General | October 19

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team hosts Cleveland State in a key match atop the Horizon League standings on Sunday afternoon and NIU Athletics will induct six new members into the Hall of Fame on Friday in This Week In Huskie Athletics.
 
On Friday night NIU Athletics will hold its 2026 NIU Athletics Hall of Fame Class induction ceremony as part of "Hall of Fame Weekend" – presented by eo5 Hotels – in the historic Duke Ellington Ballroom at the Holmes Student Center. The ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. and is open to the public. The 2026 Hall of Fame Class includes Doug Free (Football, 2003-06), Matt German (Baseball, 2004-07), Jordan Godsey (Men's Soccer, 2009-12), Janay Mitchell (Women's Track and Field, 2010-13), Leslie Pottinger (Davies) (Women's Basketball, 1991-95) and Nelle Youel (Link) (Women's Tennis, 2011-15). For more on this year's class, click on this link.
 
Football
Saturday, Oct. 24: Hawai'i, 2:30 p.m. – Tickets | MW+ | Live Audio | Live Stats
 
NIU Football will take on the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors for the first time in program history on Saturday at Huskie Stadium for Ag Day. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. with the game broadcast on MW+ and locally on 94-9 WDKB. Junior running back Telly Johnson Jr. ran for a season-high 139 rushing yards and a touchdown last week at Wyoming, posting his third touchdown in as many games. Linebacker Brady Kerperin had double-digit tackles for the second straight game, leading the NIU defense with 11.  
 
Volleyball
Friday, Oct. 23: at Youngstown State, 5 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 24: at Youngstown State, 1 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
NIU Volleyball goes on the road this weekend for two matches at Youngstown State. The Huskies lost both of their matches last weekend, falling in four sets at Green Bay last Friday. Ava Grevengoed led NIU with 15 kills and 13 digs against the Phoenix for her fourth double-double in Horizon League play. Libero Charlotte Gramzow led all players with 33 digs, the most by any player in the country that day.
 
Youngstown State is 5-3 in the league after winning two matches at Cleveland State last week and has won four out of its last five. NIU is 5-0 all-time against the Penguins with the two sides facing off for the first time since 2010.
 
Men's Soccer
Sunday, Oct. 25: Cleveland State, 1 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
 
The top two teams in the Horizon League men's soccer standings meet in DeKalb on Sunday, as NIU hosts Cleveland State at 1 p.m. The Huskies and Vikings both come into the contest with 14 points, one point ahead of Wright State and two points in front of Milwaukee. NIU is coming off a 1-0 setback at Tulsa in its final non-conference game this past Saturday (Oct. 17) as the Huskies fell to 7-4-2 overall. Vance Sheffield leads the Huskies with 11 points, Roman Khela is just behind with 10.
 
Cleveland State hosts Akron on Tuesday night in its final non-conference game before coming to NIU on Sunday.
 
Women's Soccer
Thursday, Oct. 22: at Youngstown State, 5 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Sunday, Oct. 25: at Robert Morris, 12 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
With three games left in the regular season, the NIU women's soccer team is just two points out of a spot in the Horizon League Tournament. The Huskies currently have 10 points after picking up a 3-0 victory over Oakland on Sunday (Oct. 18). Taite DeLange, Angelina Briggs and Abbey Kijewski each scored their first goal of the season in the win over the Golden Grizzlies while goalkeeper Alexandra Devory earned her fourth shutout.
 
Youngstown State comes into Thursday's contest tied for third in the league with 14 points while Robert Morris is two points behind the Huskies with eight points and sitting in ninth in the league standings. 
 
Men's Basketball
Sunday, October 25: at Toledo (exhibition), 11 a.m.
 
The NIU men's basketball team topped Northern Michigan, 78-43, in its first exhibition game of the season this past Saturday (Oct. 17). The Huskies shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the floor in the victory over the Wildcats. This Sunday, NIU will visit Toledo to face the former Mid-American Conference rival Rockets in the second exhibition game for both teams. NIU will then officially open the 2026-27 season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Grambling in Rock Hill, S.C. as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. 
 
--NIU--