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CHARLESTON, Ill. – It's been 25 years since Eastern Illinois University held a press conference to announce a new head football coach.  On Friday a new era of Panther football began with the announcement of Dino Babers as the 22nd head coach in EIU football history.

Babers currently the special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach at Baylor University was announced as the new head coach by EIU University President Dr. William Perry and athletic director Barbara Burke before a large crowd in the EIU University Ball Room.

With a smile on his face, Babers accepted the job by simply saying he was humbled to have been considered and selected to be the head coach at Eastern Illinois following in the footsteps of a man who first hired him on the EIU staff back in 1987, Bob Spoo.

“I am humbled to be your new head football coach. I love where I am at and I can't wait to get where we are going,” Babers said.   “I can't wait to see the smiles on the faces of the players, the community and this great academic institution on the things we are going to do on and off the field. We are going to set this community on fire.”

Babers will officially join the Panthers staff following Baylor's bowl game.  The Bears play Washington in the Valero Alamo Bowl on December 29 at 8 p.m. with the game to be televised on ESPN.

One of the things that attracted Babers to the administration at Eastern Illinois was the type of man he is and the type of offense he planned on running. 

“We are excited about a new era of Panther football,” Burke said.  “We were fortunate to have a great pool of candidates to select from. It was not an easy decision. I am glad it wasn't easy, it shows that people care about this program and EIU.  When I spoke to people around the nation, two things kept coming up about Dino Babers.  1.) He is a man of outstanding character.  2.) He has a great offensive football mind.  Lastly one person I respect called me and said I would be crazy not to hire Dino.”

Baylor is currently one of the most exciting offenses in the nation as the Bears rank fifth in the nation in passing offense and second in the nation in total offense.  Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III became Baylor's first Heisman Trophy winner on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Babers is in his fourth season at Baylor helping head coach Art Briles rebuild the program.  Baylor will be playing in its second straight bowl game after playing Illinois in the Texas Bowl in 2010.

“He will be a great leader of your football program,” Briles said.  “He is an outstanding man, a great father and husband.”

Babers joined the Baylor program after four seasons as the assistant head coach at UCLA on the staff of Karl Dorrell.  At UCLA Babers helped coach the Bruins to four straight bowl appearances.

“He is a tremendous coach that brings a wealth of experience,” said Dorrell.  “He has coached every position on offense.  As a recruiter he is energetic and can make that connection to players.”

Babers mentioned that he would have a national base for recruiting with the primary emphasis on winning Illinois and the bordering states.  He thanked the EIU administration for its support of that vision and the financial backing to have that national recruiting philosophy.

“The formula for success is going to follow the game plan we started at Baylor. We have to start with the product, and the product is the players,” Babers added. “We want to attack them not only on the field from a strength and development standpoint, but also socially, morally and spiritually. All of those things are involved to making sure we get the best person we can on the football field.”

Babers continued by saying “After that we are going to get into the community and get them behind us. We are going to play an exciting brand of football. It is something people are going to want to come out and see and it's going to be the thing to do on Saturdays. If you're not watching us, then you're not in the place where all the action is.”

Prior to his time at UCLA, Babers spent one season at Pittsburgh following offensive coordinator stints at Texas A&M and Arizona.  In 1998 he helped Arizona post a 12-1 record with a number four national ranking.  In 1999 his offensive unit ranked third in the nation in total offense at 471.9 yards per game.

Babers entered the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Hawai'i for one season and for two years as a graduate assistant at Arizona State.  ASU earned a trip the Rose Bowl following the 1986 season.  He was hired as a part of Bob Spoo's first staff at Eastern Illinois in 1987.  Babers mentioned that EIU was a place that he always thought might be a head coaching destination.

“All during my career I have always circled Eastern Illinois on my resume and said to myself – If that job ever came open I would love to be considered to be the next head coach of that program.”  Babers then joked by saying “it only took 25 years for Coach Spoo to retire for that opening to occur.  That is a tribute to the type of program he has built here and the success they have been able to have.”

Babers has had success at every stop of his coaching career.  He has coached 23 former players who eventually played in the National Football League during his more than 25 years in the college coaching profession.

A native of San Diego, Calif., Babers (50) was a four-year starter at Hawai'i earned All-Western Athletic Conference Academic honors.  He was a free agent signee with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League when an injury in camp ended his professional career.  He earned his undergraduate degree from Hawai'i in 1984 and a masters degree from Arizona State in 1988.  He and his wife Susan have four daughters – Breeahnah, Tasha, Jazzmin and Paris.

Eastern Illinois plays in the Ohio Valley Conference and has made 13 NCAA FCS playoff appearances.  The Panthers have won four OVC conference titles since the 2000 season.  EIU is the alma mater of current NFL head coaches Sean Payton and Mike Shanahan along with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

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