien Field (Eastern Illinois) Harlen C. Hunter Stadium (Lindenwood) Houck Stadium (Southeast Missouri State) Nissan Stadium (Tennessee State) Tucker Stadium (Tennessee Tech) Graham Stadium (UT Martin) Hanson Field (Western Illinois)

College football venues in Illinois

Division I
FBS

Big Ten	Memorial Stadium (Illinois) Martin Athletics Complex (Northwestern)
MAC	Huskie Stadium (Northern Illinois)

Division I
FCS

Big South–OVC	Hanson Field (Western Illinois) O'Brien Field (Eastern Illinois)
Missouri Valley	Hancock Stadium (Illinois State) Saluki Stadium (Southern Illinois)

Division II

GLIAC	Morris Field (Roosevelt)
GLVC	Leemon Field (McKendree) QU Stadium (Quincy)

Division III

CCIW	Augustana Stadium/Ericson Field (Augustana) Benedetti–Wehrli Stadium (North Central) Frank M. Lindsay Field (Millikin) Holmgren Athletic Complex (North Park) Illinois Wesleyan Stadium (Illinois Wesleyan) Langhorst Field (Elmhurst) McCully Field (Wheaton)
Midwest	Bobby Woll Memorial Field (Monmouth) England Field (Illinois College) Farwell Field (Lake Forest) Knox Bowl (Knox) Stagg Field (Chicago)
Northern	Cougar Stadium (Concordia) Sam Greeley Field (Rockford) Spartan Stadium (Aurora) Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex (Benedictine)
UMAC	Francis Field (Greenville) Freesen Field (MacMurray) McKinzie Field (Eureka)

NAIA

Mid-States	Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field (Saint Xavier) Joliet Memorial Stadium (St. Francis) Leslie A. Frazier Field (Trinity International) Ward Field (Olivet Nazarene)