In six seasons as head coach at Northern Illinois University, Thomas Hammock has successfully guided the Huskies to the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championship, back-to-back bowl victories and three “Boneyard Wins, including arguably the biggest win in school history in 2024.
On September 7, 2024, Hammock’s Huskies defeated fifth-ranked Notre Dame,16-14, in South Bend, Indiana marking the first win by NIU, and the first win by a MAC school, over a Top 5 team. The historic win over the Irish, complete with a viral post-game interview and locker room speech, brought Hammock and the Huskies into the national limelight as a torrent of media requests and honors followed. NIU collected the FWAA’s Cheez-It National Team of the Week Award for the first time, while Hammock was named the Bobby Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week.
Hammock capped the 2024 campaign by becoming the first coach in school history to lead NIU to two bowl wins as daring overtime play-calling led to the Huskies’ 28-20 double overtime win over Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. NIU teams have also claimed wins over Boston College (2022) and Georgia Tech (2021) during Hammock’s tenure, and he is two wins away from 
moving into the Top 5 on the Huskies’ all-time coaching wins list.
A New Jersey native who grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hammock spent the 2005-06 seasons on the NIU staff as assistant coach and returned to DeKalb in 2019 after five seasons (2014-18) as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens. One of the top football student-athletes in school history, he was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 and most recently was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in July 2025.
The first African-American head coach in NIU football history, he is the first alumnus to lead the Huskies as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. From the very beginning of his coaching career, dating back to his days as a graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin, Hammock set his sights on becoming the head coach at his alma mater.
“This has always been my dream,” Hammock said in his NIU introductory press conference on January 19, 2019. “When I was a GA at Wisconsin [in 2003-04], I said I want to be the head coach at Northern Illinois University, because I knew what Coach [Joe] Novak did for me, and I want to do the same for others. It’s an unbelievable feeling to have the opportunity to come home to a place that I love, to the school that has meant so much to me.”
Hammock’s core beliefs in developing student-athletes as players, students and men while instilling values like teamwork, responsibility and work ethic have resonated. He has built on the strong foundation of the program put in place during his NIU playing days while navigating the current changes in intercollegiate athletics. From the challenges of leading the program through the COVID-19 pandemic to managing the roster in the time of the transfer portal and working to ensure NIU players have NIL opportunities, to preparing the Huskies to ascend to the Mountain West Conference in 2026, his commitment to NIU and to the student-athletes he brings into the program remain paramount.
A two-time Academic All-American, he firmly believes in the value of a college education and demands accountability in the classroom.
“I think being a student-athlete is a privilege. I was a two-time Academic All-American, so when I talk to kids about going to class and doing the things necessary to be successful, it starts there,” he said. “If I can’t trust you to go to class, it’s going to be hard to trust you on third down. It’s just that simple, so that’s the expectation.”
Hammock’s insistence on discipline in the classroom has paid off. After surpassing the 3.0 mark for the first time in school history in Spring of 2020, the Huskies have maintained a team GPA above 3.0 for 10 consecutive semesters. NIU has re-set the GPA record multiple times and in Spring 2025, achieved a team record 3.18 mark.
After leading the Huskies to five wins in his first season and persevering through a 0-6 campaign during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Hammock led NIU to its biggest one-season improvement in school history in 2021. The Huskies won nine games with the second-youngest team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), taking the MAC West Division title and defeating Kent State 41-23 in the MAC Championship game. NIU became the first FBS team to win its conference championship game one year after going winless. Hammock was named the MAC Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year honor.
The 2023 and 2024 teams have continued to earn wins – and accolades – with a balanced approach, as the Huskies’ hallmark physical rushing attack has been complemented by a defense that has achieved back-to-back Top 25 rankings. The 2023 defense ranked as one of the Top 10 against the pass in the country while in 2024, the Huskies ranked fourth in the nation in total defense with Top 20 rankings in rushing defense (17), scoring defense (14), pass efficiency defense (12) and in sacks (18).
The results: back-to-back winning seasons and bowl wins, three winning campaigns in the last four years, numerous all-conference awards and players – like 2023 team MVP James Ester (Green Bay Packers) – who have vied for spots on NFL rosters.
Hammock’s coaching journey began with two seasons at Wisconsin as a graduate assistant, followed by two seasons as an assistant at NIU under Huskie Hall of Fame head coach Joe Novak. Hammock then served stints as a college assistant coach at Minnesota and Wisconsin before joining the Ravens in 2014.
In five seasons as the running backs coach, Hammock helped Baltimore’s rushing attack finish in the top 11 in the NFL three times, including in 2018 when the Ravens had the second-best rushing offense in the league, averaging 152.6 yards per game. The Ravens made the playoffs twice in Hammock’s time in Baltimore.
During his first season in 2014, the Ravens finished eighth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 126.2 yards per game, as they posted a 10-6 record and reached the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. Hammock helped mentor running back Justin Forsett to his first career Pro Bowl in 2014 as he ranked fifth in the NFL with 1,266 yards. Baltimore fullback Kyle Juszczyk was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2016 after he led the NFL in catches (37) and receiving yards (266) by a fullback.
The Ravens averaged 116.0 rushing yards per game in 2017 and in 2018, won the AFC North Division title with a 10-6 record while finishing third in the NFL with 19 rushing touchdowns.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, one of Hammock’s mentors, said the Ravens’ loss was NIU’s gain.
“He’s a tremendous coach, great leader and great developer of players,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a smart game planner, a hard-nosed disciplinarian but a player’s coach at the same time. He relates to his guys really well. He’s been a big part of our success.”
Prior to his five seasons in Baltimore, Hammock spent three years at the University of Wisconsin, where he was the running backs coach and assistant head coach. In 2011, Hammock’s first season in Madison, the Badgers ranked 11th nationally in rushing, averaging 235.6 yards per game. Hammock helped Montee Ball lead the nation in rushing yards (1,923) and break Barry Sanders’ single-season NCAA touchdown record with 39 scores, including 33 rushing. Ball was a consensus first team All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist for the Badgers, who finished 11-3 and played in the Rose Bowl.
The following season, Wisconsin once again ranked among the nation’s elite rushing teams with an average of 236.4 rushing yards per game. Ball became the NCAA’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 77 and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back, as he gained 1,830 rushing yards to lead Wisconsin back to the Rose Bowl.
In 2013, Hammock’s final season at Wisconsin, the Badgers set a school record with 3,689 rushing yards to rank eighth in the nation. James White and Melvin Gordon each earned second team All-Big Ten honors with over 1,000 yards apiece. Gordon was a semifinalist for both the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards as the Badgers finished the season with a 9-4 record.
Hammock’s three seasons at Wisconsin from 2011-13 marked his second stint with the Badgers program, having begun his coaching career as a graduate assistant there in 2003-04. During that time, UW played in the Music City Bowl (2003) and the Outback Bowl (2004).
The former Huskie running back returned to DeKalb as an assistant coach for Joe Novak for two seasons in 2005-06. In Hammock’s first season, NIU Hall of Famer Garrett Wolfe rushed for 1,580 yards and 16 touchdowns in just nine games as NIU won the MAC West Division and appeared in the MAC Championship Game for the first time. During the 2006 campaign, Wolfe rushed for an NCAA-best 1,928 yards. Hammock helped Wolfe earn All-America and first team All-MAC honors in both 2005 and 2006.
Following his two seasons with the Huskies, Hammock spent four years as the running backs coach at the University of Minnesota (2007-10), helping the Golden Gophers to the Insight Bowl in both 2008 and 2009. Hammock was named the co-offensive coordinator at Minnesota for the 2010 season and the Gophers moved up 26 spots nationally in rushing and 34 spots in total offense.
As a player, Hammock gained 2,432 rushing yards in 32 games in his NIU career (1999-2002), which still ranks 14th all-time in Huskie history. He was a two-time first team CoSIDA (now CSC) Academic All-American in 2000 and 2001; Hammock remains the only football student-athlete in school history with that distinction. He earned first team All-MAC honors in both seasons after back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns. As a sophomore, he ranked sixth in the country in scoring (10.7/game), 12th in rushing (120.3 yards/game) and his career totals included 12 100-yard rushing games.
Hammock entered his junior season of 2002 as a Doak Walker Award candidate and an honorable mention preseason All-American. In the first game of that season, a 42-41 overtime win over Wake Forest, he rushed for 172 yards on 38 carries to earn Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors.
Following the game, though, Hammock experienced trouble breathing and chest discomfort. After a series of tests and following the recommendations from multiple doctors and specialists throughout the region, he was sidelined for the remainder of the season. In December 2002, shortly after graduating from NIU, and with a season of eligibility remaining, he announced his retirement due to a heart-related condition.
Hammock initially put his NIU degree to work in the business world before reaching out to then Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez and securing a spot as a graduate assistant in Madison, marking the beginning of his coaching career.
Hammock earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from NIU in December 2002, and a master’s in educational leadership and policy analysis from Wisconsin in 2004. He and his wife, Cheynnitha, also a NIU alum, have a daughter, Tierra, and a son, Thomas Douglas.
