The Eastern Illinois Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams representing Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. Eastern Illinois University's colors are blue, black and silver. Eastern Illinois sports teams, except for men's soccer and swimming teams, participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Ohio Valley Conference. The men's soccer program competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and the swim team competes in The Summit League. The team mascot, a panther, was informally known as "Billy" until its name was officially changed to "Prowler the Panther" [2] in 2003. Eastern Illinois University is home to one of only two NCAA Division I women's rugby teams in the United States.
