(Photo By Flickr User Eastern Illinois University)

Eastern Illinois football’s first Ohio Valley Conference road game for the 2017 season, will have a little added pageantry as Tennessee State University announced that their Saturday, September 30th match-up with EIU will serve as this year’s John Merritt Classic to be played in Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. This will be the 19th edition of the John Merritt Classic which is traditionally played on Labor Day weekend but is being moved this season due to another scheduling conflict for the Tigers.

The September 30th game will be the second OVC game of the season for Eastern Illinois and their first road game of the OVC schedule. EIU opens the year on Thursday, August 31st at Indiana State and plays its home opener against Illinois State on Saturday, September 16th in the Mid-America Classic at O’Brien Field. The Panthers will open the OVC schedule at home hosting Southeast Missouri on Saturday, September 23rd.

Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series between the two schools 13-7 including five straight wins in the series. EIU beat TSU 35-34 at O’Brien Field last season during the Panthers Hall of Fame Game. The Panthers won 25-22 in overtime during their last trip to Nissan Stadium in 2015.

John Merritt coached at Tennessee State from 1963-1983 and the first John A. Merritt Classic was played in 1999 to honor the College Football Hall of Fame Coach.

This will mark the first time that TSU has played a non-HBCU as part of the Merritt Classic. TSU beat University Of Arkansas Pine Bluff, 44-0, in last year’s Merritt Classic.

If you want to travel with the Panther Nation or get more details about this game, go online to www.eiupanthers.com or www.merrittclassic.com, today!