Northern Illinois Huskies football

The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the campus of the Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

Northern Illinois Huskies
2020 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
First season1899
Athletic directorSean Frazier
Head coachThomas Hammock
StadiumHuskie Stadium
(Capacity: 23,595)
FieldBrigham Field
Year built1965
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationDeKalb, Illinois
NCAA divisionDivision I FBS
ConferenceMid-American
DivisionWest
Past conferencesIndependent (1899–1919)
IIAC (Illinois) (1920–24)
Independent (1925–1927)
IIAC (Illinois) (1928–1949)
IIAC (1950–1965)
Independent (1966–1972)
Mid-American (1973–1985)
Independent (1986–1992)
Big West (1993–1995)
Independent (1996)
All-time record54846551 (.539)
Bowl record49 (.308)
Claimed national titles1 (1963)
Conference titles12
Division titles11
RivalriesBall State (rivalry)
Consensus All-Americans3
ColorsCardinal and Black[1]
         
Fight song"Huskie Fight Song"[2]
MascotVictor E. Huskie[3]
Marching bandThe Pride of the Midwest"[4]
WebsiteNIUHuskies.com

The Huskies compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a member of the West Division, where they have won five championships in 1983, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018. They have played in twelve post-season bowl games since 2004, most notably the 2013 Orange Bowl.

History

Early history

NIU's football program was established in the late 19th century, playing its first ever game against DeKalb High School in 1899 and was led by coach John L. Keith to the team's first ever victory. NIU started out in the independent scene from 1899 through 1919 before joining the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team became independent again in 1925. NIU returned to the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1928 and finished the season winless for the first time. In 1929 however, Chick Evans took over as the head football coach and immediately twisted the downhill fate of his team as he led his squad to a 6–1–1 record. Evans led the Huskies to continuous winning seasons since his take over, and his efforts paid off in 1938 as NIU captured the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, the team's first title. He followed it up with three more championships (1941, '44, and '46) and even led the Huskies' to a back-to-back bowl game appearance in 1946 and 1947.

In 1950, the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which had dwindled down to only five members (NIU, SIU, EIU, WIU, and ISU) accepted its first members from out of state and changed its name to the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. With the exception of the spotless season (9–0–0) in 1951 that earned the team a 5th conference title, NIU failed to make a decent showing during the first few years in the newly named conference. Howard Fletcher though had other plans as he picked up the pieces of the miserable 0–8–1 season from Robert Kahler in 1956. The Huskies' had a slow progress that picked up in the late 1950s. The team's third bowl game appearance in 1962, although a loss, was only the beginning of good things to come as in the following season, the Huskies completed their sixth undefeated season which earned them the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, an AP College Division National championship selection, and a ticket to the prestigious Mineral Water Bowl which the team eventually won over Missouri State. The team made it a three-peat championship, adding up the 1964 and 1965 conference titles. NIU became independent from 1966 through '72 before joining the Mid-American Athletic Conference in 1973. The team claimed the MAC title in 1983 then went on to their first Bowl Game in the Division I-A, the California Bowl, which the Huskies won over Cal State-Fullerton. The team left the MAC after the 1985 season and first became independent from 1986 to 1992, then joined the Big West Conference from 1993 through '95, becoming independent again in '96, then finally was admitted back into the Mid-American Conference in 1997.

Joe Novak era (1996–2007)

Joe Novak took over the Huskies program in December 1995, and coached his first NIU game in September 1996. The first three years of Novak's tenure proved to be tumultuous, as his Huskies squads won a total of three games between 1996 and 1998. Despite this, Novak kept his job and turned the program around. On October 17, 1998, the Huskies broke their epic losing streak, by defeating Central Michigan University 17–6. The student body tore down the goal posts, and carried them down Lincoln Highway, planting the goal posts in a campus lagoon.[5] University president John LaTourette personally paid to have new goal posts installed. In 1999, NIU won 5 games, and in 2000 Novak started a string of seven consecutive winning seasons, going 6–5 in both 2000 and 2001. After a 1–3 start to the 2002 season, fans began to see the fruits of Novak's labor as the team ripped off 7 consecutive wins, and only a 33–30 loss in their final game against rival Toledo prevented a MAC Championship Game appearance.

Optimism was high to start the 2003 season, with 12 returning starters including prospect and future NFL players Michael Turner, Doug Free, Brad Cieslak, P.J. Fleck, Dan Sheldon, Keith Perry, Vinson Reynolds, Akil Grant, Randee Drew, and Travis Moore. On opening weekend, the Huskies beat No. 15 Maryland, 20–13, in overtime. Then, the Huskies traveled to Tuscaloosa and beat No. 21 Alabama, 16–13. After beating Iowa State the following week, the Huskies were rolling and won their first 7 games. Following their week 5 win against Ohio, the first BCS standings were released, and by week 7 the Huskies had climbed to No. 10 overall. Novak and the Huskies could not keep that momentum going, as they lost in week 8 at No. 22 Bowling Green, which also featured the first ever ESPN GameDay appearance for a MAC football game. The Huskies lost one more game in 2003, to Toledo, finishing the year 10–2, unranked, and uninvited to a bowl game.

Novak's 2004 and 2006 teams both went to bowl games. The 2004 team went to the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California and was the first Huskies team to go bowling in 21 years. The Huskies fell behind early, 14–0, to a Troy team that featured DeMarcus Ware, but were able to rally behind future NFL running back Garrett Wolfe and the accurate passing of Josh Haldi to win, 34–21. In 2006, Wolfe and company returned to a bowl, the Poinsettia Bowl, against TCU and lost 37–7.

Novak's final year was a tough one, winning only 2 games and finishing at the bottom of the MAC West. Overall Novak won 63 games as the Huskies' head coach. He currently is retired and resides in North Carolina.

The Huskies finished the 2007 season having produced a 1,000-yard rusher in the previous nine consecutive seasons, starting in 1999, including rushers Thomas Hammock, Michael Turner, Garrett Wolfe and Justin Anderson.

Jerry Kill era (2008–2010)

Jerry Kill was hired to replace the retiring Joe Novak after the 2007 season. Kill was previously the head coach at Southern Illinois University, an FCS football program, making NIU his first FBS head coaching job. Kill led the Huskies to three straight bowl appearances in his three years as head coach, all three with quarterback Chandler Harnish. In 2010, Kill led the Huskies to the MAC Championship, but NIU fell to Miami (Ohio). On December 5, 2010, the day after NIU's loss in the MAC Championship, Kill tendered his immediate resignation and accepted the position of head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Coach Kill's resignation would leave harsh feelings in the Huskie locker room, as the players learned of his resignation through email. This left the Huskies without a coach, less than two weeks before they were to appear in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

Despite Kill's departure, the Huskies won their bowl game, defeating Fresno State in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl.

Back-to-back MAC championships

On December 13, 2010, Dave Doeren was named the new head coach. The Huskies went 11–3 in his first season and they won their first MAC Championship since 1983 in a 23–20 comeback win against Ohio, while also defeating the Arkansas State Red Wolves in a come-from-behind game in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl.

Inclusive of the 2012 season, NIU has won 10 conference and three division titles, appeared in 13 Division I-A and College Division bowl games (winning five), has accumulated 535 wins, and has an all-time winning percentage of .533.[6]

2012 ended up being another memorable season in DeKalb, with the emergence of quarterback Jordan Lynch. Lynch was replacing Huskie QB Chandler Harnish, the decorated NIU starting QB for the previous three years. There was hope that Lynch would be a good quarterback, but no one could have predicted what Lynch ended up doing in the 2012 campaign. Lynch ended the season passing for 2962 yards, 24 touchdowns with five interceptions. He also ran for 1751 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. The 1751 rushing yards were the most ever by a quarterback in the FBS at the time, surpassing a record set in 2011 by Denard Robinson of the University of Michigan. Lynch's marquee game was on November 14 against Toledo, where Lynch threw for 407 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another 162 yards. Lynch lead the Huskies to an 11–1 record, a No. 21 ranking in the BCS poll and their third consecutive MAC West Divisional Championship. In the MAC Championship Game, NIU defeated No. 17 Kent State Golden Flashes 44–37 score in double overtime. Lynch scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. The win eventually propelled the team to No. 15 in the BCS Standings, granting them their first-ever appearance in a BCS bowl game, the 2013 Orange Bowl against Florida State.[7]

The day after the MAC Championship game, Doeren was hired as the new head coach for North Carolina State University.[8] Rod Carey took over and coached the Huskies in the Orange Bowl, but NIU eventually lost 31–10 to the Seminoles.[9] The Orange Bowl was the first of Carey's four bowl losses: Orange Bowl (2013); Poinsettia Bowl (2014 & 2016); and the Boca Raton Bowl (2015).[10]

Following a bitter end to the 2012 campaign, NIU looked to build their momentum in 2013. In front of two sellout crowds, the Huskies increased their NCAA record home win streak to 26 games. Following the conclusion of the regular season, NIU was poised to bust the BCS yet again. They sat 12–0 after cruising through their schedule, and were sitting above an AQ conference champion in the BCS standings. Jordan Lynch became the first Huskie ever to be invited to the Heisman trophy ceremony in New York, finishing 3rd. Following their regular season, heartbreak happened for the Huskies. They lost both their conference championship, as well as their bowl game (Poinsettia Bowl) to finish the season 12–2, leaving Jordan Lynch with a career record of 24–4.[11]

Following the season, 3 Huskies had All-American honors. Jordan Lynch was a first team all purpose AP All American, Jimmie Ward was a first team Sports Illustrated (second team AP), and Tommylee Lewis was an honorable mention (AP).[12]

Conference affiliations

Northern Illinois has been a member of the following conferences.[13]:182

Championships

National championships

Northern Illinois was selected the 1963 NCAA College Division national champion by the Associated Press.,[14] while United Press International selected Delaware.[15]

Year Division Coach Selectors Record Conf. Record
1963NCAA College DivisionHoward FletcherAssociated Press10–04–0

Conference championships

Conference championships won by Northern Illinois as of 2018.[13]:182

Year Conference Coach Record Conf. Record
1938Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceChick Evans6–1–14–0
1944Chick Evans7–03–0
1951Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic ConferenceChick Evans9–06–0
1963Howard Fletcher10–04–0
1964Howard Fletcher7–23–1
1965Howard Fletcher9–14–0
1983Mid-American ConferenceBill Mallory10–28–1
2011Dave Doeren11–37–1
2012Dave Doeren12–18–0
2014Rod Carey11–37–1
2018Rod Carey8–66–2

† Co-champions

Division championships

Year Division Coach Opponent CG result
2001MAC WestJoe NovakN/A lost tiebreaker to Toledo
2002Joe NovakN/A lost tiebreaker to Toledo
2004Joe NovakN/A lost tiebreaker to Toledo
2005Joe NovakAkronL 30–31
2010Jerry KillMiamiL 21–26
2011Dave DoerenOhioW 23–20
2012Dave DoerenKent StateW 44–372OT
2013Rod CareyBowling GreenL 27–47
2014Rod CareyBowling GreenW 51–17
2015Rod CareyBowling GreenL 14–34
2018Rod CareyBuffaloW 30–29

† Co-champions

Bowl games

Northern Illinois has played in 13 bowl games, having a record of 4–9.

Season Bowl Opponent Result
1983California BowlCal State-FullertonW 20–13
2004Silicon Valley ClassicTroy StateW 34–21
2006Poinsettia BowlTCUL 7–37
2008Independence BowlLouisiana TechL 10–17
2009International BowlSouth FloridaL 3–27
2010Humanitarian BowlFresno StateW 40–17
2011GoDaddy.com BowlArkansas StateW 38–20
2012Orange BowlFlorida StateL 10–31
2013Poinsettia BowlUtah StateL 14–21
2014Boca Raton BowlMarshallL 23–52
2015Poinsettia BowlBoise StateL 7–55
2017Quick Lane BowlDukeL 14–36
2018Boca Raton BowlUABL 13–37
Other bowl games

In years prior to having classifications for college football, Northern Illinois participated in five bowl games that are now considered as "College Division". They played in five bowl games, having a record of 1–4.

Season Bowl Opponent Result
1946Turkey BowlEvansvilleL 7–19
1947Hoosier BowlEvansvilleL 0–20
1962Mineral Water BowlAdams StateL 20–23
1963Mineral Water BowlMissouri StateW 21–14
1965Mineral Water BowlNorth DakotaL 20–37

Head coaches

Career records of NIU head coaches.[13]:183[16]

Coach Tenure Games Record Pct.
John A. H. Keith1899–19032917–7–5.672
Dixie Fleager190455–01.000
Harry Sauthoff190553–1–1.700
Nelson A. Kellogg1906–1909288–17–3.339
William Wirtz1910–19165933–17–9.636
No team1917–1919
Paul Harrison1920–19222611–14–1.442
William Muir1923–19252311–9–3.543
Roland Cowell1926–1928206–11–3.375
Chick Evans1929–1954222132–70–20.640
Bob Kahler195590–8–1.056
Howard Fletcher1956–196812374–48–1.606
Doc Urich1969–1970206–14.300
Jerry Ippoliti1971–19755525–29–1.464
Pat Culpepper1976–19794414–29–1.330
Bill Mallory1980–19834425–19.568
Lee Corso1984114–6–1.409
Jerry Pettibone1985–19906633–32–1.508
Charlie Sadler1991–19955518–37.327
Joe Novak1996–200713963–76.453
Jerry Kill2008–20103923–16.590
Tom Matukewicz201011–01.000
Dave Doeren2011–20122723–4.852
Rod Carey2012–20188152–29.642
Thomas Hammock2019–present125–7.417

† Interim head coach for 2010 Humanitarian Bowl

‡ Interim head coach for 2013 Orange Bowl

Rivalries

Ball State

Northern Illinois holds a 24–20–2 series lead over Ball State through the 2018 season.[17]

Retired numbers

NIU has retired the jersey number of four former players.[13]:150–151

No. Name Position Years Retired
6Dave PetzkeSE1977–1978
11George BorkQB1960–19631983
12Bob HeimerdingerQB1948–19511951
31Mark KellarFB1971–19731973

College Football Hall of Fame

There have been two former NIU players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[13]:152

Name Position Years Inducted Ref.
George BorkQB1960–19631999[18]
Tom BeckQB/HB1959–19612004[19]

† Inducted as a coach

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of October 23, 2019.[20]

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Rhode Island Maine Eastern Illinois at Boston College at Notre Dame Maryland Illinois State at Nebraska
at Maryland Wyoming at Tulsa Southern Illinois UMass at Iowa at Wake Forest South Florida
at Iowa at Michigan Vanderbilt at Nebraska at New Mexico State at UMass New Mexico State
BYU at Georgia Tech at Kentucky Tulsa Northwestern

References

  1. "NIU Athletic Marks Standards Guide" (PDF). July 12, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. "The Northern Illinois Official Athletic Site – Traditions". Niuhuskies.com. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  3. "Dogs and Canine Characters: 31 of 52". Mascots.com. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  4. "Huskie Band Home – NIU – Huskie Band". Niu.edu. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  5. "Huskies In Heaven".
  6. "Rod Carey Coaching Record - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  7. McMurphy, Brett (February 12, 2012). "Sources: Northern Illinois to play in Orange Bowl". Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  8. Mitchell, Fred (January 12, 2012). "Doeren to leave Northern Illinois for N.C. State". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  9. Seligman, Andrew (August 15, 2012). "Northern Illinois looks to put Orange Bowl in past, build on BCS".
  10. "Orange Bowl - Northern Illinois vs Florida State Box Score, January 1, 2013 - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  11. "2014 Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  12. "Three Huskies Earn All-America Honors – NIUHUSKIES.COM – The Northern Illinois Official Athletic Site". Niuhuskies.Com. December 17, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  13. "2017 NIU Media Guide" (PDF). niuhuskies.com. Northern Illinois Athletics. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  14. AP (November 29, 1963). "Jacks Sixth In Final AP College Poll". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Retrieved February 28, 2017 via newspapers.com.
  15. UPI (December 4, 1963). "UPI Coaches Board Names Delaware Poll Champion". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois. Retrieved February 28, 2017 via newspapers.com.
  16. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/northern-illinois/coaches.html
  17. http://www.winsipedia.com/northern-illinois/vs/ball-state
  18. https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1932
  19. https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=2134
  20. "Northern Illinois Huskies Future Football Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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