DEKALB, Ill. – A busy weekend of Huskie volleyball will take place in the NIU Convocation Center while NIU cross country will also be at home on Friday. NIU football and women's soccer will both be on the road against Big Ten foes this week while both the NIU men's and women's golf programs will open their 2025-26 seasons beginning on Sunday. 

Football
Friday, Sept. 5: at Maryland, 6:30 p.m. – BTN Channel Finder | Listen Live | Live Stats

NIU football hits the road to take on Maryland this Friday before entering the bye week in Week three. Both teams enter the game at 1-0 as the Huskies held off Holy Cross, 19-17, while Maryland outpaced Florida Atlantic, 39-7. Head coach Thomas Hammock moved into a tie for fifth place on the all-time wins list with the victory.

The Huskies showed a strong defensive performance in the season opener, bottling up the Crusaders for only 62 rushing yards and held Holy Cross to 3-of-12 on third down conversions attempts. Redshirt freshman cornerback Dav'ion Reynolds scored a 96-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter to tilt the momentum back in favor of the Huskies. This will be the fourth-ever matchup between the teams and first since 2004 with Maryland holding the edge 2-1. 

Please note, Big Ten Network will television two games simultaneously on Friday night. Please consult the BTN Channel Finder for more information. 

Volleyball
Friday, Sept. 5: vs. Merrimack, 11 a.m. – Buy Tickets | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 5: vs. Indiana State, 6 p.m. – Buy Tickets | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept: 6: vs. SIUE, 6 p.m.  – Buy Tickets | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Non-NIU Matches
Friday, Sept. 5: Indiana State vs. SIUE, 2:30 p.m. – Buy Tickets | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 6: Merrimack v. SIUE, 11 a.m. – Buy Tickets | Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 6: Indiana State v. Merrimack, 2:30 p.m. – Buy Tickets | Live Stats

The NIU Volleyball team will open the home slate as they host the NIU Invitational, Sept. 5-6 in the NIU Convocation Center.  The Huskies are set to welcome Merrimack, Indiana State, and SIUE for a six-game tournament with each team playing three times. Action begins at 11 a.m. CT on both days. It will be the first meeting for the Huskies against the Warriors of Merrimack while NIU meets Indiana State for the 14th time and SIUE for the third time.
 
NIU has opened the season 2-1 and Ava Grevengoed was named the Stetson Hatters Invitational MVP as the Huskies were the invitational champions. Jordyn Tynsky and Rylea Alvin were named to the All-Tournament team, joining Grevengoed in representing the Huskies.

Women's Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 4: at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats

Coming off a dramatic, 2-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sunday in which Alyssa Stephenson scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute, the NIU women's soccer team heads back on the road for its final non-conference game on Thursday at Wisconsin. Tyra King tied the game against the Panthers with her second goal of the season in the 84th minute while Amy Stineman made three saves and picked up her first career win in goal as the Huskies improved to 2-2-1 on the season. 

Wisconsin brings a 4-1 record into Thursday's match after suffering their first setback of the year last time out at LSU, 1-0. 

Cross Country
Friday, Sept. 5: Huskie Classic (North 40 Course), 5:30 p.m. – Live Results

The NIU cross country team competes at home this Friday night on the North 40 Course as it hosts the Huskie Classic. The five-kilometer women's race is set for 5:30 p.m., followed by the four-mile men's race at 6:10 p.m. Friday's meet will be the second of the season for the Huskies, who opened the season this past Friday at the Fighting Illini Open. Amelie Ojeda was the top finishing runner for the Huskies in that meet, claiming 20th with a time of 14:16.1 on the four-kilometer setup on the Orange and Blue Golf Course. 

The North 40 Course is located just east of the NIU Engineering Building and Barsema Hall, with parking available off of Kishwaukee Drive. 

Men's Golf
Sunday-Monday, Sept. 7-8: at Gopher Invitational (Independence, Minn.) – Live Scoring

The NIU men's golf team opens its 2025-26 season this week at Minnesota's Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf Club. The Huskies return five letter winners from a season ago but will have to replace its top two scorers in graduated seniors Ben Sluzas and Felix Krammer. Junior Craig Long is NIU's top returner from the 2024-25 season, posting a scoring average of 74.057. Long was the Huskies' top finisher in two events last season, finishing in the top-30 in the Gopher Invitational and tying for fourth place at the MAC Championship. He is the lone upperclassman on this year's team with the remaining seven golfers all freshmen or sophomores.

Women's Golf
Sunday-Monday, Sept. 7-8: at Redbird Invitational (Normal, Ill.)

Teeing off for the 2025-26 season, the Northern Illinois University women's golf team will open the season at the Redbird Invitational, hosted by Illinois State. Action will take place September 7-8 in Normal, Illinois at the 54-hole tournament.
 
Head coach Kim Kester returns four of the five members in the starting lineup at the MAC Championships in Caroline Kent, Mia Raines, Alexa Ouellet, and Dakota Tallent. Also returning for the Huskies in Eva Nijenhuis and she is joined by newcomer Emile Chile.