New Art Building At NIU in 1967

From the December 13, 2017, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1967, 50 Years Ago.

"Northern Illinois University's new art building will rise four stories in pre-cast concrete and brick on the site of the campus' former football field.

"The $13 million art building will be constructed on Northern's historic Glidden Field where NIU football squads played until dedication of the new stadium in 1965."

Art So Pretty.  --Cooter

Looking Back at NIU Football, 1965: Glidden Field Reactivated

From the September 27, 2015, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1965.  "Ancient Glidden Field (where the NIU Art Building is now located), the scene of Northern Illinois University football since 1899 will be reactivated tomorrow when the Huskies open their schedule.  Placed in mothballs last fall, the 8,500-seat field will begin its 66th year of use, then before the campaign ends it will again be retired in favor of a new 22,500 seat stadium on West Campus."

The reason was because the new stadium was not yet completed.

Go Huskies!!  --CooterDog

NIU's Great 2011 Football Season

Sept. 3  NIU 49  Army 26
Sept. 10  Kansas 45  NIU 42
Sept. 17  Wisconsin 49 NIU 7
Sept. 24  NIU 47  Cal Poly  30

Oct. 1  Central Michigan 48  NIU 41
Oct. 8  NIU 40  Kent Stae 10
Oct. 15  NIU 51  W. Michigan 23
Oct. 22  NIU  31  Buffalo 30

Nov. 1  NIU 63  Toledo 60
Nov. 8  NIU 45  Bowling Green  14
Nov. 15  NIU  41  Ball State 41
Nov. 25  NIU 16  E. Michigan 12

Dec. 2  NIU 23 Ohio 20

Jan. 6  NIU 38  Arkansas State 20  GoDaddy Bowl

Great Year.  --DaNIUCoot

Looking Back at DeKalb County's History-- Part 1

From the July 9, 2015, MidWeek  "Looking Back"

1915, 100 YEARS AGO--  Nelson Wood has small pox in a very light form.

1940, 75 YEARS AGO--  Fargo Theater (in Sycamore) will reopen in August, but will be renamed The State.  (The theater is still there with its "new"name.)

1965, 50 YEARS AGO--  The new NIU football stadium will have seating for 15,000 and has 1 and 1/4 miles of ramps.

--Cooter

Goodbye to NIU Mascot Diesel

It was sad to hear on last Tuesday that long-time NIU mascot Diesel, a Siberian husky, died.  We had just heard the week before that he had cancer.  He was 12 and had been at most every Northern Illinois University football game for nine years.  He was replaced with another Siberian husky, Mission, in 2013.

NIU is called the Huskies.

Tom Bonnevice adopted Diesel from a husky rescue shelter.  Tom and family and Diesel lived in my old hometown of Round Lake Beach, Illinois.

After his retirement, Diesel was classified "Mascot Emeritus."  Unfortunately, advancing age and ailments caused Diesel to be unable to run near the end of his mascot years, but he learned how to high-five cheerleaders and this was picked up on ESPN and the national networks.

Diesel was able to attend the first game the Huskies played this year against UNLV.  he died the next day.

We were able to personally meet him while we were in Mobile for the Go-Daddy bowl against Arkansas State.  He had about the softest fur I've ever petted.  And talk about laid-back.

Somewhere, Diesel will be watching as NIU plays that little old Ohio State this Saturday.

Go Diesel!!

NIU's Huskie Stadium Turns 50 This Year-- Part 3: Improvements

The field was recarpeted in 1980 and again in 1990 and replaced with FieldTurf surface in 2001.

In 2003, the stadium's field was named Brigham Field after Robert Brigham, a former player, coach and athletic director.

The NIU Huskies have had much football success since 2000, including victories over nationally ranked at the time Maryland and Alabama and Iowa State in 2003  January 1, 2013, NIU played in the Orange Bowl against Florida State.  Because of all of this success, plans are underway to enlargen the stadium to seat 30,000 to 35,000 with a potential for as high as 42,000.

In addition, the Yordon Athletic Center gas been built at the north end of the field in August 2007 and behind it, the huge Chessick Practice Center which opened in October 2013.  We were there for that dedication.  It houses a full-size football field inside, something very handy for the weather in northern Illinois.

--BigFanCooter

NIU's Huskie Stadium Turns 50-- Part 2: Games Played at Glidden Field Before That

Before the 1965, NIU football games were played at 5,500 seat Glidden Field on the campus' east side.  This is where the Art Building is now located.  After quarterback George Bork led the Huskies to the AP Small College Championship in 1963, plans began for a new, much-bigger stadium.

Construction delays, however, caused the first home game in  the stadium to be on November 6, 1965, a 48-6 victory over the Illinois State redbirds.The September 20, 1969, game with the University of Idaho marked the first major college football game in the state of Illinois to be played on artificial turf.  I was there for that game which Northern won 47-30.

While a student, a rarely ever missed a home game.

--CooterFan

NIU's Huskie Stadium Turns 50-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

When the Northern Illinois University Huskies open their 2015 season in DeKalb, Illinois, this Saturday against UNLV, this will mark the 50th year of Huskie Stadium.  I have been to this stadium many times, including the 1969, 1970 and 1972 seasons when I was a student.

To mark the occasion, the Huskies will be wearing throwback jerseys like the one they wore at the inaugural season fifty years ago.

Technically, the place is called Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium.  (Huskie is the spelling of the mascot adopted by NIU in case you're wondering.  This is driving the old spellcheck crazy.)

Huskie Stadium opened for business in 1965, four tears before I got there.  It was one of the earlier structures on the campus' west side.

Its original capacity was 20,257 from 1965-1981.  During those years you could say we had half a stadium.  It was expanded in 1982 to 30,998 with the opening of the east side (for students).

Go You Huskies!!  --DaHuskieCoot

A Break from the Strike

I had already arranged to take the weekend of October 29-30, 1994, to Nashville, Tennessee, for the NIU-Vanderbilt football game, so after walking the line on Friday, Oct. 28th, I went to O'Hare Airport and took a plane to Nashville and stayed with my brother Bob.

Unfortunately, Northern gave Vandy a good game, but lost at the end.  Vandy fans kept coming up to us as we left the game saying that we should have won.  Afterwards, we went to Second Avenue and later saw a German oom-pah band, Oktoberfest, you know.

--Cooter

NIU Coulda' Woulda' Made School Football History Last Night

What had been the most outstanding year in Northern Illinois' football program certainly came crashing down in this month of December.

First, we missed a chance to go to our second straight BCS Bowl game at the Fiesta Bowl, with out MAC Championship loss to Bowling Green, but last night, missed out on our first-ever 13-win season with the 21-14 loss to Utah State in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Oh well, we'll have to "settle" for a 12-2 season.

It sure has been a great four years with this class of seniors.

Thanks, Guys. --Cooter