General | March 28

Hello Huskie Fans!

As I always say, it's a great time to be a Huskie, and every season, our student-athletes keep proving me right (ha ha), as they set the bar even higher!  This winter was certainly no different with historic success by several NIU programs.

Let's start with women's basketball.  From the beginning, head coach Lisa Carlsen and her squad set out to #RestoretheGlory in the 60^th Anniversary season of NIU women's basketball.  Well, they met that goal and there WILL be a new banner hanging in the Convo honoring their appearance in the WNIT, NIU's first postseason appearance in 22 years! Their highlights included:
 — Set 25 Convocation Center records, as well as 12 individual and five team records;
— Recorded the first 20-win season since 1993-94 and just the sixth in program history;
— Played in the MAC Championship game for the first time since 1982 after winning a program-record 12 MAC games during the season;
— NIU's 85.1 points per game were the fifth-most in MAC history and the Huskies finished the season as the only team IN THE COUNTRY with five players that averaged 10-or-more points per game.

If you don't know senior Ally Lehman's story, check out this Chicago Tribune column, or WGN News feature, or this video. By the way, Ally became the ONLY player in MAC history with 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 500 assists in a career. Congratulations to her, her NIU teammates and the women's basketball staff!

On the men's side, Mark Montgomery's young team experienced some growing pains as it searched for the right line-up at times, but still won 15 games to finish just one game below .500, with seven losses by five points or less and two more in overtime. Still, our expectations are high and we believe there will be increased success in the future. Looking at the bigger picture, over the last four seasons (since 2013-14), NIU has won 65 games, the second-best four-year stretch in program history. Other positive notes on the 2016-17 Huskies;
— NIU scored 2,310 points, third-highest in school history with 828 field goals, the seventh-most all-time, and 493 free throws, the sixth-best total in school history;
— NIU finished second in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing just 70.7 points per game;
— Gary, Ind. product Eugene German was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team after averaging 9.0 points per game, including 11.7 in league play and senior Marin Maric earned All-MAC Third Team honors as he ranked fourth in the MAC in rebounding (8.4) and third in field goal percentage (56.8%) while averaging 14.4 points per game.

The 2016-17 wrestling season will go down as one for the history books!  Congratulations to Shawn Scott, who ended his outstanding career with 107 wins, fourth all-time in NIU history! He led a contingent of FIVE Huskies to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis and was one of three NIU wrestlers to come within one win of All-America honors and compete in the infamous "Blood Round". More on a very successful wrestling season:
— The Huskies' 92-point finish at the MAC Championships was the most points NIU has ever scored at the conference championships, breaking the record of 89 points in 1985;
— NIU sent five wrestlers – senior Shawn Scott (197 pounds); senior Trace Engelkes (174), senior Shaun'Qae McMurtry (165), sophomore Steve Bleise (149), freshman Brock Hudkins (125) to the NCAA Championships, the most in 32 years;
— NIU scored 11.5 team points at the NCAA Championships, the most since 2004, giving NIU a 30^th place finish nationally, the fourth-best in school history.

Gymnastics nearly matched wrestling's total of NCAA qualifiers as four Huskies will compete in five different events at the NCAA Regionals this Saturday (April 1) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  Congratulations also to NIU head coach Sam Morreale, who was named the MAC Coach of the Year, the first time a Huskie gymnastics coach has been honored by the league. NIU's 2016-17 season was filled with accomplishments like:
— NIU set school records for the highest team all-around score (196.100), team vault score (49.100) and team floor score (49.350) during the season;
— Senior Jamyra Carter was named the MAC Specialist of the Year for her performance on the uneven parallel bars throughout the season, including tying the school record with a 9.950 (out of 10) at CMU; Carter was named to the All-MAC second team;
—The Huskies finished second in the MAC regular season in a race that went down to the last day.

Indoor track and field also enjoyed a successful season with four school records, including two by super senior Hope Schmelzle. At the MAC Championships, NIU's fifth-place showing was led by a second-place finish by the Huskies' 4 x 400 relay team, earning the quartet All-MAC honors.

Now it's on to the spring sports with outdoor track and field, golf, tennis, baseball and softball in full swing. MAC competition is underway for the last three sports on that list and I'm excited to finally see those teams in action at home!

Of course the staff will all be spending plenty of time at Rich Harvest Farms, home of the Huskie golf programs, this May when the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's Golf Championships come to Sugar Grove.  We are so proud that the first NCAA Championships NIU has ever hosted will be held at Rich Harvest Farms in partnership with our great friend, Mr. Jerry Rich, and his staff. If you have never been to this incredible course, rated as one of the Top 100 in the nation by Golf Digest, now is the time. Mark your calendars for May 19-24 for the women's NCAA Championship, followed by the men's event May 26-31. Tickets are on sale now beginning at just $10 for a single day ticket with all students under 18 admitted free.

For me, the best way to enjoy the Championships is with the NCAA Experience (daily or weekly) pass.  What could be better than a VIP view of the 17^th hole, breakfast and lunch, VIP parking and two drink tickets while seated in a climate-controlled tent with video monitors to keep up with the rest of the action? I'll tell you what is better. Enjoy the NCAA Experience for FREE by purchasing a ticket or a table – and supporting the more than 400 student-athletes who represent and compete for NIU – at the Victor E. Ball, NIU Athletics' premier fundraising event. 

This year's Victor E. Ball is set for Saturday, April 29 at the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center in DeKalb and I am excited about the way this one-of-a-kind event is coming together.  The first Victor E. Ball was so impactful to anyone who was there as they heard the stories from our student-athletes first-hand while enjoying a wonderful dinner, entertainment, silent and live auction and more. This year we'll also have dancing, the introduction of the first Core Values Award winners, and the announcement of our 2017 Hall of Fame class. I cannot wait for this celebration of Huskie Athletics. The Victor E. Ball will be an evening you will not want to miss. We need you to be there!

Purchasing a ticket or participating in the (online) silent auction for the Victor E. Ball is one of the best ways to support NIU Athletics. Funds from the event are used to support Cost of Attendance, ensuring NIU's ability to recruit and retain student-athletes who carry on and build the great tradition of Huskie Athletics. Individual tickets and tables for the Victor E. Ball are available now. Register here, and if you cannot attend, please consider sponsoring a Huskie student-athlete's attendance.

At the Victor E. Ball, NIU Athletics will officially kick off our "Campaign to Sustain Initiative." This effort is needed to sustain our academic and athletic tradition at NIU, and will contribute to the financial need of our academic programs on campus. As you know, the lack of a state budget in Illinois has produced challenging financial situations for our university. As we enter year three of sharply diminished support at the state level, the ability to raise funds directly impacts our ability to provide the best possible experience for Huskie student-athletes.
 
Our teams have provided great momentum in competition and in the classroom, and we must continue to carry that over into much-needed fundraising success. The Campaign to Sustain Initiative is designed to do just that as we strive to put NIU Athletics on solid financial ground. This is our Battle Cry, our call to action! We need your support now, more than ever!

You will be hearing much more about this fundraising initiative, along with more Huskie success stories, in the next Frazier's Corner and in the months to come.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your support of NIU Athletics.

Go Huskies!


 



Sean T. Frazier
NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics