When Thanksgiving weekend’s winter storm forced postponement of the Illinois High School Association’s Class 5A to 8A football state championship games at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium in Normal, Northern Illinois University Athletics administrators contacted the IHSA and offered to host the 7A and 8A state title games at Huskie Stadium.

With only a few short days to prepare for the championship games, which were rescheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3, the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau team stepped up to assist NIU with promotion of the event, snow removal in the Huskie Stadium stands, and recruitment of community volunteers to assist in event management.

The DCCVB and NIU are no strangers to hosting state championship events. They partnered in hosting the IHSA football state championship series on odd years from 2013 through 2021.

NIU also has been the longtime host of the Illinois Elementary School Association state wrestling finals, and the Convocation Center most recently hosted the Illinois Cheer Association Final Fling and state championship competitions over three weekends in November.

The collective experience of our DCCVB community partners in hosting major sports tourism events paid off, as DeKalb County welcomed to NIU thousands of high school football fans, families and participants from the Chicago and northern Illinois region to support their respective schools and patronize local businesses and attractions.

• Bradley Hoey is special projects manager with the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.