Dino Babers new Eastern Illinois coach

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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois has hired Baylor assistant coach Dino Babers to take over for longtime football coach Bob Spoo.

The school announced Babers' hiring on Friday. The longtime assistant coach was a member of Spoo's first staff at Eastern in 1987. The Football Championship Subdivision school plays in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Babers coached Baylor's wide receivers and has been at the school since 2008. The Bears went 9-3 this season and are headed to the Valero Alamo Bowl.

He played at Hawaii and has been an assistant at schools including Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, San Diego State, UCLA, Arizona, Purdue, Northern Arizona and UNLV.

Spoo announced plans to retire before this season. The Panthers finished 2-9. Spoo finished with a career record of 144-131-1.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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