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 game at the both the collegiate and professional levels.

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 Panthers program.   In addition, Emanuel gives us a quick preview on the upcoming meet and any added pressure for the Panthers in hosting the meet.

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 he wraps up his medical fellowship this year in Colorado.

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 sport of running and his experience at EIU having already won a pair of OVC Championships on the cross country and indoor track teams.

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 episode talks about the home run record and how she has improved her game to now be ranked in the career top ten for power and speed numbers.

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 with two undefeated teams.  Simmons is the 15th head coach in program history and fourth in the Panthers 41 years at the NCAA Division I level

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 to create a swim centered booster group to help support the Panthers swim program for years to come.

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 Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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 for Georgia Farm Monitor.