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Football

Huskie History

The Huskie football program has a long and proud tradition filled with history making teams and outstanding individual accomplishments. From back-to-back MAC championships in 2011 & 2012, the first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Bowl berth by a MAC team, to the first Heisman Finalist in school history, NIU is in the midst of one of its most successful periods to date. The Huskies have made six-straight bowl appearances, posted double-digit wins in each of the last four seasons, including 12 wins in 2012 and 2013, and boast the MAC player of the year seven of the last eight years.

Retired Jerseys
The NIU football team has retired four jerseys during its 112-year history; Dave Petzke's No. 6, George Bork's No. 11, Bob Heimerdinger's No. 12 and Mark Kellar's No. 31.

No. 12 ? Bob Heimerdinger

No. 31 ? Mark Kellar

No. 11 ? George Bork

No. 6 ? Dave Petzke

College Football Hall of Fame
Two former members of the NIU football team, George Bork and Tom Beck, are enshrined in the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. One of the all-time great quarterbacks at NIU, Bork became the first Huskie inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The nation's first collegiate passer at any level to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season, he completed 244-of-374 passes for 3,077 yards during his senior campaign garnering him Heisman Trophy consideration. A three-year letterwinner for the Huskies, Beck took what he learned at NIU under Howard Fletcher and applied it to a very successful coaching career. He amassed a 137-52-1 record for a .724 winning percentage at three different schools in 19 years as a head coach.

George Bork
QB, 1960-63 | Inducted in 1999

Tom Beck
QB/HB, 1959-61 | Inducted in 2004


All-Time Letterwinners List

Boneyard Wins

Honors & Awards
NIU head coach Joe Novak led NIU to victory over Troy State in the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl, beginning a stretch of eight bowl appearances in 10 years.
 

A two-time first team Little All-American, Bork led the Huskies to its first 10-0-0 season, a Mineral Water Bowl triumph, and the College Division national title in 1963.