http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-footb...14aad.html

DeKALB, Ill. - Help kick off the 2014 Northern Illinois University football season and kick up your Huskie spirit on Thursday, August 28th in "The Yard," the new official tailgate of NIU Athletics. Located on the west grass outside of Huskie Stadium, The Yard opens at 3:30 p.m., two-and-a-half hours prior to kickoff of the NIU Huskies' 2014 season opener versus Presbyterian with food, live music, games for the kids and on the giant screen television, Huskie celebrities and more.

The Yard is completely free to enter and open to fans of all ages. Prior to every home game this year, watch other games, the latest ESPN highlights and more on the giant video screen. Purchase reasonably-priced food items from one of the three food vendors. DeKalb favorite Lukulos will offer burgers, hot dogs and brats and their famous beer nuggets, or enjoy ribs or another house specialty from The Lodge on 64. Finally, Maple Park's excellent restaurant Acquaviva will have an Italian food offering.

Adults will want to stop by The Yard's beer garden, and enjoy a beverage while listening to live music. "Mighty WheelHouse" is the featured band prior to the game versus Presbyterian. Also in The Yard, check out the latest in NIU gear from the Village Commons Bookstore (VCB) and buy your copy of Huskie Illustrated, the official NIU Football game program. At 4:30 p.m., get fired up for the game when the NIU Cheerleaders, live mascot Mission, the Huskie Marching Band and NIU Silverettes come by for a pre-game mini-pep rally.

The Kids Zone in The Yard will feature different inflatable games and other activities. This week, kids are invited to try out the sign-making station. Take those signs into the stadium and get featured on the stadium scoreboard during the game! Or take the kids by the Huskie Athletics Team of the Week Tent to meet and interact with student-athletes from a different NIU team before every game.

Other areas inside The Yard include the Huskie Legends Tent, where past NIU greats will greet fans and where members of the Varsity Club (former student-athletes) are invited to stop by. This week's Huskie Legend is former NIU quarterback Bob Heimerdinger. The NIU Athletics tent will contain information about everything happening in The Yard, plus ticket information and more. The NIU Admission Office will also be set up in The Yard with staff, materials about the University and maybe even a giveaway, available for pick-up, or stop by the Corn Fest tent to get information about Downtown DeKalb's weekend celebration. In short, you never know who or what you will find in The Yard!





Huskie Athletic Fund donors at the $1,000 level and above are welcome inside the Champion's Club. Located inside The Yard, the Champion's Club will have a sports bar atmosphere with cable television and a full service bar provided by Fatty's. Acquaviva will have a wine-tasting station inside the Champion's Club, while the featured local restaurant for the Presbyterian game is Nat's on Maple from Sycamore. For information on the Champion's Club and the Huskie Athletic Fund, call 815-753-PACK (7225) or go online to http://www.commit2NIU.com.

In The Yard - NIU vs. Presbyterian
3:30 p.m. - The Yard opens with the band "Mighty WheelHouse"
3:30 p.m. - Champion's Club opens
4:30 p.m. - See the Huskie Marching Band and Silverettes, the NIU Cheerleaders and Mission
4:40 p.m. - Welcome from NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier
5:30 p.m. - Beer Garden closes
5:45 p.m. - The Yard closes (Get in the Stadium!)
6 p.m. - Kickoff: NIU versus Presbyterian

Sounds like fun, have they announced any other Huskie Legends?

Its basically only open 2 hours that's not enough time. Also the NIU athletic tailgates on the road could be a hour longer. They would get many more people to attend.

Goodness we need real football to start...the things people find to complain about.

I guess you cant have an opinion about anything. Its funny because a lot of peoples opinions(complaints) end up being taken into account by athletics. The dog pound sure is a warm friendly place these days!

(08-19-2014 05:56 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  I guess you cant have an opinion about anything. Its funny because a lot of peoples opinions(complaints) end up being taken into account by athletics. The dog pound sure is a warm friendly place these days!

Everybody is suffering DTs & football withdrawl. It will get better soon.

I probably will not go to the Yard myself, but it could be nice for families with kids.

guys, everyone needs to chill out a little bit.......I think this is a great pre-game area/event to help Huskie fans enjoy the game experience

The Yard is a massive massive improvement from past years

I think the yard is going to be great. I just thought it could be open earlier, that's all.

I like that it isn't opened that long. That way people can make their way from the parking lots to the yard and then to the stadium...

(08-19-2014 06:17 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  I think the yard is going to be great. I just thought it could be open earlier, that's all.

It could, but I wonder how many people would really get there earlier on a weekday. I also wished it was open a little longer, but I really don't know when I'm going to get there myself.

It sounds like a good idea - first of all, naming it, so we become familiar with what it is, and where it is. And then having it there consistently so people can depend on it.

Hey, I'm an old dude so take what I say with a grain of salt. This type of venue wasn't even dreamed about or thought about when I went to good old NIU. I'm actually jacked up about stuff like this....kudos to our athletic dept and the new AD. I wish I could enjoy it, but I'm a 1,000 miles away from campus.

Sounds like it will be taking up a lot of space. Anything to give the fans something new to enjoy is a great thing.

Get LeShon, J-Mac and G. Wolfe to dedicate it on opening night.

(08-19-2014 05:56 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  I guess you cant have an opinion about anything. Its funny because a lot of peoples opinions(complaints) end up being taken into account by athletics. The dog pound sure is a warm friendly place these days!

Complaints are usually welcome when trying something new...new things usually need to be tweaked.

Had nothing before, complain. Have something new, complain. Don't beat Presbyterian by more than 127 points, complain. McIntosh and Hare not allowed to start and play on the field as dual quarterbacks, complain. Lukalos serving food but not Molly's, complain.

Yeesh. If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a knitting circle.

I'm pretty excited about this. It has all the clues of something bigger going in that area if its a success, I can already see the Marching Band leading the fans to the stadium. Its almost less than a week until football... and those wacky Cornfest uniforms.

(08-20-2014 09:35 AM)thehappyhuskie Wrote:  Had nothing before, complain. Have something new, complain. Don't beat Presbyterian by more than 127 points, complain. McIntosh and Hare not allowed to start and play on the field as dual quarterbacks, complain. Lukalos serving food but not Molly's, complain.

Yeesh. If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a knitting circle.

I'm pretty excited about this. It has all the clues of something bigger going in that area if its a success, I can already see the Marching Band leading the fans to the stadium. Its almost less than a week until football... and those wacky Cornfest uniforms.

143% of this board is complaints (GOD I HATE IT!) and the other 62% is bad jokes. That's just....well, that's what this place is.

Check out a game thread. Everyone becomes chicken little after a completed pass.

I think the yard will be a great addition and I appreciate the effort the athletic dept. has put into it. I'll definitely try and stop by if I make it out next Thursday. It will be perfect for me since I probably won't get there until after 4pm and setting up my own tailgate at that point seems pointless.

(08-19-2014 06:11 PM)bigdhuskie Wrote:  guys, everyone needs to chill out a little bit.......I think this is a great pre-game area/event to help Huskie fans enjoy the game experience

+100

(08-20-2014 11:35 AM)The Frisky Biscuit Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 09:35 AM)thehappyhuskie Wrote:  Had nothing before, complain. Have something new, complain. Don't beat Presbyterian by more than 127 points, complain. McIntosh and Hare not allowed to start and play on the field as dual quarterbacks, complain. Lukalos serving food but not Molly's, complain.

Yeesh. If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a knitting circle.

I'm pretty excited about this. It has all the clues of something bigger going in that area if its a success, I can already see the Marching Band leading the fans to the stadium. Its almost less than a week until football... and those wacky Cornfest uniforms.

143% of this board is complaints (GOD I HATE IT!) and the other 62% is bad jokes. That's just....well, that's what this place is.

Check out a game thread. Everyone becomes chicken little after a completed pass.

And the other 52% is people complaining about other people's complaints.