2021 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

American college football season

2021 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football

Opportunity Bowl champion
Conference	AQ7
Record	7–4 (4–2 AQ7)
Head coach	Walt Wells (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Andy Richman (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jake Johnson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Roy Kidd Stadium
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 WAC–ASUN Challenge football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 5 Sam Houston $^	6	–	0	11	–	1
No. 21 Stephen F. Austin ^	4	–	2	8	–	4
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	2	7	–	4
Central Arkansas	3	–	3	5	–	6
Jacksonville State	3	–	3	5	–	6
Abilene Christian	1	–	5	5	–	6
Lamar	0	–	6	1	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by Walt Wells in his second season. The Colonels played their home games at Roy Kidd Stadium and competed as a member of the ASUN Conference.

The ASUN Conference and Western Athletic Conference announced the formation of the WAC-ASUN Challenge (AQ7) for the 2021 season on February 23, 2021. The Challenge included the four fully qualified Division I (FCS) members of the WAC (Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, and Stephen F. Austin) and Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State of the ASUN Conference. The winner of the challenge received an auto-bid to the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 p.m.	at Western Carolina*		Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 31–28	9,647
September 11	7:00 pm	at Louisville*		Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	ACCNX	L 3–30	39,673
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Indiana State*		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 21–23	14,173
September 25	3:00 p.m.	No. 19 Austin Peay*		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 35–27	13,081
October 2	3:00 p.m.	Tarleton State		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 20–3	13,174
October 9	6:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY (ASUN/WAC Challenge)	ESPN+	W 30–15	8,659
October 16	5:00 p.m.	at Central Arkansas		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 38–35	5,438
October 30	2:00 p.m.	Lamar	No. 25	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY (ASUN/WAC Challenge)	ESPN+	W 42–10	8,462
November 6	5:00 p.m.	at Stephen F. Austin	No. 25	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX (ASUN/WAC Challenge)	ESPN+	L 17–31	7,637
November 13	1:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Sam Houston		Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (ASUN/WAC Challenge)	ESPN+	L 28–42	6,570
November 20	2:00 p.m.	Jacksonville State		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY (Opportunity Bowl^[2])	ESPN+	W 39–31 ^2OT	11,682
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[3]^[4]

References

^ "ASUN, WAC form 2021 alliance, seek FCS playoff bid". Verizon Media. February 23, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ "EKU To Host 2nd Annual Opportunity Bowl". Eastern Kentucky University. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "2021 Eastern Kentucky Colonels Football Schedule". EKUSports.com.
^ "2021 Eastern Kentucky Colonels Football Schedule". FBSchedules.

v t e Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Venues	Hanger Stadium (1938–1968) Roy Kidd Stadium (1969–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games 1955 Tangerine Bowl 1967 Grantland Rice Bowl Morehead State: Old Hawg Rifle Western Kentucky: Battle of the Bluegrass
Culture & lore	The Colonel "Rally Maroon and White" Marching Colonels
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901–1908 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