NIU Huskies

With EA releasing its first college football game in over eleven years a week ago, NIU players are still in awe with their appearance in a video game they played growing up.

From paying players to NIU's maturity to the continued progression of running back Antario Brown, a wide range of subjects were discussed Friday at the MAC's media day. Here are five things we learned.

The Mid-American Conference announced on Friday that the league’s coaches picked the NIU football team to finish third in the MAC. The Huskies and Bowling Green each received 92 points, behind Miami in first and Toledo.

The NIU football game against Notre Dame will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, the school announced on Wednesday. The first meeting between the schools will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock. NIU will appear on a national broadcast on NBC for the first time in school history.

Sean T. Frazier announced that he and NIU Head Softball Coach Christina Sutcliffe have mutually agreed that Sutcliffe’s contract will not be renewed

Christian Fuhrman didn’t get to see the 2023 edition of the NIU defense up close. But from what the Southeast Missouri State transfer linebacker has seen, the 2024 model is shaping up real nice.

We may not know a starting quarterback, but we did learn a lot from NIU's spring practices, which wrapped up last week. Here are the biggest takeaways from the spring.

Head of NIU’s sports medicine department for almost three decades, Phil Voorhis was at Wal-Mart when someone by him had a cardiac episode. Voorhis sprung into action, but was surprised when he found out the chain did not have an automated external defibrillator.

Four of the top five plays at NIU's final spring practice on Saturday were made by the defense. Touchdowns, brutal hits - the defense did it all. Find out which five plays made our cut.

Heading into NIU's final spring practice on Saturday, we know plenty about this team and its expectations. So in the spirit of changing things up, here are three things we won’t see on Saturday.

Grayson Barnes has bulked up with the expectation to be a more complete player at tight end for NIU as the team continues to roll through spring practices. He and Metea Valley grad Jalen Johnson are among the pass catchers looking to make a leap.

When Jalen Macon decided to leave Arkansas-Pine Bluff and take his chances in the transfer portal, he said he knew where he wanted to land. One trip to NIU made it official.

The NIU football team has cruised through 10 spring practices so far, with the latest wrapping up Tuesday with the team in light pads after running nearly 100 plays Saturday. Here's what we've learned so far.

Fritz Peterson pitched for the Huskies in the early 1960s before playing 11 seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. He died at age 82, the school announced Friday.

Jalen Macon definitely showed what he's bringing to the table in the NIU quarterback battle on Thursday. That and a couple of other observations from the Huskies' fifth spring practice.)

After the first official practice of the spring, here are some takeaways on what's in store for Northern Illinois football.

There's more to this spring than the team's first wide-open quarterback competition since 2017, although that is kind of a big deal. We look at four storylines to keep an eye on ahead of NIU spring camp March 25.

NIU announced Friday that All-American and Heisman Trophy Finalist Jordan Lynch will be inducted into both the NIU Athletics and Mid-American Conference halls of fame in 2024, 10 years after the completion of his record-setting career.

The NIU women won their MAC tournament tune-up on Saturday while the men won their season finale on Friday.

Good: An actual bye week. Bad: A six-day week late in the season. Ugly: The team's track record with FCS teams of late. We break down NIU's recently released 2024 football schedule.

NIU’s pro day was decidedly short on targets for quarterback Rocky Lombardi to throw to when it came time to show off his abilities in drills. So he reached out to a couple of former Huskies and current Canadian Football League players Clint Ratkovich and Cole Tucker to step in.

The NIU football team will be home on Saturdays this year. A lot.The Huskies will play five Saturday home games, including homecoming against rival Toledo, in the schedule released by the school and the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday.

The Mid-American Conference Council of Presidents has voted unanimously to add UMass as a full member in all sports, beginning with the 2025-26 academic season, the league announced on Thursday. The move will bring the conference’s membership to 13 institutions.

Coach Rashon Burno praised Steven Tipton after NIU’s lopsided loss Saturday to Ohio. On Tuesday, the sophomore walk-on guard hit a pair of free throws down the stretch, backing up David Coit’s 27-point performance in a 75-72 upset win at Toledo.

The NIU women had a chance, if everything fell right, to jump into a tie for fourth place in the MAC standings. Instead, the Huskies are still clinging onto seventh place by a game after an 82-73 loss to Bowling Green on Saturday.

Both the NIU men and women were on the road Saturday, with the women's team holding on for a win at Eastern Michigan and the men falling hard at Kent State.

The NIU women put on an offensive clinic in a home win while the men fell on the road in a pair of MAC-Sun Belt Challenge games on Saturday.

DeKalb's boys get the win thanks to a wild comeback, Genoa-Kingston's girls beat Hinckley-Big Rock: Daily Chronicle Sports roundup for Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

The NIU football team announced its late signing class on Wednesday, with nine new additions to the 20 announced in December and the six players added through the transfer portal announced in January.

The NIU men’s basketball team knocked off Eastern Michigan 76-66 on Saturday at the NIU Convocation Center, the Huskies’ first win against an NCAA Division I opponent since beating DePaul on Nov. 25.

Northern Illinois University Athletics Hall of Famer and trainer Al Kranz passed away on Tuesday at the age of 99, the school announced Friday. Kranz, who was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989, was the athletic department’s first certified athletic trainer,

The NIU women's basketball team had three chances to tie or win on its final possession but couldn't get a shot to fall, while the NIU men lost for the 12th straight time against an NCAA Division I opponent.

The NIU football team will host Toledo, Akron, Central Michigan and Buffalo in 2024, the Mid-American Conference announced on Thursday. NIU will play road games against Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami and Ball State in 2024 as well.

NIU football coach Thomas Hammock announced the addition of six transfers to the Huskies’ 2024 roster on Tuesday, the first day of spring semester classes at NIU.

The NIU men's basketball team, still missing three projected starters, dropped their eighth straight game against a D-I opponent, 95-90 at Western Michigan in overtime.

The NIU men fell on the road while missing two starters while the women picked up a home win against Miami thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback.

NIU will receive $800,000 for its 2027 football game in Colorado, according to the contract between the two schools received by the Daily Chronicle via a Freedom of Information Act request late Thursday night.

Poor shooting, a game-changing run, and two more potential injuries were among the key stats for NIU in its 73-51 loss to Akron on Tuesday.

The Northern Illinois University men's basketball team took on Akron in a conference matchup Tuesday night at the Convocation Center in DeKalb.

This has got a chance to be a touchdown as long as Kanon doesn’t trip over his own feet: Inside Woodill's fake field goal touchdown run.

It took seven seasons, but Rocky Lombardi said it with pride. “I’m ready to move on.” After seven seasons, Lombardi’s college football came to a close on Saturday afternoon as he led Northern Illinois to a 21-19 win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl.

NIU dodged every bullet late and came away with a win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl, its first bowl win since the 2011 season.

The last time NIU won a bowl game was after the 2011 season when the Huskies knocked off Arkansas State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Seven bowl losses later, the Huskies and Red Wolves meet again in Alabama, this time at the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery.

At 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds, Lane Mahnesmith is the tallest NIU football player and only three Huskies weigh more. He highlights a signing class full of linemen the Huskies announced Wednesday.

NIU announced on Tuesday a future game for its football team at Colorado in 2027. The game is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2027 in Boulder. It’s the first time the Huskies will face a team from Colorado as an FBS program.

Trayvon Rudolph spent barely two weeks in the transfer portal. But in the end, the NIU wide receiver decided to remain a Huskie. Between Nov. 28 and Dec. 13, Rudolph was basically a free agent open to recruitment. And it was coach Thomas Hammock and his current team that won out.

Making his first start of the year, Will Lovings-Watts scored more points than any NIU freshman in almost six years, pouring in 23 points as the Huskies knocked off Calumet College 92-48 on Monday.

Jayden Marable came up big in the second half. Again. After 13 second-half points against Detroit Mercy in the Huskies’ last game, the NIU senior guard put up 10 points in the second half against Eastern Illinois as the Huskies knocked off Eastern Illinois 65-55 on Monday.

The last time NIU won a bowl game, it was against Arkansas State after the 2011 season. This year, they’ll get another shot at the Red Wolves in the Camellia Bowl.

The Mid-American Conference on Thursday announced it will eliminate divisions for football, with the top two teams based on winning percentage competing in the MAC Championship game.