EIUPanthers Podcast

Episode 82 of EIUPanthers Podcast - this week we talk to new Eastern Illinois men’s soccer coach Josh Oakley. Oakley grew up a local kid at nearby Mattoon High School and previously worked as an assistant coach with the Panthers men’s soccer program.  We talk to him about his coaching journey and what has brought him full circle as he gets to coach a program that he knows a little something about.

Welcome back to EIUPanthers Podcast as we begin our third season of episodes covering Eastern Illinois Athletics with interviews with current and former coaches, athletes and administrators.  Season three (Episode 81) kicks off with a conversation with former EIU golfer Ryanne Jackson.   Jackson recently competed in the inaugural USGA Adadaptive Open placing second in the women’s field.  She talks about this unique experience and how she was able to qualify for it.   In addition she gives insight on how she made her way from Florida to EIU and what the game of golf has meant to her.

Episode 80 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with former Eastern Illinois men’s basketball player Tyler Laser.  Laser played for the Panthers during the late 2000’s and then overcame some miraculous odds to go on and have a successful professional career playing in Europe.  This week we talk to Laser about some of his experiences which during part of his career took him to Eastern Europe along with his current life plan and how that evolved.

This week we piggyback off of friends at WEIU TV & Radio.  A few weeks ago they had EIU Athletic Hall of Fame member Ken Wooddell on as a guest for their Issues and Attitudes program.  Wooddell was a long time fixture in the radio industry in the Coles County area and served as the Voice of the Panther Football team during the 1980’s and 1990’s.   With their permission, this week’s episode of EIUPanthers Podcast, No. 79, in our series, is a rebroadcast of their recent conversation with Wooddell.

The Eastern Illinois baseball team is off to the best start in the program’s NCAA Division I history as the Panthers head into mid-April leading the Ohio Valley Conference race with 22 wins.   Part of that success has been with the play of transfer outfielder Nathan Aide along with strong performances by several other Panthers.  Recently Aide accomplished one of the harder feats to do in offensive baseball as he hit for the cycle collecting a home run in his fifth and final at-bat of the game.  Aide talks about that feat along with his baseball journey to Eastern Illinois and what he hopes the Panthers can accomplish on the field this season on Episode 78 of EIUPanthers Podcast.

Episode 77 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with EIU softball player Hannah Cravens.  Cravens played the role of hero in both of the Panthers softball games on Wednesday night (April 6) as she added to her season totals in doubles, home runs and RBI.  She is currently chasing the single season school record in several categories, some of those held by her current teammates.  We talk to Cravens about the good season she is having, what some of those accolades mean and what life holds for her after her softball days come to an end.

Episode 76 of EIUPanthers Podcast visits with former Eastern Illinois women’s soccer player Dr. Carole Griggs.  Griggs was a standout player on the pitch for the Panthers in the early days of the program helping EIU win an OVC Tournament Championship while earning All-League honors.  Since graduation she has gone on to create and run a successful consulting business that involves executive coaching for some top companies on the West Coast.  In addition she has worked as a college professor and written several books.  She talks about all those experiences and more on today’s episode.

In the fall of 2021 Eastern Illinois Athletics announced that it would add the sport of beach volleyball to begin play in the spring of 2022.  Fast forward eight months and the Panthers will play their inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball competition on March 22 against Missouri Baptist.   Our guest today for episode 75 of EIUPanthers Podcast is EIU associate volleyball head coach Manolo Concepcion who serves as the head coach of the EIU beach program.  Concepcion talks about how the beach program came about, his life long involvement with the sport and his side project which also involves the his continual growth in the sport of volleyball.

Episode 74 of EIUPanthers Podcast, on this week’s episode we visit with EIU women’s basketball seniors Kira Arthofer and Jordyn Hughes as both prepare to play their final home games for the Panthers this weekend at First Mid Court at Lantz Arena.  Both came into the program four years ago and have played through the ups and downs of dealing with COVID seasons.  Each recalls what it was that brought them to Eastern Illinois, some of the special moments they have shared with their teammates and what each of their futures holds after their time on the hardwood.

Episode 73 of EIUPanthers Podcast as this week we visit with recently hired EIU football coach Chris Wilkerson.  Wilkerson, a former EIU player and assistant coach, talks about his time playing and coaching for the Panthers, some memories of stops he has had along the way and what it is like to follow in the footsteps of one of his coaching mentors as the head coach at Eastern Illinois.