June 2, 2016
DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University student-athletes Drew Hare (football) and Emily Naegele (softball) were honored Wednesday night by the Mid-American Conference as the Huskie recipients of the 2016 MAC Medal of Excellence Awards. The awards were presented during the MAC Honors Dinner at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.
The Medal of Excellence is an award presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each of the 12 MAC institutions. Recipients are selected by each university for their excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service.
A two-year starter for the Huskies at quarterback, Hare earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from NIU in May. He completed his bachelor’s degree with a 3.67 GPA and will begin master’s courses while returning for his senior campaign in 2016. The O’Fallon, Missouri native led the Huskies to the 2014 MAC Championship and started the first nine games of 2015 before suffering a torn Achilles tendon versus Toledo that ended his season. He has twice been named Academic All-MAC and was a MAC Distinguished Scholar in 2015. He ranked among the national leaders in interception percentage as a sophomore in 2014, throwing just two interceptions in 326 attempts. A member of the Huskies’ Leadership Council in each of the past two seasons, Hare is 16-6 as NIU’s starting signal-caller.
Naegele became the first NIU softball player since 1997 to be named an All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association when she collected third team honors Wednesday to cap off a stellar senior season and career. The Oak Forest, Illinois product earned 2016 first team Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America after completing her undergraduate degree in pre-physical therapy this May with a 3.90 GPA. One of the top slugging catchers in the country, Naegele broke five school records in 2016, including the NIU career marks for home runs (32) and RBI (144). She was named first team All-MAC, first team All-Great Lakes Region and to the MAC All-Tournament Team and was the only MAC softball player to earn All-America honors this year. Naegele’s play was instrumental as the Huskies won their first MAC West Division title since 2000.
“The Medal of Excellence Award is a reinforcement of the core values that we as a conference and each of our member institutions all possess with excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service,” said MAC Commissioner, Jon A. Steinbrecher. “We congratulate all of our Medal of Excellence Award winners.”
This year marked the third year the league has presented the Medals of Excellence. Previous NIU recipients are listed below.
2016 – Drew Hare (football), Emily Naegele (softball)
2015 – Rob Sterling (football), Mackenzie Roddy (volleyball)
2014 – Ricky Connors (football), Kim Gotlund (gymnastics)
-- NIU --
Twitter: @NIUAthletics
Facebook: NIU Huskies
Instagram: niuhuskies
