Dameron named Eastern Illinois football coach

Jan 10, 2014 - 6:20 PM Charleston, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Former Eastern Illinois defensive coordinator Kim Dameron has returned to the Ohio Valley Conference football program as its new head coach.

Dameron was named the successor to Dino Babers, who left last month after two successful seasons to become the head coach at Bowling Green University.

Dameron was the defensive coordinator for EIU's 2000 FCS (then Division I-AA) playoff team. He served as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech this past season - his 15th season as a defensive coordinator.

This is Dameron's first head coaching position. He also has been an assistant coach at Missouri Valley, UNLV, Murray State (the Racers were 1995 OVC champions), Stephen F. Austin, Cincinnati, Louisiana-Monroe, Ole Miss and Cornell. He began his coaching career in 1993 as a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz at his alma mater, Arkansas, and he also coached with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.

Babers enjoyed two highly successful seasons at Eastern Illinois, winning back-to-back outright OVC championships to advance to the FCS playoffs. He had a 19-7 overall record (14-1 OVC), including 12-2 this season as the Panthers rose to the No. 2 national ranking and reached the national quarterfinals.