Football | July 16

LAS VEGAS – Two weeks after officially becoming members of the Mountain West, members of the Northern Illinois University football team and head coach Rob Harley met their new conference peers, as well as the media that covers them, at Old Trapper Mountain West Football Media Days at the Palms in Las Vegas.

Redshirt-Juniors Landon Hron (Hartford, Wis./Hartford) and Jay'shon Thomas (Cataula, Ga./Harris County) along with redshirt seniors DeAree Rogers (Lexington, S.C./Lenoir-Rhyne) and Liam Lindo (Wallkill, N.Y./Bryant) arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

"It's super fun," said Thomas. "I've never done anything like this so it was a little nervewracking at first. I'm really thankful for the experience. It'll put me in a better place to succeed later in life."

That afternoon the assembled student-athletes had a meeting with MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, followed by an outing at the F1 Arcade.

"I'm truly blessed that the coaching staff selected me to come out here," Lindo said. "It was a good opportunity to meet the commissioner, see her vision for the Mountain West and what impact it can have on the college football scene."

Wednesday morning started off with the student-athletes having up-fronts with the Mountain West's television partners from Fox, CBS and The CW. These allowed the Huskies to give some background for upcoming broadcasts this season.

The Huskies also appeared on the Mountain West Network's live show from Media Day on MW+. Lindo and Rogers previewed the upcoming season while Hron and Thomas challenged each other to draw the NIU logo.

"It's a reality. We got to see some of the players and coaches. We knew this was coming, but now being here makes it all the more real," said Rogers.

A theme during the media sessions was the new challenges NIU will face in its new conference. On the 2026 schedule, the Huskies will face four conference opponents for the first time in program history while only facing the remaining four a combined 12 times previously.

"There's always been a lot of competition in the Mountain West and now we have to fill in the shoes of the teams that left and keep it going," said Hron.

On Thursday, it was Harley's turn to make the media circuit. Beginning the day with a group photo with other conference head coaches and Nevarez, Harley then brushed off his former television experience and took the set for Mountain West Network's Live Show on MW+ to shed some light on the upcoming season.

"The amount of energy and welcoming from the Mountain West and the other teams has been great," said Harley. "It's easy to think the Mountain West will welcome you in, they brought us in to join the league, but the other teams and how supportive they've been, you feel the other teams, administrations want this league to be good and push whoever is the best team that given year to compete in the CFP (College Football Playoff)."

Harley arrived prior to the coach's portion of media days and watched Hron, Lindo, Rogers and Thomas field questions from credentialed media members during availability sessions, participate in media promos and take the stage for the live show on MW+.

"When you get a chance to speak on behalf of a group, youjust feel that respect and a responsibility to do it the right way," said Harley. "I could see it on our players faces, especially during the events and the stage the they were doing it on. You could just see they understood that responsibility."

Alongside Harley supporting the Huskies and taking in media days was his family, including his two sons fielding all challengers in EA Sports College Football 27.

"I think it speaks to the welcoming, family atmosphere … to have my wife and two sons here experiencing it was truly special," said Harley. "It was fun to watch them play against everyone, but it was really fun to watch other college players taking the time, talking and interacting with a nine- and 10-year old."

NIU is closing in on its season-opener against Iowa, a road test on Saturday, Sept. 5 before the first home game of the season against Illinois State on Saturday, Sept. 12.

The first-ever Mountain West conference game for the Huskies is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10 taking on Air Force for NIU's 119^th Homecoming.

Single game tickets are now on sale, starting at just $35 for east side general admission tickets while west side general admission seats are $40. Season tickets for all five home games of NIU's first season in the Mountain West start at just $102. Tickets are available online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225).