Points of Pride
For the record-setting ninth-straight semester, NIU student-athletes posted a grade point average over 3.0, and for the fourth consecutive year, all 17 NIU sports programs exceeded the Academic Progress Rate standards set by the NCAA.
Northern Illinois was presented with the Mid-American Conference's Institutional Academic Achievement Award at the 2009 MAC Basketball Tournament after NIU's student-athletes posted the highest grade point average in the league for the 2007-08 academic year with a mark of 3.04.
Kyle Knotek, a senior midfielder on the NIU men's soccer team, earned a place on the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The NIU men's soccer team defeated then-No. 2 SMU, 1-0 in overtime, to give NIU a win over the highest ranked team in school history and went on to advance to the championship game of the 2008 MAC Men's Soccer Championship, falling to Akron, 1-0, in double overtime.
The Huskie baseball team beat then-No. 15 Missouri, 5-2, at the DeMarini Invitational, while the softball team defeated then-No. 18 Houston, 5-3, at the Marriott Houston Classic.
Northern Illinois University Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff Compher unveiled the NIU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' Strategic Plan. The plan defines the mission and values of the department while setting out strategic goals and objectives for each unit for the next three years. The Huskies adopted the mission statement "We develop champions in the classroom, in competition and in life."
NIU defensive end Larry English made NIU history when he was selected 16th overall by the San Diego Chargers in the 2009 NFL Draft to cap a stellar career. In December, English became the first defensive player, the first Huskie, and only the fourth player ever to win the Vern Smith Leadership Award, given annually to the MAC Most Valuable Player by league coaches, in back-to-back seasons.
NIU head football coach Jerry Kill led the NIU football team to the Independence Bowl in his first season.
The Northern Illinois University women's soccer team opened its state-of-the-art Track & Field/Soccer Complex with a 1-0 victory over Eastern Illinois Aug. 29, 2008 and the NIU women's track & field team closed out the competitive season for the new facility when it hosted its first track & field meet since 1982, on May 9, 2009. The Huskies won all but five events on the day.
With projects ranging from school and hospital visits to painting houses with Habitat for Humanity, NIU's 450 student-athletes performed more than 5,000 hours of community service last year.
Four Huskies, gymnasts Jennifer Naughton and Holly Reichard, and wrestlers Tristan DeShazer and Bryan Deutsch, earned NCAA berths in 2009. Naughton and Reichard were named MAC Senior Gymnast and Gymnast of the Year, respectively, and shared the MAC title on the balance beam, while Deutsch won the MAC 157-pound Championship to advance to the NCAAs along with DeShazer.
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