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HUSKIE CHALLENGE

The Huskie Challenge is a competition for all NIU varsity teams throughout the year. This challenge will reward the team (one male, one female) who represents the complete student-athlete by exceeding athletically, academically, committed to developing personally and professionally, and shows a passion for community involvement. Points can be earned between April 1st & March 31st, however Athletic and Academic Achievements are based on the previous spring and current fall/winter seasons. The one male and one female team to win the Huskie Challenge will receive a special award of their choice. The 2015-16 winners of the Huskie Challenge for the Victors Cup were the NIU Wrestling and NIU Softball teams.

Categories

  • Academic Achievment
  • Athletic Achievment
  • Leadership Development
  • Career Development
  • Personal Enhancement
  • Community Involvement
  • Huskies Supporting Huskies

Overall Scoring

Teams compete for 1st place in each category. Overall scores are based on placement within each category. Teams can accumulate as many points within a single category, but will only earn a maximum of 10 points for 1st place in the category. The winner of the Huskie Challenge (one male team, one female team) will have the most overall points. This will determine the most well-rounded team throughout the Huskie Challenge.

The points awarded for placement in each category are as follows:

  • 1st place: 10 points
  • 2nd place: 9 points
  • 3rd place: 8 points
  • 4rd place: 7 points
  • 5th place: 6 points
  • 6th place: 5 points
  • 7th place: 4 points
  • 8th place: 3 points

CATEGORY BREAKDOWN

Academic Achievement

  • The three teams with the highest grade point averages (100 points)
  • Academic All-MAC honorees on 1st or 2nd team (100 points)
  • Academic All-American honorees (200 points)

*Academic Achievement points for each team are divided by the number of student-athletes on roster, to account for varying roster sizes among teams. Roster numbers are updated on September 8th, 2015 and February 1st, 2016.

Athletic Achievement

  • Teams that finish 1st in overall MAC regular season standings (100 points)
  • Teams that finish 1st in the MAC tournament (100 points)
  • Teams or individuals that make a national appearance in post-season (300 points)
  • Individuals that earn 1st or 2nd team All-MAC honors (100 points)
  • Individuals that earn All-American honors (200 points)

*Athletic Achievement points for each team are divided by the number of SAs on roster, to account for varying roster sizes among teams. Roster numbers are updated on September 8th, 2015 and February 1st, 2016. Individuals do not earn points for earning All-Freshman Team honors because not all MAC sports award these individuals.

Leadership Development

  • Leadership Development Sessions (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
  • On-Campus Event (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
  • Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) (100 points per team for 2 reps per meeting)

Career Development

  • Career Nights (100 points per team with 100% attendance)
    • e.g. Men's Soccer has all sophomores attend Career Night for 2nd year student-athletes
  • Athletic Career Fair (100 points per team with 100% attendance)
    • e.g. Football has all seniors attend Athletic Career Fair
  • On-Campus Event (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
    • On-Campus Events will be targeted at specific student-athletes during their off-season
    • e.g. 1st/2nd year student-athletes should attend the Exploring Majors Fair, 3rd year student-athletes should attend the Internship Fair, 4th/5th year student-athletes should attend the Job Fair

Personal Enhancement

  • Personal Enhancement Sessions (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
  • On-Campus Events (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
    • All SAs can attend all Personal Enhancement On-Campus Events each semester
  • Huskie Seminars (100 points per team with 100% attendance)
  • MyPlaybook for 1st year SAs (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
  • Team Sessions (25 points per SA with a max of 200 points per team)
    • Max of two (2) Team Sessions for the year

Community Involvement

Points for Community Involvement are determined by a weighted score of the average hours per student-athlete for each team and each team's participation rate. This accounts for the varying size of rosters among teams, as well as balances the community involvement within a team.

The following equation is used:

(50% * (team participation rate)) + (50% * (hrs per SA for team/hrs per SA for the top team)

  • Ex: Team completed 100 hours total with 10 student-athletes on roster, however only 8 student-athletes completed hours. The team with the most hrs/SA has 20 hrs/SA.
    • Average Hours Per Student-Athlete: 100 hrs/10 SAs = 10 hrs/SA
    • Team Participate Rate: 8 SAs with hours recorded/10 total SAs on roster = .80 or 80% participation

Community Involvement Points =

(.50 * (.80 * 100)) + (.50 * (10/20)) = 40.25 points

Huskies Supporting Huskies (#HSH)

Huskies Supporting Huskies is recognize teams that show outstanding Huskie pride. With the help of Team Reps and SAAC members, each team will choose one (1) night to attend an athletic event for other teams, called a Pride Night. In addition, teams can attend any other athletic event and tweet a picture of themselves at the game for points. Details below:

  • Individuals can earn points for attending any NIU team event using Twitter
    • SAs can tweet a picture of themselves (and teammates) to @Husk_Experience and tag/type the name of the SAs pictured for HSH points
    • Must tag @Husk_Experience, only SAs pictured and identified will receive points
    • 25 points per SA, max of 200 points per team per event

THE VICTORS AWARDS SHOW

The Victors is the annual awards show held at the end of every academic year for the athletic department, campus, and community to come together and celebrate the athletic, academic, and community successes of our student-athletes. The Victors includes various individual and team awards, with the night culminating with the presentation of the Victors Cups awarded to one male and one female team that wins the Huskie Challenge for the 2015-16 year.

The 2016 Victors will have awards based on spring 2015, fall 2015, and winter 2016.