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  HUSKIE BITES  

• The NIU Huskies open their 120th season of college football - and 54th as a Football Bowl Subdivision program - on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. when they play host to in-state foe Eastern Illinois on ESPN+. 
• NIU returns 22 starters, including 21 on offense and defense, in 2022, including quarterback Rocky Lombardi, four of five starting offensive linemen with a combined 86 career starts and six defenders with at least seven starts. 
• The Huskies are the defending Mid-American Conference Champions and were selected by league media to again claim the MAC West title with nine of 24 voters also choosing NIU to repeat as MAC Champs. 
• Eight different Huskies were named to one or more of the national awards preseason watch lists this summer, led by 2021 first team All-MAC safety C.J. Brown, who earned recognition on the Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik preseason watch lists.  
• NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American who rushed for over 1,000 yards to lead the Huskies in both 2000 and 2001, begins his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. Hammock will be inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame on October 8.        
• Senior wide receiver Cole Tucker leads all Huskies with 41 career games played and the hometown DeKalb product is the top returning receiver statistically with 110 catches for 1,398 yards in his career. 
• Linebacker Kyle Pugh makes NCAA FBS history as he returns for his eighth season with the Huskies. Pugh saw his 2017 and 2019 seasons cut short, missed 2021 with a knee injury sustained in the spring, and earned the COVID-19 "re-do". He earned All-MAC honors in 2018 and 2020 and is slated to start at middle linebacker vs. Eastern Illinois.    
• NIU and Eastern Illinois last played in 2017 with the Huskies earning the 38-10 win. All-time, NIU has won 27 of the 38 previous meetings between the teams. The Huskies are looking to go 1-0 at home for the first time since 2019.  
• After earning the 600th win in school history a year ago, NIU will reach another milestone in 2022 when it plays the 300th game at Huskie Stadium on Nov. 2 versus Central Michigan. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of NIU's 2012 season which ended with a historic appearance in the Orange Bowl.  

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  NIU FOOTBALL FACTS  

Head Coach:Thomas Hammock (NIU '02)
Record at NIU/Years: 14-18/3
Career Record/Years: Same
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-2-5
First Year of Football: 1899
2021 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 9-5/6-2/1st
All-Time Record: 601-512-51
Last Bowl Game :2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (Coastal Carolina 47, NIU 41)
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 14
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 9, 2021
MAC Championships, Last: 6, 2021
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 52/15
Starters Returning: 22 (8 offense, 13 defense, 1 specialist)
Starters Lost: 7 (3 offense, 2 defense, 2 specialists)
 

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  EASTERN ILLINOIS FACTS  

Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Chris Wilkerson (Eastern Illinois/1995)
Record at Eastern Illinois/Years: First Year
Career Record/Years: 51-27/9 Years
2021 Record: 1-10
Ohio Valley Conference Record/Finish: 1-5/T-6th
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Enrollment: 8,608
Conference: Ohio Valley
Colors: Blue and Gray 
Stadium: O'Brien Field
        Surface/Capacity: Legion NXT Turf /10,000
President: Dr. David M. Glassman
Athletic Director: Tom Michael
Athletics Website: EIUPanthers.com
Twitter: @EIU_FB

EIU 2022 Schedule

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  NIU-EIU SERIES  

Overall: NIU leads 27-10-1
In DeKalb: NIU leads 17-5
In Charleston: NIU leads 10-5-1
Streak: NIU, 2
First Meeting: 11/15/1902 - NIU 10, EIU 0 (H)
Last Meeting: 9/9/17: NIU 38, EIU 10 (H)

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  FOLLOW THE HUSKIES  

TV: NIU-EASTERN ILLINOIS ON ESPN+

• The NIU-Eastern Illinois game will be streamed on ESPN+, accessible via the ESPN App available on both iOS and Android devices, desktop and TV-connected devices (e.g. Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV).
• Subscriptions to ESPN+ are available on both a monthly and annual basis and can be used on up to five streaming devices simultaneously.
• Jason Ross (play-by-play) and Tyoka Jackson (color analyst) will be on the call for ESPN+ Saturday.

RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS NETWORK

• The Huskie Sports Radio Network coverage for the Eastern Illinois game begins 90 minutes before kickoff, at 5:30 p.m. (CT), on 94-9 WDKB with the Toyota Pre-Game Party LIVE from The Yard.
• Coverage on NIU network affiliates AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and SportsFan AM 1330 begins 30 minutes before the game, at 6:30 pm (CT).
• Hear the broadcast online via Huskie All Access, and on mobile devices via the FREE NIU Huskies mobile app or The Varsity Network app. 
• Bill Baker begins his 43rd season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo is alongside for the the 37th consecutive season, while Andy Garcia begins his 10th year on the NIU sidelines. 

INSIDE HUSKIE FOOTBALL RADIO SHOW

• Fans are invited to attend the one-hour weekly show every week at 1 p.m. at Fatty's Pub & Grille in DeKalb (1312 W. Lincoln Hwy).
• The first show will be held on Tuesday, August 30 due to the Thursday night opener.
• Listen live on the NIU Huskies or The Varsity Network mobile app and hear the show on the same day at 6 pm on SportsFan AM 1330 in Rockford.
• Host Andy Garcia welcomes NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock each week, along with Huskie players and special guests. 

NIU WEEKLY ON YOUTUBE

• The show features weekly interviews with NIU football personnel, including head coach Thomas Hammock, assistant coaches and players, as well as NIU administrators, coaches and student-athletes from other sports programs. 
• Watch new episodes on the NIU Athletics YouTube Channel on Thursdays. 
• The show is hosted by Andy Garcia.

NIU ATHLETICS ON YOUTUBE

• See weekly and post-game press conferences, video features, highlights of past games and more.
• Subscribe for FREE and click the bell to be notified every time NIU posts a new video.
• Search "NIU Athletics" on YouTube or go to YouTube.com/NIUAthleticsOfficial. 
• Archived videos and highlights, replays of some of the greatest games in school history and special features are also available 24/7 on YouTube.  

NIU HUSKIES MOBILE APP

• Download the new, free NIU Huskies mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
• Link to the NIU radio broadcasts, live stats, complete team rosters, digital game programs and more.
• Connect to the NIU social media channels and sign up for notifications on any Huskie team.

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  NOTING NIU  

LEADING OFF: The Northern Illinois University Huskies kick off their 120th season of intercollegiate football with an intrastate match-up versus the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Huskie Stadium. The defending Mid-American Conference Champions are coming off a 9-5 season a year ago and went 2-2 in non-conference play.

HOME OPENERS: Since 1969 when NIU joined the "major college" ranks, the Huskies are 28-23 in home openers at Huskie Stadium, not including two home openers played at Soldier Field in Chicagol. The Huskies have dropped their last two home openers, including a 50-43 loss to Wyoming last year in the second game of the season. NIU's last home opening win came in a 24-10 victory over Illinois State in 2019.

HOME SWEET HOME: With a 75-29 (.721) record at home since 2003, NIU's all-time record at Huskie Stadium is 182-112-2 for a .618 all-time winning percentage. During that stretch, the Huskies have had 15 winning records at home and five undefeated seasons in DeKalb (2003, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013). NIU was 4-2 at home in 2021. 

LID LIFTERS: NIU is 20-33 in season-opening games as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program and is 2-1 in lid-lifters under Thomas Hammock. NIU defeated Georgia Tech, 22-21, in Atlanta in last year's opener and won Hammock's debut as head coach to open the 2019 campaign.

FCS SUCCESS: Since moving to the "major college" ranks in 1969, NIU has enjoyed success versus opponents in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). NIU owns a 17-3 record versus FCS opponents since 2000 and has won eight of its last nine games. The Huskies' defeated Maine, 41-14, last year. Western Illinois was the last FCS team to defeat NIU with a 28-23 win at Huskie Stadium in 2016.

RENEWING ACQUAINTANCES: NIU and Eastern Illinois play for the 39th time ever, for the fifth time since 1990, and for the first time since 2017. NIU owns a 27-10-1 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1902, NIU's fourth year of football. NIU and Eastern Illinois played nine times in 10 years from 1933-42, and every year from 1944 through 1965 as members of the Little 19 and the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). EIU's win in 1998 was the Panthers' only victory in the last 14 meetings dating back to 1957.

THE LAST TIME: The Huskies claimed a 38-10 win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 9, 2017 behind quarterback Daniel Santacaterina's 252 passing yards and a defense that limited EIU to 187 yards of total offense and just 60 rushing yards. NIU led 7-3 after the first quarter, then put 24 points on the board in the second period to take an insurmountable 31-3 lead. Spencer Tears, Christian Blake and Shane Wimann caught touchdown passes and the NIU defense picked off a pair of passes, while Antonio Jones-Davis led the way with eight tackles.  

LAND OF LINCOLN LEADERS: Since 2010, NIU is the winningest football program among the state of Illinois' seven Division I football programs. During that time, the Huskies are 1-1 versus their fellow in-state FBS programs with a 2014 win over Northwestern and a 2010 loss at Illinois. NIU is 3-1 versus in-state FCS opponents over the last 12 seasons, including a 24-10 win over Illinois State team in 2019. With nine bowl games and eight MAC Championship game appearances in the last 12 years, NIU has played more games, 155, than any other school in the state.

Illinois' Division I Schools Since 2010

Team	W	L	Pct.
NIU	100	55	.645
Illinois State	83	55	.601
Northwestern*	83	67	.553
Southern Illinois	62	74	.456
Illinois*	54	91	.372
Eastern Illinois	53	80	.398
Western Illinois	52	83	.385

 
*includes 2022 game

IN-STATE FOES: NIU is 103-74-13 all-time versus current FBS and FCS schools in Illinois for a winning percentage of .576. Twenty-eight of NIU's in-state wins have come versus Southern Illinois, while the Huskies' 27 wins against Eastern Illinois rank second among that group. NIU has defeated Illinois State 26 times; the Huskies are 21-18-1 versus Western Illinois. NIU is 0-4 versus Illinois and 1-6-1 in eight meetings with Northwestern.

AMONG THE BEST: NIU is one of just 19 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams and one of five teams from a non-autonomous (Group of 5) league to enter the 2022 season with 100 or more wins since 2010. The Huskies are 100-55 over the last 12 years for a .645 winning percentage. NIU's 155 games played during that time ranks tied for seventh in the nation and are the most by any Group of 5 team.

HISTORY-MAKING: In 2021, NIU became the first team in FBS history to win its conference championship game one season after going winless. The Huskies went 0-6 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, with three of the losses by one score. NIU's nine-win improvement was the largest one-year jump in school history. 

CHAMPS, AGAIN: With its 41-23 win over Kent State in the 2021 Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship game, NIU's five MAC Championship game victories are more than any other current league member. NIU has made a record nine appearances in the game, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021. NIU has won six Mid-American Conference titles all-time, as the Huskies' first MAC crown came in 1983 under head coach Bill Mallory before the days of conference championship games.

ONE OF A KIND: NIU linebacker Kyle Pugh holds the unique distinction as the first player in FBS history to play eight years of college football - although due to a series of different injuries, he has not actually played in all eight seasons. Pugh, who is earning his second master's degree, signed with the Huskies in February 2015 and redshirted as a freshman. Pugh was an all-conference player in 2018 and 2020. He has played in 34 games and made 186 career tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Pugh has been at through three presidential administrations, four bowl games and three MAC Championship games. His freshmen teammates were in sixth grade when he arrived at NIU.  

LEAD DOGS: Six players were elected team captains for 2022 as voted by their teammates. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi, linebacker Nick Rattin and defensive tackle James Ester (DT) were named captains for the second straight season. Also selected were linebacker and eighth-year senior Kyle Pugh, offensive tackle Nolan Potter and sophomore defensive back Jashon Prophete, who was named special teams captain. 

NEW FACES: The Huskie coaching staff features two new faces in 2022. Co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Nick Benedetto arrived in March 2022 from Samford, where he was defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Wide receivers coach Joseph Hawkins was an analyst at Duke after previously serving as wide receivers coach as Bryant University.  

STAFF DIVERSITY: One of 14 African-American men to lead a FBS program, Thomas Hammock's staff also reflects the university's and NIU Athletics', commitment to diversity. Of the 10 full-time assistant coaches on staff, seven are minorities which ranks tied for second among all FBS schools. NIU's staff includes six African-American coaches and one Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The six African-American coaches are tied for second-most in FBS. Last year, NIU won the NCAA/MOAA Diversity and Inclusion Award for the second time. The top four (credit: the University of Colorado):
 

Team	Minority Asst. Coaches	Breakdown
Hawai'i	8	4 P, 2 Asian/P, 1 AA, 1 Asian
Miami (Fla.)	8	5 AA, 2 H, 1 P
NIU	7	6 AA, 1 H/P
Virginia	7	7 AA

(AA—African American, include bi-racial; H—Hispanic; ME—Middle Eastern; P—Polynesian, includes Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiians):
 
HALL OF FAMER: NIU head coach Thomas Hammock is one of three former Huskie football players who will be inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 8. Hammock gained more than 2,400 rushing yards and was a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American during his NIU playing career (1999-2002). He will be joined by fellow running back Chad Spann (2007-10) and quarterback Chandler Harnish (2008-11) in the 2022 Hall of Fame Class. 

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Senior defensive end Michael Kennedy is NIU's 2022 nominee for the William Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation to the top football Scholar-Athlete in the country. Kennedy earned his undergraduate degree in management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and social responsibility and is currently pursuing his MBA.  

GRADS: NIU 2022 roster includes 13 players who have already earned their undergraduate degrees - either at NIU or from another institution, and one who already has two degrees. Huskie eighth-year senior Kyle Pugh has both an undergraduate and a graduate degree. Transfers Miles Joiner, Rocky Lombardi, Izayah Green-May, Kaymar Mimes and Shemar Thornton all came to NIU with degrees from their previous institutions. In addition to Pugh, Brett Bostad, Marques Cox, Jeffrey Griffin Jr., Michael Kennedy, Nolan Potter, Liam Soraghan and Cole Tucker are Huskie alumni.

WELCOME BACK: NIU returns 22 players - eight on offense, 14 on defense and one specialist - who started at least seven games in 2021 OR at least four games in the six-game 2020 season. Four of five starters return on the offensive line, along with quarterback Rocky Lombardi, while the return of linebacker Kyle Pugh, who missed the entire 2021 season due to injury, makes up for the loss of senior linebacker Lance Deveaux Jr. NIU returns six defensive linemen who have made at least seven starts, led by James Ester and Ray Thomas with 17 starts each. 

WELCOME BACK 2: Third-year running back Harrison Waylee is back after gaining 574 yards in the first four and a half games of 2021 before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. Waylee gained 144 yards on 27 carries in NIU's upset win at Georgia Tech and came back with 179 yards on 26 rushes versus Wyoming. He enters the season with 1,030 career yards on 208 carries and has averaged 93.6 rushing yards in 11 games over the last two seasons.  
 
LINE IT UP: The NIU offensive line has already received accolades as the top unit in the MAC with all four returnees receiving preseason accolades. Left tackle Marques Cox leads all Huskies with 30 career starts, followed by right guard Logan Zschernitz' 22 starts and right tackle Nolan Potter with 20. Left guard J.J. Lippe has started 14 games. The quartet has a total of 86 career starts in 105 games played. They will be joined by redshirt freshman center Pete Nygra, set to make his starting debut versus Eastern Illinois.  
  
TRANSFER TALK: A year ago, transfers like quarterback Rocky Lombardi and tight end Miles Joiner paid immediate dividends for the Huskies and in 2022, a new group is set to join that list wide receivers Shemar Thornton (FIU) and Kacper Rutkiewicz (Illinois State), defensive end Izayah Green-May (Wisconsin) and safety Jordan White (Youngstown State) are all listed on the depth chart in either a starting or second  team spot. In all, eight players who started their collegiate careers elsewhere are listed on the season-opening two-deep, including punter Tom Foley, who transferred to NIU from Minnesota prior to the 2021 season. 

SET TO DEBUT?: Four true freshmen are listed on the Huskies' season-opening depth chart, three on the defensive side and one specialist. The three defensive players - defensive end Roy Williams, and linebackers Rashon Myles Jr. and Nick Alvarado - are all in third team slots, while running back Jaiden Credle is a back-up kickoff returner. Several other newcomers are potentially in line to see action as members of the Huskies' special teams units.  

YOUNGSTERS: A year ago, the Huskies won the MAC with the second-youngest roster in the country, including 71 players who graduated from high school in 2020 or 2021. Of the 120 players on the 2022 roster, 59 are freshmen, including 28 who redshirted in 2021. Adde the 14 "true" (second-year sophomores) and 73 players, or 60.8% of the roster, graduated high school in the past two years.  

WALK-ON U: Thomas Hammock has made a habit of rewarding players who walk-on to the Huskie program with scholarships. A short list of former walk-ons includes Huskie regulars Nick Rattin, Devonte O'Malley and Jordan Gandy. Most recently, tight end Izzy Ozoh was put on scholarship during 2022 preseason camp. The group joins a long and distinguished list of NIU players from the past that arrived as walk-ons including 2010 MAC MVP  Chad Spann, who will be inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame this fall, and recently-retired NFL defensive back Rashaan Melvin. 

NEXT UP: The Huskies continue non-conference play as they travel to Tulsa for a Sept. 10 meeting with the Golden Hurricane, the first game between the teams.