Football | July 20

DETROIT – The Northern Illinois University Huskies collected 38 points to rank third among Mid-American Conference West Division teams in the 2023 MAC Football Head Coaches Preseason Poll released Thursday during the league's annual media day.
 
NIU's 38 points were one more than fourth place Central Michigan, while defending MAC Champion Toledo topped the West Division list with 66 points, 11 more than second place Eastern Michigan. NIU and CMU were followed by Ball State (27 points) and Western Michigan (23) to round out the West Division voting.
 
Defending MAC East Champion Ohio led the voting in that division with 63 points, 11 more than second-place Miami (52 points), who totaled one point more than third place Buffalo (51).  Bowling Green (35), Akron (26) and Kent State (19) were in the four through six positions in the East.  See the complete poll with point totals below.
 
NIU's 2023 crossover opponents are Akron (away, Oct. 7), Ohio (home, Oct. 14) and Kent State (away, Nov. 26). The Huskies open MAC play on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Toledo, who led the way with seven votes to win the MAC Championship game.
 
With preseason practices set to get underway on August 2 in DeKalb, head coach Thomas Hammock discussed the luxury of bringing an experienced team with a championship pedigree into the 2023 campaign.
 
"There is a lot of hunger among our guys," Hammock said. "A lot of guys from the [2021 MAC] championship team are back. We were extremely young in 2021. We have a lot more experience now and those guys understand what it takes to win AND they have the leadership qualities to bring the young guys along. As we found out last year, you never know what young guy you're going to need. We have to continue to build the depth so we can sustain for 12 games and more."
 
Much of the depth and experience exists on the offensive and defensive lines, with quarterback Rocky Lombardi also back after playing in just four games a year ago and receiving a medical redshirt that allowed him to return for his third season with the Huskies.
 
"For Rocky, this offseason was about getting him healthy, getting him in the right mind set and getting enough weapons around him where he is excited about leading this offense," Hammock said. "We have some backs that are going to help us be the type of team that we want to be offensively. We have quality depth, a lot of guys that have playing experience and we're going to lean on that depth and experience throughout the year."
 
The MAC Preseason Poll was released as league coaches and student-athletes gathered at Detroit's historic Fox Theatre, built in 1928, for the annual preseason Kickoff/Media Day.  Hammock was joined by defensive tackle James Ester (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) and offensive tackle Nolan Potter (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington HS) as the trio answered questions from the media and participated in photo, video and social media shoots for the MAC Office.
 
In addition to interview duties, Ester and Potter "took over" the niuhuskies Instagram stories for the day, while Hammock and Ester were interviewed live on the MAC Football Preview Show on ESPN+. To see those interviews, which took place at the top of the team preview portion of the show, click here. Watch additional video content on the NIU Athletics Official YouTube Channel.
 
MAC Media Day was the first of three preseason media events for the Huskies with a trip to Chicago for NIU's annual Chicago Media Day next on the schedule. Hammock and six student-athletes will be at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse to meet with the Chicago media on Monday. Watch for another Instagram takeover from that event. NIU will host its Fall Sports Media Day in DeKalb in mid-August.
 
MAC Football 2023 Preseason Head Coaches Poll
 
MAC East Division (First Place Votes
1. Ohio (9) – 63 points
2. Miami (2) – 52 points
3. Buffalo (1) – 51 points
4. Bowling Green – 35 points
5. Akron – 26 points
6. Kent State – 19 points

MAC West Division (First Place Votes) 
1. Toledo (11) – 66 points
2. Eastern Michigan (1) – 55 points
3. NIU – 38 points
4. Central Michigan – 37 points
5. Ball State – 27 points
6. Western Michigan – 23 points

MAC Champion: Toledo (7), Ohio (4), Buffalo (1), Eastern Michigan (1)
 
Season, single game and mini-plan tickets for the 2023 Huskie home games are all on sale now 24 hours a day, seven days a week online at NIUHuskies.com/myhuskies or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Season tickets provide the best overall value at as little as $17 per game for general admission seating on the West Side of Huskie Stadium ($102 total). Sit in the same reserved seat for all six games for just $144 (sections A, B, F) or $162 (sections C, D, E). There are two "Pick Your Pack" mini-plan options, including Saturday only and MACtion+Saturday option.See all the ticket prices and options, including premium experiences, here.
 
The 2023 NIU Huskies open the season on Saturday, September 2 at Boston College before making their Huskie Stadium debut on Saturday, September 9 versus Southern Illinois. NIU returns 17 starters in 2023, including eight on offense, including 2021 MAC Championship quarterback Rocky Lombardi and 2021 all-conference wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph. The Huskies report for preseason camp on Tuesday, August 1. 
 
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