The Huskies brought in two new members to the family this weekend.

Business Office Account Tech Jake Waddle and his wife, Amy, welcomed Zachary Peter Waddle into the world Friday (May 4) afternoon at 3:20 p.m. He weighed in at 8 lbs., 8 oz. and is 20 inches long. Zachary joins his older brother Levi, who is three.

Meanwhile, NIU Football Graduate Assistant Joe Tripodi and his wife, Rachel, are the proud parents of Emma Sarah Tripodi. Emma was born Sunday (May 6) at 11:38 p.m., weighing 8.1 lbs. and measured 20 inches long.

NIU congratulates the Waddles and Tripodis on their new additions.

For the first time, Northern Illinois Athletics was included in the annual Student Choice Awards event that was coordinated by the NIU Student Association.

NIU head coaches Dave Doeren (football) and Connie Teaberry (women's track and field) were on hand along with volleyball's Kristin Hoffman, Adam Kiel of football and several members of the Huskie football team as the awards were presented on Tuesday, April 10 at the Duke Ellington Ballroom. Doeren was named Coach of the Year while the Huskie football team was the SA's Team of the Year. Hoffman accepted the award as Athlete of the Year, and Kiel was honored for his dedication as a campus leader in the area of community service. The women's track and field team won the award for Most Improved Team on campus, which Teaberry accepted on behalf of the Huskies. 

Congratulations to these award winners and thanks to the Student Association for recognizing YOUR Huskies!

NIU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher is one of the featured speakers at today's Daily Herald Newsmakers' Forum on the Business of Sports, which will be held at The Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, Ill. 

Compher and his fellow panelists, Dan Migala (The Migala Report), Vince Pellegrino (Western Golf Association), Andy Viano (Schaumburg Boomers Baseball Club) and Roger Wexelberg (Chicago Rush) will address "How to Score with Your Sports Marketing Dollars" to the 100-150 attendees representing small businesses from throughout the region. 

The session, presented by the Chicago Rush and the NIU College of Business MBA program and put on by the Daily Herald Business Ledger, includes a lunch in addition to the presentations by the presenters and the panel discussion.

In addition to Compher, several members of the athletic staff, including Associate Athletic Director Shelley Binegar, Director of Marketing Ryan Harris, Director of Ticket Operations Eric Schultz and General Manager of NIU IMG College Robert Heck will attend the seminar on behalf of Northern Illinois.

The day started off with a bang, no not because my second bicuspid was exploding with pain from all the candy floating around the NIU Athletics office, but because of a man oozing with patriotism on All Hallows' Eve.

The day had not even started yet. I walked into the office with my coffee, sat down in my chair and opened my bag to unload my laptop and began my Monday. Before I could even open my email to check the abundance of messages sent in the past couple hours, the door to the sports information offices opened and a distinctive "woosh, woosh" sound promptly followed, followed a low pitched "hum" that grew closer.

When I quickly turned around to investigate, all I saw was a red, white and blue blur darting towards the end of the office and past my cubicle entry way. That blur was none other than Captain America, who quickly got into a ready fighting stance in front of Assistant Media Relations Director Joe Summins and asked (jokingly) if he "was ready to throw down!?!" Before he could finish laughing, Summins snapped back that his "shield looked like a dinner plate." So ended the confrontation and the smiles kept radiating.

The man behind the mask was Head Women's Gymnastics Coach Sam Morreale, who made his rounds in athletics to remind everyone that today was halloween and show us his spirit. So from all of us in the Northern Illinois Athletics, including Captain America, we wish you a happy and safe Halloween.

NIUHuskies.com caught Victor E. Huskie on his way to the job fair that is being held at the Convocation Center today.  Victor E. is probably going to get a lot of "don't quit your day job" responses from the prospective employers but good luck, Victor E!

Northern Illinois Hall of Fame Weekend is rapidly approaching and the Huskies will be honoring their 30th induction banquet Friday Oct. 7 and introducing the Hall of Famers at halftime of Saturday's contest against Kent State. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

As part of Colleges Against Cancer and in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Northern Illinois will be handing out Pink Huskie Buff's, made popular by the hit CBS show "Survivor", to all fans upon entrance to the game.

And finally, this weekend will be the start of NIU Foundation's "Huddle With Faculty," a pre game social that will occur before every home football game at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center in 2012. The inaugural "Huddle with the Faculty - Better Living Through Mannequins," will take place Saturday.

For more info on "Huddle With Faculty," click here

Continuing to bring its motto to life, NIU Intercollegiate Athletics has taken its "Developing Champions" attitude even further with the implementation of a Themed Learning Community (TLC).  This year, 25 select freshman student-athletes from nearly every Huskie athletic program are participating a TLC named "Developing Champions: In the classroom, in competition and in life."  The focus of the group is on leadership and social justice.  For more information about the TLC, click here to ready today's article from NIU Today.  

Congratulations to Northern Illinois' Associate Athletic Director for Major Gifts Mark Muhlhauser and his wife, Jill, as they welcomed daughter Brooklyn Mackenzie Muhlhauser to the world last night (Sept. 26) at 9:52 p.m.

The newest addition to the Huskie Family weighed in at 8 lbs., 5.5 oz. and is 21 inches long.  She joins big brothers Osten (7) and Jake (3), who were excited to meet their baby sister at the hospital earlier today. 

With mom and baby Brooklyn both doing well, Muhlhauser can turn his attention back to his next "baby" - the Chessick Indoor Facility.
   

Inside Huskie Stadium, the Northern Illinois football team is hard at work getting ready for the 2011 season, which opens Sept. 3 with a home game versus Army.  If you haven't been reading our series of preseason position previews, and watching the accompanying video on Huskies' All-Access, you have some catching up to do!

There is also action on the outside of Huskie Stadium as the beams on the West Side are being repainted for the first time in several years.  First, all of the beams were power washed and as of Monday, the painting was about halfway done.  The difference is clear in the photo above.

The team is ready, the stadium is almost ready...how about you?  Have you bought your season tickets yet?  There is still time!   Click here for all the information and to purchase tickets! 

With Northern Illinois playing its season opener at Huskie Stadium for the first time since 2003 (a certain victory over No. 15 Maryland that some may recall), the NIU Ticket Office has worked hard to make sure Huskie fans have their season tickets in hand well before the Huskies kick off 2011 versus Army on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m.

Today, the Ticket Office reports that all current season ticket orders have been mailed and everyone who has ordered tickets so far should have received, or be receiving, their season tickets in the next few days.  This includes all mini-plan orders. 

In addition, if you ordered home single game tickets, the Ticket Office is caught up on those as well as those orders have been mailed.  Of course, Soldier Field Showdown II tickets were mailed as far back as June and continue to be sent out as those orders are received.

Northern Illinois has NOT received all of its tickets for its 2011 away games yet so if you ordered tickets to the Kansas, Central Michigan, or any away game through us, you will be receiving those separately soon.  The ticket office hopes to have all of those tickets in DeKalb so that they can be mailed beginning next week.

While season tickets in the past have been available for pick-up at the preseason NIU Family Fun Day, the turnaround time between this year's Family Fun Day on Saturday, August 20 and the date of the home opener was too tight to hold the tickets at NIU. 

Don't worry, Huskie fans, there will still be a Family Fun Day with the cheerleaders, Victor E. Huskie, a football scrimmage, autographs, posters, schedule cards and more.  The football team will take the field for the scrimmage at 11:35 a.m. and all are invited to attend.  More details on Family Fun Day will be available soon on NIUHuskies.com, but for now, look for your tickets coming to a mailbox near you.

And a reminder, if you HAVEN'T ordered your season, single game or Soldier Field Showdown II tickets yet, there is STILL time!  Order online through the Tickets link at NIUHuskies.com or call us at 815-753-1923.

September 3 is just around the corner!  All season tickets ordered after August 22 will have to be picked up at the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center or at Will Call on game day.  Don't wait until the last minute.  Get your tickets today.

Last week in Indianapolis, the NCAA held its annual Career in Sports Forum which gives student-athletes from across the country the opportunity to explore their interest in athletic careers upon graduation. For the second consecutive year, NIU Associate Athletic Director Monique Bernoudy was selected as one of the 16 facilitators for the four-day conference. During the event, student-athletes developed their skills in a number of areas, including communication, networking, recruiting, managing diversity, crisis management and budgeting.

"The NCAA Forum is an exceptional opportunity for student-athletes to enhance their skill set, become more self-aware, explore athletic careers and meet student-athletes, coaches and administrators from across the country," said Bernoudy. "It is a joy to work with them and watch them blossom in four days."

Mid-American Conference commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher received a two-year extension to lead the league the MAC announced today.

Cleveland, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference announced today that the Council of Presidents has extended the contract of Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher for two additional years through the 2015-16 academic year.  Steinbrecher began as MAC Commissioner in May of 2009 with an original five-year contract and only two years into the agreement, the conference Presidents unanimously rewarded Steinbrecher with a two-year contract extension. MORE

Congratulations to Huskie supporter Jeff Yordon as he rang the bell at the NASDAQ yesterday. Yordon, the Chief Executive Officer of Sagent Pharmaceuticals Inc, donated $2.5 million to the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center and is a fixture on the sidelines at NIU football games.

NIU fans in the Rockford area!  The Huskie Spring Coaches' Caravans are at the Rockford Country Club in Rockford today participating in the Rockford Executive Club's annual golf outing. NIU head football coach Dave Doeren, who is playing at the event, will be speaking at the dinner after golf. New NIU head men's basketball coach Mark Montgomery will be speaking at the event as well. Many of the local TV stations are going to be out there interviewing the two new Huskie head coaches. Be sure to check your local sports broadcasts tonight.

"The Victors," NIU's annual awards ceremony will be held tonight as student-athletes, coaches and staff celebrate the accomplishments of the Huskies from the past year. Tonight the Huskies will find out who the Northern Illinois Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) selected as the winners in 23 different categories, including the Male and Female Athlete of the Year. Also announced tonight will be the winner of the Play of the Year, as voted on by the fans at NIUHuskies.com.

You can see a complete list of the nominees for this year's Victors awards here, and check back with NIUHuskies.com tomorrow for a full recap of this evening's festivities.

The weekend before the final week of classes at Northern Illinois saw Huskie Athletics well-represented at several campus events.  On Friday evening, NIU mascot Victor E. Huskie successfully completed his first 5K as he ran the "5K the Night Away" race staged by the Grad Sport Society in just over 31 minutes.  Victor E., who underwent an intense workout regimen for his "make-over" last summer, has obviously remained in tip-top shape throughout the year.  The course began in one of the Convocation Center parking lots and circled throughout campus.  Congrats Victor E.!

Meanwhile, NIU Head Coach Dave Doeren took part in another big event on Saturday afternoon as he opened the TUGS finals on the east grass of Huskie Stadium by flipping the coin at the start of the competition. TUGS is the annual tug-of-war competition between NIU fraternity teams.  Saturday's final came at the end of a nearly week-long tournament and months of training by the teams.  Doeren along with several of his assistant coaches stayed around after the coin flip to watch the finals of the historic Northern Illinois competition.

Northern Illinois head coaches Dave Doeren and Mark Montgomery join NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff Compher and host Andy Garcia for tonight's installment of "NIU Live." It's the last show of the 2010-11 academic year and the crew had plenty to talk about, including Saturday's Spring Football Game and Montgomery's first basketball recruiting class.  Tune in to 670 AM The Score tonight (Wednesday, April 20) at 11 p.m. for the final NIU Live of the season!

Tune into 670 AM "The Score" tonight at midnight as NIU Vice President/Director of Athletics Jeff Compher and host Andy Garcia are joined by head women's basketball coach Kathi Bennett and Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Shelley Binegar. Bennett gives Huskie fans an update on the women's hoops season, while Binegar discusses the football season ticket packages that were announced today.

The NFL regular season may have ended yesterday, but for three Huskies the season will continue with the playoffs.  Ryan Diem and the Indianapolis Colts will host the New York Jets Saturday night.  Michael Turner and the Atlanta Falcons snagged the top seed in the NFC and await the results of Wild Card Weekend for their Divisional Round opponent.  Garrett Wolfe and the Chicago Bears received the No. 2 seed in the NFC and are in the same boat as the Falcons, waiting for their next foe.  Congrats and good luck to our Huskies!

The mission of NIU Athletics is to Develop Champions In the Classroom, In Competition, and In Life. Today our student-athletes, along with all students at NIU, start their finals. We wish them the best of luck with their upcoming exams, presentations and projects! Go Huskies!

NIU Athletics would like to thank the Northern Illinois Huskie coaches, student-athletes, fans and the Sycamore and DeKalb communities for joining in Northern Illinois' CHAMPS and SAAC's Food For Families Drive.

With the support of our Huskie family, SAAC collected grocery bags filled with food (pictured above) and donated them to the local DeKalb Salvation Army. Congratulations to the men's basketball team who, with your support, had the most bags filled and returned. Also, congratulations to women's golf and women's soccer who came in a close second with the number of bags they had filled and returned.

On behalf of CHAMPS and SAAC, Thanks to everyone's support in making the Food for Families Drive benefiting the DeKalb Salvation Army a great success and we look forward to making next year's event an even bigger success.

Be sure to catch "NIU Live" tonight at 11:30 p.m. on 670 AM "The Score." Join host Andy Garcia, Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Jeff Compher and their guests NIU head football coach Jerry Kill and head wrestling coach Dave Grant. The quartet preview NIU's upcoming football game with Ball State, the NIU wrestling team and all the goings on at Northern Illinois.