Northern Illinois University student-athletes have achieved 10 straight semesters of 3.0 or higher. For the Fall 2007-Spring 2008 academic year the Huskies also won the first ever Mid-American Conference Institutional Academic Achievement Award. The title is awarded to the MAC school with the highest GPA of the academic year and the Huskies won with a GPA of 3.04.

SAASS Mission:To provide student-athletes with the resources necessary to prepare for the challenges of a diverse society while earning an undergraduate degree.

Role of the SAASS Office: Student-Athlete Academic Support Services is the academic unit within the Vice Provost Office which services student-athletes. Members of the SAASS staff work collaboratively with other university offices to provide student-athletes with the tools necessary for success. The SAASS staff maintains strong working relationships with departmental academic advisors, professors, and university wide student support service departments to ensure that student-athletes are aware of and have access to all resources and programs on NIU's campus. The SAASS staff provides academic and life skills programs to achieve our goal of enhancing student-athletes academic, athletic and social skills.