General | April 28

Hello Huskies!
 
As a most unusual school year at NIU comes to a close this week and many of our student-athletes complete their 2021 seasons and take finals, I'm proud of the accomplishments we have seen this year, and even more excited about the future of Huskie Athletics.
 
One of the busiest springs in school history – with volleyball and both soccer teams competing this spring in addition to our "traditional" spring sports – is wrapping up. Gymnastics, women's golf and men's tennis team all claimed second-place finishes in the MAC (either Championship event or regular season).
 
Men's tennis won 21 matches this spring, the most for that program since 2012, while women's tennis' six wins versus league competition has not been accomplished since 2003! Gymnastics sent three individuals to the NCAA Regionals and wrestling's Brit Wilson followed up his MAC Championship by becoming the first NIU wrestler to earn All-America honors since 2004 with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Congratulations are also in order for Lauren Ingle, who became the first Huskie women's golfer to be named to the first team All-MAC squad, and her head coach Kim Kester, who shared MAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
By next Monday (May 3), just three teams – baseball, softball and outdoor track and field – will still be competing as we quickly approach "summer" mode.
 
Over at the Yordon Center, the coaches are still fired up after an extremely productive and competitive spring for the Huskie Football team. I hope you had a chance to come out and watch as the young Huskies showed improvement across the board. Their offseason work in the weight room – not to mention on the yoga mat - was evident as they were bigger, faster and stronger on both sides of the ball. In addition to making plays, this team was HAVING FUN and developing those bonds that you see in every good team. Check out Coach Hammock's recap of spring football in this video on the NIU Huskies YouTube Channel.
 
Just that "taste" of football has me ready for August and I can't wait to see you back in the stands at Huskie Stadium this fall for NIU's six home games, including four Saturday games in September and October. As we learned last year, NOTHING compares to being in the stadium with your fellow Huskies, cheering on our teams. Believe me, you were missed last year BIG TIME! Our players feed off the roar of the crowd, the Huskie Marching Band firing up the fight song and the familiar "that's a Huskie …. First Down."
 
If you missed Huskie Football as much as we missed you, I hope you will renew or purchase 2021 season tickets. Season tickets are available for as little as $85 (general admission, East Side) or get together with three friends and purchase the Family Pack for just $66 each. Click here for more information or call 815-753-PACK (7225) to speak to a member of our ticket office staff.
 
We anticipate getting back to capacity at Huskie Stadium this fall, while incorporating some of the changes adopted this year, like digital tickets and game programs, while expanding use of the NIU Huskies mobile app in areas like concessions, and more.

 
If getting to games in person is difficult for you or you want to upgrade your experience at Huskie Stadium or the NIU Convocation Center this year, I hope you will consider supporting our 400-plus student-athletes by donating to the Huskie Athletic Fund. The recently released HAF Membership Guide is filled with information on the many different ways to support NIU student-athletes, whether through one of our annual initiatives like Huskies Invest or the Annual Fund, sports specific giving or assisting us with one of our capital projects. This year, one of the greatest needs is the COVID-19 relief fund which is helping us overcome the loss of revenue caused by our inability to sell tickets to our events in 2020-21, while implementing safeguards and testing programs that allowed our student-athletes to continue to compete.
 
Preparations are well underway for NIU Athletics' premiere fundraising event, the Victor E. Bash, which will be held virtually again this year from June 3-11. This year's "Bash" will incorporate several of our favorite annual events, beginning with The Victors, NIU's annual student-athlete awards show, on June 3 and the Huskie Summer Circuit featuring NIU head coaches on June 9. Both of those shows will be available on the NIU Athletics YouTube Channel. Online, the silent auction opens the last week in May and the Wine and Spirits Pull is back by popular demand. That event sold out in less than five minutes last year! Look for a complete schedule of the 2021 Virtual Victor E. Bash next week and mark your calendars for your favorite events.
 
While we look forward to the day when we can once again gather for events, games (coming soon!) and more, we hope you will tune in to the YouTube premieres and participate in the Silent Auction

and Wine Pull during the 2021 Virtual Victor E. Bash. All proceeds support Huskie student-athletes and our sport programs.
 
Finally, I want to share this Huskie Recap document which provides a detailed look at the strides NIU Athletics has taken over the last five years to move our programs forward. Just as our strategic plans set a path for the future, this five-year look back and review provides an opportunity to learn from the past as we dealt with significant adversity, and to appreciate our progress that you supported every step of the way
 
The past year has presented all of us with unprecedented challenges on so many fronts, yet our department, our university and our Huskie community have come together and enabled NIU student-athletes to thrive – athletically, academically and socially.   
 
Thank you for your support.  Thank you for reading and Go Huskies!
 

 





Sean T. Frazier
Associate Vice-President and Director Athletics