FALL 2012

NIU Huskies @NIUAthletics

CHAMPIONSHIPBUILDINGONE BRICK AT A TIME

championship building

starts with you

Behind the DeskJeff Compher • Director of Athletics

Dear Fellow Huskies,

The past year has provided Huskie fans of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life with moments of euphoria, a sense of achievement, and most importantly, a resounding sense of pride and satisfaction to be able to call themselves a Huskie. While the on-field success of our 17 varsity programs over the past year has provided tangible evidence of the incredible progress of NIU Athletics, the athletic arena is only one barometer that can be used to quantify and gauge the success of our student-athletes.

Developing Champions is about more than trophies. Rather, Developing Champions is a standard we apply to all facets of the student-athlete experience, both on and off the field. When you look at “By The Numbers” (right), Huskie student-athletes continue to make the grade. These results demonstrate how hard they have worked and articulates the emphasis we, as a university and as an athletics department, have placed on the pursuit of academic excellence.

As the saying goes, all good things come in threes. As such, our vision at NIU is to be a premier program that complements academic and athletic excellence with opportunities to grow by serving our community. Through the Life Skills program, our student-athletes volunteer nearly 3,000 hours of their personal time each year to the DeKalb/Sycamore community through various events and initiatives such as Healthy Huskies, Meals on Wheels, hospital and school visits and much more.

By promoting school spirit and providing quality entertainment, our 400+ Huskie student-athletes expect success and demand integrity in doing so. Your ongoing support of NIU Athletics and contributions to the Huskie Athletic Support Fund allows us to advance our mission of Developing Champions in the classroom, in competition, and in life.

Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do to help make this great university one of the top programs, not just in the MAC, but in the country. I look forward to you cheering on our student-athletes again this fall!

GO HUSKIES!

Jeff Compher Associate Vice President Director of Athletics

By the Numbers

4 Four NIU programs brought Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships back to DeKalb in 2011/12 including: Football, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Volleyball, and Men’s Tennis!

7 Seven NIU teams - men’s golf, men’s tennis women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, volleyball, and women’s gymnastics - recorded perfect APR scores of 1,000 for 2010/2011.

7 For the seventh consecutive year, all 17 of Northern Illinois University’s sports programs have exceeded academic standards measured by the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate* (APR) according to the 2012 APR Report .

12 tWELVE of the Huskies’ 17 programs improved or equaled their APR score from 2011 to 2012. The women’s outdoor track and field team showed the biggest improvement with a 20-point jump, followed by the indoor track and field team (+17) and men’s baskeball team (+15)

987 The APR score of the Huskie football team over the past four seasons, good for fifth in the nation amongst NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, trailing only Northwestern (993), Boise State (989), Duke (989), and Ohio State (988).

*The APR has evolved into the primary tool used by the NCAA to gauge a team’s academic progress and serves as a predictor of graduation success. An APR below 930 can result in potential sanctions

1 >> Huskie Tracks Fall, 2012

What’s On Tap?

2 >> Huskie Tracks Fall, 2012

For more information on any of these events, contact the HASF Office at (815) 753-1923 or HuskieAthleticSupportFund@niu.edu

Monday, October 8th • Rich Harvest Farms • 1:00 PM Shotgun

Third Annual NIU Harvest Invitational This unique event provides you the rare opportunity to test your skills on the world-class golf course at Rich Harvest Farms. Thanks to the generosity of Jerry, Betty, and Keith Rich, all proceeds from the event will directly benefit the NIU golf program. Registration begins at 11:30am. Awards, dinner, and a silent auction will follow the conclusion of play at 6:00pm. Registration deadline is MONDAY, October 1st. For questions, contact the HASF office at (815) 753-1923

Future Varsity Club MemberShaakira Haywood-Senior @NIUAthletics

I.D.E. Impossible. Don’t. Exist. Those three words might not mean much to anyone else, but to the NIU student-athletes it means more than words. It is something that we truly do believe. Why do we believe it?

Simply because we live it. We live it not only in the celebrated lip dub video that the student-athletes gave YouTube, but it is visible in our actions. Seeing a number of our student athletes succeed and live their

dreams in their respective sport this past year fuels the fire for us this year. Each of us all has the dream of winning a championship and representing NIU at the highest level. This past year we won not only one

championship, but four! We have all been a witness to the hard work and dedication that it takes to obtain that dream. This year, winning a championship is more than a dream to us, it is an expectation.

As competitive students and athletes, we know that impossible does not exist.

When student-athletes are serving the community while being a positive role model and inspiration, we will be expressing to others that impossible does not exist. In the

classroom, we will strive to reach our academic goals and exceed expectations. This year, all of the dedication and hard work that we put in on the court, the field and the

` weight room will translate into championships.

Shaakira Haywood-SeniorPsychology Major

SAAC Executive Board Member-Events Chair

Nelson Suite New Pricing for 2012-13

Full Suite$850 (Men) $500 (Women) Includes: 70 tickets, 10 parking passes

Half Suite $425 (Men) $250 (Women)Includes: 35 tickets, 5 parking passes

Food and drink available upon request. Please call (815) 753-1923 for availability.

Perfect for birthday parties, corporate outings, and other gatherings!

birthday parties $20/person (party size not to exceed 70) Includes: Drinks and cupcakes Gift for the birthday child A personalized scoreboard messageVisit from Victor E. Huskie Parking passes subject to availability and size of party

3 >> Huskie Tracks Fall, 2012

Compliance Corner

Contact the NIU Huskie Athletic Compliance office should you have any questions, concerns, or are in need of any educational materials

On behalf of everyone associated with Huskie Athletics, we would like to thank you for your support of our student-athletes participating in competition this season. With respect to our ongoing attempt to ensure compliance with NCAA rules and regulations, please keep in mind the following pertinent information.

WHAT ARE EXTRA BENEFITS?A student-athlete shall not receive any extra benefit. The term “extra benefit” refers to any special arrangement by an institutional employee or representative of the institution’s athletics interests (booster) to provide the student-athlete or his or her relative or friends with a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Recent examples of impermissible extra benefits include: a booster gave the use of his home and car; free or discounted tattoos; the exchange of complimentary admissions for anything of value; and rent paid by the parent of a teammate.

WHAT IS AN OCCASIONAL MEAL, CAN I PAY, AND IF SO, WHEN?A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal in the locale of the institution on infrequent and special occasions from an institutional staff member. An institutional staff member may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend such meals. A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal from a representative of athletics interests (booster) on infrequent and special occasions under the following conditions:

(a) The meal may only be provided in an individual’s home, on campus or at a facility that is regularly used for home competition and may be catered; and (b) A representative of the institution’s athletics interests (booster) may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend the meal function only if the meal function is at the home of that representative. Additionally, meals must be restricted to infrequent and special occasions (e.g. birthdays, holidays). An Occasional Meal Request Form (which can be found on the NIU Compliance Website under the heading Boosters, Alumni, and Agents) must be submitted, and the Huskie Athletic Compliance Office must approve meals in advance.

Through ongoing education, we make a conscious effort to inform our student-athletes about the NCAA rules and regulations that govern their activities. Nevertheless, we ask you to join our efforts in protecting the eligibility and welfare of the heart and soul of Huskie Athletics: the student-athletes.

We would like to thank you for continued interest in protecting our student-athletes and the integrity of the university. Please do not hesitate to contact the Huskie Athletic Office of Compliance if you have any questions that may arise in the future.

GO HUSKIES!

4 >> Huskie Tracks Fall, 2012

Summer HASF EventsIn

FOCUS

Football 101 - Women’s ClinicOn Wednesday, July 18th an elite group of approximately 90 women ascended on the Yordon Center to participate in the annual Football 101 Women’s Clinic. Head Coach Dave Doeren, his coaching staff, and several student-athletes led demonstrations and provided valuable insight on the fundamentals of football in order to help groom attendees’ knowledge of the game. Through playbook analysis, a tour of the locker room and weight-lifting facilities, an open Q&A session, and on-field drills, Football 101 was an excellent opportunity for women of the NIU Huskie community to learn more about the game, especially as the Huskies enter the 2012/13 campaign looking to defend their Mid-American Conference Championship this upcoming season!

On Friday, July 20th, the football team hosted the 17th annual Brigham-Novak Gridiron Classic at Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge. The golf outing brought together over 200 former student-athletes, former coaches, and NIU supporters. A special thank you to the following sponsors for their generous support of Huskie Athletics: Budweiser, Fatty’s Pub and Grille, The Lincoln Inn, Nissan of Saint Charles, The Power Connection, State Farm, and Shaw SportEx. Also, thank you to the Village Commons Bookstore, Dan DeVito, Joe LaPointe, Gary Baumgartner, and Robert Suvada for sponsoring coaches in this year’s event.

Brigham-Novak Gridiron Classic