Northern Illinois athletics releases 2022 hall of fame class

The Northern Illinois athletics department announced the 2022 class for its Hall of Fame on Tuesday, featuring seven former student-athletes.

Amy Foulke (volleyball, 1990-93), Thomas Hammock (football, 1999-2002), Chandler Harnish (football 2008-11), Kristin Hoffman (volleyball, 2008-11), Sandra Lutz (field hockey, softball and volleyball, 1966-70), Scott Simon (baseball, 2003-07) and Chad Spann (football, 2007-10) all will be inducted. They will be joined by coach and administrator Robert Collins, special contributor Rick Cerrone and the Barsema, Chessick, Rich and Yordon families.

The induction will take place Oct. 7 as part of Northern Illinois’ 115th homecoming weekend celebration. More information about the ceremony will be available later in the summer.

A larger than usual class was selected this year because of last year’s postponement because of uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With this bigger class due to COVID, we feel that we have selected an elite class that represents the best of Huskie Athletics,” Hall of Fame committee chairman Rodney Davis said in a news release. “We are very excited to induct this group into the Hall of Fame, and we hope that the entire NIU community will join us for the celebration.”

Foulke is the NIU career leader in blocks and matches played on the volleyball court. She was a key part of the volleyball program’s success in the early 1990s, which included three postseason appearances in her four seasons.

Hammock, the current head football coach, recorded two 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a running back. He finished his playing career as the seventh all-time leading rusher in program history with 2,432 yards, and currently is 13th on that list.

Harnish is NIU’s career leader in passing yards and is in the top 10 in rushing yards. His 11,927 yards of total offense are most in school history. That number includes his 8,944 career passing yards. As a senior in 2011, he was the Mid-American Conference MVP.

Hoffman is one of only four Huskies volleyball players ever to earn All-America honors. She ranks third in NIU history in career assists. She helped guide NIU to the NCAA tournament as a senior in 2011.

Lutz was a standout field hockey goalie at NIU in the late 1960s, while also excelling on the volleyball court and the softball field. In field hockey, she was a three-time Midwest College Field Hockey Association All-College First Team honoree.

Simon is the baseball team’s career leader in hits (318), RBIs (193) and doubles (69). He was a First Team Freshman All-American in 2003 and hit over .300 all four years he played at NIU.

Spann ranks second in school history with 49 career touchdowns and 10th with 2,916 rushing yards on the football field. He was a two-time First Team All-MAC performer.

Collins served as men’s basketball assistant coach for three seasons in the late 1980s. He returned to DeKalb in 1992 as an administrator. He served in various roles, including interim athletic director in 2008. He oversaw the expansion and renovation of numerous athletic facilities.

After graduating from NIU, Cerrone worked as a writer, editor and media relations specialist in pro baseball. He was the Senior Director of Media Relations for the New York Yankees from 1996-06. In 2018 he became the Editor in Chief of Baseball Digest.

The Barsema, Chessick, Rich and Yordon families are being honored for the support they have given to the athletic department over the years.