DETROIT – For the fourth time in the last five years, the Northern Illinois University Huskies were picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference West Division by a panel of MAC sportswriters and broadcasters as the league released its annual preseason poll on Tuesday during the annual conference media day.
NIU, which won its fourth MAC Championship in the last eight years in 2018 and has played in the league title game seven times in the last nine seasons, earned 103 points in the 2019 preseason poll. Toledo
collected 127 points, including 15 first-place votes, and were selected as West Division favorites, followed by Western Michigan with 112 points and five first-place nods. Three voters tabbed NIU to win the West.
Eastern Michigan earned the fourth spot in the West Division preseason poll with 83 points, followed by Ball State (43 points) and Central Michigan (36). Ohio was the unanimous choice to win the MAC East, followed by Miami (107 points) and Buffalo (100). Kent State (62 points), Akron (54) and Bowling Green (37) rounded out the East Division voting.
Ohio was also the choice to win the MAC Championship game with 13 votes, followed by Toledo (7) and Western Michigan (2). NIU and Central Michigan received one vote each to win the title.
NIU returns 52 letterwinners and 16 starters off the Huskie team that finished 8-6 overall a year ago. NIU came back from a 29-10 third-quarter deficit to defeat MAC East Champion Buffalo, 30-29, in the Marathon MAC Championship game held at Ford Field, the league head coaches and select student-athletes gathered Tuesday for the 2019 MAC Media Day.
New NIU head coach
Thomas Hammock was one of four new MAC head coaches in attendance. The former Huskie running back is no stranger to the league as he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2000 and 2001 for NIU.
He said while the team remains focused on the season opener versus Illinois State on August 31, the MAC has always been a competitive league.
"We have great respect for the MAC," Hammock said. "We know it is a league where any team can win on any given day. Preseason polls and rankings are a good way to bring attention and get people excited for the season, but games are not won or lost in the preseason. Going into each game, our focus is on us, how we prepare and how we go about our business. I'm confident we'll be ready to play each and every game."
A year ago, NIU was chosen to win the division, the third time the Huskies were the favorites and ended with the title since 2008. The Huskies have won the West three times as the second-place choice and once when picked third.
NIU in the MAC Preseason Poll
MAC West Division
Year Preseason Finish
2009 – 3rd 2nd
2010 – 1st 1st
2011 – 2nd 1st
2012 – 2nd 1st
2013 – 1st 1st
2014 – 2nd 1st
2015 – 3rd 1st
2016 – 3rd 3rd
2017 – 3rd 2nd
2018 – 1st 1st
Season tickets for the 2019 NIU Football home schedule are on sale now, starting at as little as $60 for an East Side (general admission) season ticket. Purchase four tickets for family or a group of friends on either the East or West Side for as little as $55 or $75 per person with the Huskie Family Pack, including the ability to purchase tickets at those rates for additional people. For groups of less than four, reserved seats on the West Side are priced at either $125 (sections C, D, E) or $110 (sections A, B, F, G) each, while senior citizens (62+), NIU Faculty and Staff, members of the NIU Alumni Association or the NIU Varsity Club can purchase a ticket in any West Side section for $110.
To renew or purchase new season tickets and #JointhePack for 2019, click the links above, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tickets are also available by calling 815-753-PACK (7225), emailing huskiestickets@niu.edu or stopping by the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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