General | September 8

DEKALB, Ill. – The NIU football and men's soccer teams open the home portions of their seasons this week, with football hosting Illinois State Saturday night and men's soccer taking on IU Indy in its first Horizon League match on Wednesday. Huskie volleyball is on the road at the SIUE Cougar Clash this weekend. Women's golf opens its fall slate at Illinois State while men's golf heads to Canada for the Canadian Collegiate.
 
Football
Saturday, Sept. 12: Illinois State, 6 p.m. – Tickets | MW+ | Live Audio | Live Stats
 
NIU Football hosts the Redbirds of Illinois State on Saturday night at 6 p.m. inside Huskie Stadium. The Huskies look to bounce back after a 40-0 defeat at #22 Iowa last week. Redshirt-Freshman linebacker Jashawn Nelson had a career-high 10 tackles against the Hawkeyes, adding a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Cornerback Yassine Falke had his first career interception.
 
The Huskies last played Illinois State on August 31, 2019, a 24-10 NIU win. NIU put up 389 yards of total offense in the victory and held the Redbirds to 51 rushing yards.
 
Men's Soccer
Wednesday, Sept. 9: IU Indy, 4 p.m. – Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 12: at Oakland, 1 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Fresh off a 2-1, come from behind victory at Eastern Illinois, the Huskie men's soccer team will open Horizon League play with a pair of matches this week as the Huskies host IU Indy on Wednesday (Sept. 9) before traveling to Oakland on Saturday (Sept. 12). Vance Sheffield had a goal and an assist in the victory over Eastern Illinois while Stevan Ljubicic recorded his first collegiate goal. Sheffield leads the Huskies with five points (two goals, one assist) this season. 
 
IU Indy brings a 3-1 record into Wednesday's matchup and is coming off a 1-0 victory over Southern Indiana. Oakland comes into the week with a 1-2-1 mark and will host Cleveland State in its Horizon League opener on Wednesday. 
 
Women's Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 10: vs. Loyola Chicago, 7 p.m. – Live Stats 
 
The Huskie women's soccer team hosts Loyola Chicago on Thursday night (Sept. 10) in its final non-conference game before beginning Horizon League play. NIU was off this past week and will be returning to action for the first time since a 0-0 draw at Marquette on Aug. 30. Alexandra Devory made eight saves in the contest against the Golden Eagles. The freshman goalkeeper has started all five matches for the Huskies in goal this season and has recorded a 1.20 goals against average with an .828 save percentage. 
 
Loyola comes to DeKalb on Thursday with a 2-2-2 record and is unbeaten in its last three with back-to-back 0-0 draws against DePaul and Northwestern, which followed a 2-0 win over Illinois State.
 
Volleyball
At SIUE Cougar Clash, Sept. 11-12
 
Friday, Sept. 11: vs. Chicago State, 10 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 11: vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 12: at SIUE, 2 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
The NIU Huskies volleyball team (2-4) heads to the SIUE Cougar Clash as they will take on Chicago State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and SIUE. This will be the Huskies first meeting against UAPB and the third straight week NIU has seen a member of the OVC.
 
Ava Grevengoed led the Huskies with 33 kills in last weekend's NIU Invitational, adding 19 digs to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Grevengoed had her first double-double of the season and her 25^th in her career on Sept. 4 with 14 kills and 12 digs in NIU's 3-1 win over Portland State. Viktoria Djukic made her debut in a Huskie Uniform and opened with a service ace.
 
Women's Golf
Sept. 13-14: Redbird Invitational – Live Scoring
 
The Huskies women's golf team opens the 2026-27 season as they compete at the Redbird Invitational hosted by Illinois State. The Huskies took fifth place in last year's tournament and return Dakota Tallent, Eva Nijenhuis, and Emilie Chile from a season ago. Tallent had a top-25 finish in this event last season.
 
NIU welcomes Nethra Sheri, Christine Huse, and Thanaporn (Benzy) Buakong to the squad as head coach Kim Kester received a contract extension in August 2026.
 
Men's Golf
Sept. 13-15: Canadian Collegiate – Live Scoring
 
NIU Men's Golf plays its second tournament of the fall at the Canadian Collegiate, hosted by Kent State at Öviinbyrd Golf Club in Muskoka, Ontario. The Huskies took fourth place at the Virtues Intercollegiate Aug. 29-30, posting a team score of 12-under par 852. Junior Conner McCall was under par in all three rounds, tying for third place at nine-under par. Devin Swoyer took 10^th place at four-under par.
 
Men's Tennis
Sept. 11-13: Milwaukee Tennis Classic
 
NIU Men's Tennis is back in action this weekend for the first time of the 2026-27 season. The Huskies return five players from a team that recorded 18 wins and made a conference championship appearance in the spring. NIU will be an older team heading into its initial season in the Horizon League with five juniors and three seniors. The tournament field includes Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas Tech and more. 
 
--NIU--