The Mid-American Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments will see a change for the 2011-12 season, the league announced today.  Under a new format, both the men's and women's top two seeds will receive byes to the Semifinals, with the third and fourth seeds receiving byes to the Quarterfinals.  Click here to see the full announcement.

NIU volleyball's Kristin Hoffman and Lauren Wicinski were both mentioned by the Chicago Tribune Tuesday for being named to the Preseason All-Mid-American Conference Team.  Click the links for more info.

Huskie Troy White has had a spectacular summer in the Northwood League, considered to be one of the top collegiate baseball league's in the country, and will begin the playoffs this week with Battle Creek Bombers. The team won the South Division with a record of 43-26 during the regular season and will begin a playoff series with the Green Bay Bullfrogs Aug. 15 at 7:05 p.m.

The Huskie women's soccer program began the 2011 season with two practices today, focusing on fitness testing in the morning and scrimmaging in the afternoon. Seniors Meaghan Bennett and Kelsey Passaglia give their thoughts on today's effort.

The team also took individual and team photos today. In my short time with the NIU women's soccer team, I can say with full confidence that Passaglia is a ham for the camera. The 1:08 mark in the video might prove that theory as well.

Now is a great time to sign up for Huskie All-Access as NIUHuskies.com's yearly NIU football position-by-position previews are available over the next two weeks.  Yesterday, the offensive line preview video went live and tomorrow the defensive backs preview will be available. 

Users can sign up for monthly and yearly packages that include access to live-streamed and archived events, such as men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, volleyball matches, wrestling matches, and gymnastics meets.  Users will also be able to view feature videos, highlights, and more.  

After driving 2,100 miles, covering six Western states in a 53 hour span, I bring to you my first entry in Huskie Happenings. My name is Matt Scheerer and I'm the newest Assistant Media Relations Director for NIU, covering women's soccer, men's tennis and baseball.

 

I come to DeKalb from Portland State University and am a native of Vancouver, Wash. There I covered women's soccer, track and tennis, along with producing the department's video content for their website and Facebook fan page. Before PSU, I was an intern in Harvard University's Athletic Communications Office. I'm looking forward to bringing my experience in new media platforms to promote and publicize Huskie Athletics.

 

While I could probably write a book about all the driving I've done the last two weeks, a North Dakota wedding included, and my experience in Sidney, Neb., the birthplace of Cabelas - The World's Foremost Outfitter - I'm keeping the entry short and simply using this as an introduction. So if you see me at a game, say hello and introduce yourself.

 

Until next time, Go Huskies.