Northern Illinois University Athletics

A championship winning quarterback, Chandler Harnish is NIU's career leader in passing yards and ranks in the top-10 in career rushing, while helping to guide the Huskies to their first conference title in nearly 30 years. 

During his junior season in 2010, Harnish and the Huskies won 11 games and won the MAC West Division title, reaching the conference championship game for just the second time in program history. The NIU signal caller threw for 2,530 yards and added another 836 rushing, to break the then school record with 3,366 yards of total offense. He led the MAC, and ranked 11th nationally, with a 157.8 passer rating while earning All-MAC First Team honors. 

As a senior in 2011, Harnish was awarded the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the MAC's Most Valuable Player after guiding the Huskies to another 11-win season and its first conference title since 1983. Harnish garnered honorable mention All-America honors from Sports Illustrated, was a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award. He posted 4,595 yards of total offense (3,216 passing and 1,379 rushing), fourth-most in the country.

Harnish concluded his outstanding NIU career with 11,927 yards of total offense, most in school history, which includes a school record 8,944 passing yards and 2,983 rushing yards, ninth-most in NIU history. He also ranks fifth in career touchdown passes (68), first in career pass completions (687), third in completion percentage (61.9 percent) and fifth in yards per attempt (5.54). Harnish was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft and also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings during his pro career.