DeKALB, Ill. – The defending Mid-American Conference Champion Northern Illinois University Huskies will officially open the Thomas Hammock era at Huskie Stadium on Saturday, August 31 versus Illinois State in the first of five 2019 home games, according to the 2019 NIU Football schedule released Wednesday.

Hammock, the former Huskie player named the 23^rd head coach in school history on January 18, will make his head coaching debut at home versus the Redbirds before leading his Huskies into a trio of "Power 5" stadiums in the month of September. Following the home opener, NIU plays at Utah (Sept. 7), at Nebraska (Sept. 14) and at Vanderbilt (Sept. 28), with an open date between the Nebraska and Vandy contests.

"It's a great schedule, we embrace it," Hammock said. "It's hard to say right now what the emotions will be entering the first game, it's so far away.  We're going through the process of preparing the team to be ready.  We're going to embrace the challenge of the non-conference schedule. To me, everyone on the schedule is nameless and faceless because the focus is on getting our team prepared."

All-time, NIU has played Illinois State more times than any other school as the 2019 game marks the 57^th meeting between the teams with NIU holding a 25-22-9 edge in the series. However, the Huskies and Redbirds have not met on the gridiron since 2000. On the other hand, NIU is 0-1 all-time versus Utah after the Utes escaped DeKalb with a 17-10 victory last year, and is 1-2 versus Nebraska with the Huskies claiming a 21-17 win over the Huskers at Memorial Stadium in 2017. Vanderbilt has won all three previous meetings between the teams, most recently in 1999.

The Huskies open defense of their 2018 MAC Championship on October 5 when Ball State visits DeKalb for the annual Battle for the Bronze Stalk. NIU is at MAC East foes Ohio (October 5) and Miami (October 12) in back-to-back weeks before welcoming Akron to Huskie Stadium on October 26 for the 113^th Homecoming game.  Versus the same three teams a year ago, NIU defeated Ohio and Akron, and lost to Miami in the first game played for the Mallory Cup.

"The great thing about football is you start over every year," Hammock said. "Every year, you have to go out and prove yourself.  Every week is a going to be a chance for us to prove ourselves. The MAC is a good conference, it's a deep conference. I'm glad to see the way the schedule played out in terms of the time between games."

The MAC West title will be determined in November as the Huskies play four consecutive games versus teams from its division, beginning with a game at Central Michigan on Saturday, November 2. NIU will then enjoy a "mini-bye" – an 11-day break – before taking on Toledo in Toledo on Wednesday, November 13.  NIU closes out the regular season with a pair of home games - versus Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, November 19 and Western Michigan on Tuesday, November 26.  The Toledo and EMU games will be featured on a national television broadcast (ESPN2 or ESPNU).

Throughout the 2019 season, NIU will join its league brethren and NCAA and NAIA institutions across the country to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of college football, including wearing the 150^th Anniversary patch on its jerseys. Specific details of NIU's participation in the celebration will be announced later this spring.  
 
NIU Football season ticket prices for the 2019 five-game home schedule remain at the same low prices, providing Huskie fans with the best value in Chicagoland. Season ticket packages start as low as $55 with the Huskie Stadium Family Pack (four West Side tickets for $220), or pay just $60 for a general admission season ticket on the East Side.

Huskie Stadium has a variety of seating options from general public to reserved bench backs or chair backs, as well as Sky Club and Sky Box availability, for just $125 for all five games. A Huskie Athletic Fund donation is required for the premium options. The entire pricing list, including both Family Pack options and discounted season ticket pricing for senior citizens, NIU Faculty and Staff, NIU Alumni Association and Varsity Club members, is available on the Football Tickets page of NIUHuskies.com.

Season ticket renewals are now available online at NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies, while new season ticket holders can reserve great seats at Huskie Stadium for as little as $30 (includes processing fee). (see link above)
 
Football season ticket members have exclusive access to purchase tickets from NIU for the non-conference road games at Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Utah, along with multiple other benefits including invitations to special events, discounts on basketball and volleyball season tickets, priority on MAC Championship and bowl game tickets, and more.
 
The first opportunity to see Hammock and the Huskies football team in action prior to the regular season will be on Saturday, April 20 at the 2019 Huskie Bowl at the conclusion of spring football practice.
 
See the complete 2019 regular season schedule here.

-- NIU --