KORCEK'S CORNER: Brigham was the ultimate Huskie from May 2014

From a 21st century viewpoint, Bob Brigham’s Northern Illinois University athletics résumé soars off any chart.

Brigham was the all-time, ultimate Huskie. That old-school term “favorite son” doesn’t do him justice. Neither does “blood in the bricks.” We’re talking human here, not a deity, so maybe “fixture”, “legend”, or “icon” suffice. Brigham’s death Sunday at age 90 is cause for serious reflection for every Northern Illinois alum and fan. Where would the present-day Huskies program be without his drive, determination and –most of all – vision? After all, this was the man for all NIU sports seasons.

http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2014/.../index.xml

http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2014/.../index.xml

Nice piece from Korcek about visitors to Huskie Stadium.

So when the idiot Carey SHOULD make a QB change he doesn't

(10-11-2014 05:58 PM)RedShark27 Wrote:  So when the idiot Carey SHOULD make a QB change he doesn't

That's a very specific historical post. I'm sure you thought you were in the game thread post.

someone want to message me and let me know how to post pictures?

(11-29-2014 01:06 PM)Enaiu Wrote:  

(11-29-2014 11:07 AM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  someone want to message me and let me know how to post pictures?

Just letting everyone know that I sent DogPoundNorth a message (don't want to flood his inbox). I'll delete this post once he is able to post the picture(s).

I got the message all good. No pictures to post at this time, just wanted to know for the future. Again, thanks Enaiu.

Here's a 20 minute recap of the 2003 NIU 19-16 victory over Alabama.

Thanks to Mark26pt2 for finding this...

http://csnbbs.com/thread-743636.html

Article in the Trib from April, 25th 1982 about NIU not meeting D1-A requirements.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/...division-i

This gives me a bit of a better picture of NIU's issues that has caused the poor perception from its Alums who were students around then but before the 83 seasons when they won the MACC.

Amazing info is that in 1978-1981 MAC teams were getting around $70k each per year in TV revenue. When 2 years ago were were getting around $100k with our crappy weeknight games.

(09-02-2015 12:41 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  Article in the Trib from April, 25th 1982 about NIU not meeting D1-A requirements.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/...division-i

This gives me a bit of a better picture of NIU's issues that has caused the poor perception from its Alums who were students around then but before the 83 seasons when they won the MACC.

Amazing info is that in 1978-1981 MAC teams were getting around $70k each per year in TV revenue. When 2 years ago were were getting around $100k with our crappy weeknight games.

Nice find. If I remember correctly, those extra 1,400 seats were just wooden benches at field level in front of the old east bleachers. Kind of a joke. You can see them in some of the old photos.

(09-02-2015 01:40 PM)niuaccy1976 Wrote:  Nice find. If I remember correctly, those extra 1,400 seats were just wooden benches at field level in front of the old east bleachers. Kind of a joke. You can see them in some of the old photos.

This was posted on the main Conference Realignment board about the 1982 forced reclassification of many teams to 1-AA.

http://csnbbs.com/thread-747066.html

Here is a scan of the program for the dedication of the Jim Bradley/Sports Illustrated Display at the NIU Convocation Center on February 13, 2016.

Here's a PDF of attendance by game that I compiled mostly from Wikipedia.

(04-21-2016 08:46 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  Here's a PDF of attendance by game that I compiled mostly from Wikipedia.

Thanks, NIU007. This is something I've wanted to see for a long time.

Now, can you do one for men's basketball?

(04-22-2016 10:09 AM)niuaccy1976 Wrote:  

(04-21-2016 08:46 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  Here's a PDF of attendance by game that I compiled mostly from Wikipedia.

Thanks, NIU007. This is something I've wanted to see for a long time.

Now, can you do one for men's basketball?

You can just use your fingers to count that attendance.

I'll try to get around to that, not sure what's available as I haven't looked.

(04-22-2016 03:05 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(04-22-2016 10:09 AM)niuaccy1976 Wrote:  

(04-21-2016 08:46 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  Here's a PDF of attendance by game that I compiled mostly from Wikipedia.

Thanks, NIU007. This is something I've wanted to see for a long time.

Now, can you do one for men's basketball?

You can just use your fingers to count that attendance.

I'll try to get around to that, not sure what's available as I haven't looked.

To be honest, the website has been a disaster lately. Kind of embarassing

(12-06-2013 03:45 PM)clcfball11 Wrote:  Does anyone have the video they used to play before home games? The old historical highlights mixed in with modern ones with the Pirates music playing in the background? It just vanished.

Bump

(08-07-2016 10:58 PM)clcfball11 Wrote:  

(12-06-2013 03:45 PM)clcfball11 Wrote:  Does anyone have the video they used to play before home games? The old historical highlights mixed in with modern ones with the Pirates music playing in the background? It just vanished.

Bump

I don't think this is what you are looking for, just a screengrab for a very old version of the highilight thing before a Kent State game like 8 years ago. I think there were updated versions of it, and this is very low video quality

http://godawgz.com/huskie_fbintro.wmv

(11-15-2010 11:13 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  I no longer have anything related to the W vs. CMU that broke the losing streak, but if I remember correctly let me recount some of what happened that day:

Rain. Lots and lots of rain. And lighting. There were more than a few lighting delays, but I don't remember if we had to evacuate the stands. Don't think so because a fan, who must 'ov had a few cocktails in the stands, was dared to run onto the field during one of the delays. The teams were all in the locker room, but he made it onto the field and managed to run from south to north, dodging and taunting the ROTC members charged with security. It was very comical. I do wonder what came of that poor guy. Funny as well when you think of the security in place nowadays...

So with some time left in the 4th quarter, the stadium actually began to FILL UP. Apparently the game was being broadcast in the dorms and on a local Comcast / Fox Sports (maybe CSN, but I don't think so) and the students could sense the W. My group of friends who had been at the game, and who had been at almost all the games even during the losing streak, made our way to the NW corner of the stadium, fully expecting to rush the field. Again, some parts of my memory are a bit fuzzy, but let's say that items marked with an * are honest to Huskie truth, anything else could be mis-remembered, maybe embellished by history, or a bald faced lie. Well, actually nothing will be a lie. But if you read something that you know ain't true, call it out.

There was a large, tall fence separating the field from the NW corner. *I was literally one of the first, if not the first person, to line up at the fence for whatever the next steps would be, and the crowd grew quickly. Now these next parts are a little fuzzy, but I'll try my best. There were a couple ROTC guys, maybe a couple other security guys, guarding the gate in the fence. *I said out loud "They can't stop us all" and started to climb the fence with maybe a minute or so left (no shite, it was me, Lord Stanley, who was first up and over the fence on that day) and everyone followed. Soon the crowd just pushed the fence to the ground and surged through....

Now, we not only had to get over this fence, but there was another waist high fence in front of the old bleachers. By this time, some members (who will remain nameless to protect their jobs) of the Athletic Department were stationed between the goal post and the fence, giant grins and all, pleading and yelling with us to not go on the field until the game was over. They knew what was going to happen, and I'll be damned if they weren't going to be involved as well.

So with a couple seconds left in the game, we pounced. The game definitely had not ended, but there were only seconds left. *And me, little ol' Lord Stanley, was first to the goal post in the north end zone. They had removed the padding and I hit it hard. Now, obviously, as a proud NIU student with no experience in goal post shredding, I hugged the post with all my might, not really sure what to do next. Well, the huge crowd behind me made up my mind for me. *The crowd lifted me quickly up onto the upright. No joke, that was me. First on the goal post. Confirmed when I walked into Lord Stanley's that night and the whole local crowd told me they saw me on TV. In addition, (fuzzy here, sorry) I believe the front page of the Star had a picture of the crowd on the field, and you can see me on the goalpost, sort of hanging down like a wet monkey.

Now the goal post is wet and strangely chalky - I was covered in a yellow chalky paint the rest of the day. *Anyway, I was hanging from the post because I couldn't stand up, but others had made their way onto the post, including to the ends. And a hell of a lot of people were rocking the post back and forth...

Crack.

*The post snapped at about the point where the curve of the goalpost goes from straight to the horizontal post. It cracked and split like how an empty paper towel tube pulls apart, if you know what I mean. Not a straight break, but more of a spiral. And the metal was sharp.

So we all get the post down and in our hands, and beginning to parade the posts out of the stadium. I don't remember how we got it out of the stadium, but this part is clear as day - *we were on Lucinda, just east of Chick Evans, west of VCB and maybe 20yards south the Annie Glidden stoplight when a lady in a small white car encountered our goal post parade. Nothing stopped us; the crowd lifted the post above her car, and continued down Lucinda. One bad thing here, a lot of jakeasses where ripping up signs etc.

So this huge group of students and fans, carrying a giant yellow goal post, march down Lucinda to Gilbert Way. We reach the lagoon and a select group of courageous individuals (no way I was going in the lagoon) manage to plant the goalpost lopsided in the lagoon, surrounded by many of the signs also uprooted on our journey. The day ended when the people in the lagoon started throwing mud at all the people watching – that’s when I headed to the bar…..

Memories. Man I would give your left nut to see some video and the Star articles from that day.

Wait, I do still have something from that day. I have red long sleeve shirt I was wearing at the game. If someone, anyone, has a copy of the game, or the (possible) Star photo from that day, I can prove it was me by showing you the shirt!

if that was you on the crossbar, i was right below trying to pull your leg off!!

i was at the entire game...even leading up to the game the prior week was hyping 'this could be the game the streak is is ended'. the buzz was already in the air. not bad for a freshmans first game

For all of the talk of us looking to move conferences, there should be some testimonials of the last time we tried to go big time. i know the environment is different now, but it serves as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong....

This was before my time, but I love the story and would love to have been there...

http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2017/.../index.xml

Korcek: South Carolina's run brings back memories of happier times for Huskies

Only in America. Spent the majority of the weekend glued to my TV and couch, ordering pizza, watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and ignoring the rest of the world. Such a life.

How about South Carolina punching its ticket to the program’s first Final Four? Getting to Glendale, Arizona, represents the Gamecocks’ furthest advancement in the NCAA since reaching the Sweet 16 in 1971-72.

Wait, 1971-72? My, what a coincidence.

All of which triggered the Korcek version of Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine (you did watch Rocky and Bullwinkle as a kid, I hope). Uh-oh, here it comes. More living in the past, Mike?

Yes and no. Frankly, it’s just time to address the status and future of Northern Illinois University men’s hoops. Heading into the 50th anniversary season of gaining major-college status in 1967-68, where’s the Huskie program heading? People in the community are asking the same question.

Many thought that once NIU built the new all-purpose arena, the program had it made. If blue chip recruits such as Billy “The Kid” Harris, Jim Bradley, and Kenny Battle could tolerate playing in creaky, old Chick Evans Field House, wait until the next generation sees the bright, shiny Convocation Center.

I hate to type this. Wrong.

After 15 campaigns in the $40 million Convo, the NIU men have posted exactly three winning seasons (17-14 in 2002-03, 17-11 in 2005-06, and 21-13 in 2016-17). NCAA Tournament? Our Huskies are not close to that realm. T.J. Lux and the 1996 NCAA quintet border on ancient history. Against our Mid-American Conference peers in that time? An uninspiring 96-159 (.376 pct.) in regular-season MAC play. Conference tourney? Even with a GPS, NIU has struggled finding its way to Cleveland.

Which leads to this question about the juxtaposition of 1971-72 to now: How did the Huskies – in only their fifth season in Division I –find themselves blowing out No. 5-ranked Indiana, crashing the nation’s Top 20 for two weeks, playing South Carolina in at Chicago Stadium, averaging a blistering 95.2 ppg, and wind up 21-4? Whatever that success formula was, somewhere NIU forgot it.

As absurd as it may read in a 2017 context, Northern Illinois was South Carolina’s equal on the hardwood, albeit 46 years ago when the No. 19 ranked Huskies fell 83-72 to the No. 11 Gamecocks before 18,462 vociferous pro-NIU fans at Chicago Stadium on Saturday, January 29, 1972.

Three-plus weeks after the Indiana triumph, this was head coach Tom Jorgensen’s 2013 Orange Bowl. A dream, marquee match-up of Top 20 teams that featured eight pro draft picks (four on each club – Bradley, Harris, Larry Jackson, and Jerry Zielinski for NIU, plus Tom Riker, Danny Traylor, Kevin Joyce, and Brian Winters for USC) contested in one of the college game’s most historic doubleheader venues.

Based on the final edition of the Chicago Tribune the next day, NIU-South Carolina was the No. 1 sports story in the Windy City. It was the lead story with a three deck, three column headline, plus four game action photos all – as aging print journalists said in the day – ”above the fold.”

Bylined Northwestern-Purdue and DePaul-Villanova reports were relegated to page 2. The nationally televised UCLA-Notre Dame hoops coverage made page 4. Talk about local impact.

Loud? By the decibel levels, one would’ve thought Bobby Hull or Michael Jordon suited up for the Huskies.

“It was the electricity, the excitement in the crowd,” recalled Art Rohlman, former NIU swingman (1967-71) and assistant coach that winter. “Our fans packed the place. So many people excited about NIU basketball. It was the big stage for all of us. We had played in the Stadium before (losing to No. 16 New Mexico State, 63-59, in 1968-69)...(but now) we had Bradley, who oozed with talent, and some great veterans like ‘Z’ (Zielinski) and Billy.”

Long-time NIU fan Mark Eisenstein was a stringer for the Mutual Radio Network that evening.

“When NIU came on the floor, it was overwhelming,” Eisenstein said. “The crowd rose. I’d compare the noise to Blackhawks games that I had seen before in the Stadium. (Initially) I thought there would be polite applause. It was a rush. They (fans) were there to see and root for the Huskies. Gave me goose bumps.”

Maybe Keith Peterson, then an NIU student and future Daily Herald night sports desk editor, summed it up best.

“That was a long time ago,” Peterson said. “I sat way upstairs. Mostly, it was loud and intense. People were into it. But it showed we (NIU) belonged there. That’s what it meant, that NIU was one of the top teams in the country. The sad part is that NIU could not sustain it.”

Northern Illinois entered the South Carolina game with an 11-game winning streak and two months after 6-foot-9 sophomore All-America Bradley had graced the pages of the Sports Illustrated college preview issue. Unfortunately, Bradley had to contend with the 6-10 Riker (first-round NBA draft pick of the New York Knicks), who topped all scorers with 34 points and 12 boards, and the seven-foot Traylor (fifth-round pick of the Baltimore Bullets), while playing on one leg due to a previous injury.

With his right leg bandaged from mid-thigh to the top of his socks, Bradley still contributed 15 points and nine rebounds vs. South Carolina. Zielinski kept the Huskies close with a heroic 23 points. The Gamecocks jumped to a 41-31 lead at halftime, primarily due to Riker and Traylor inside, but NIU would rally. Four times late in the game, Jorgy’s club cut the deficit to two points. A Bradley foul shot cut the lead to 74-70 with 1:33 left. Trying to regain possession, NIU started fouling and the Gamecocks finished the game converting nine consecutive field goals – making the final margin a bit deceiving.

“Northern Illinois is some basketball club. They used every defense there is and hurt us with the press in the second half,” said South Carolina boss Frank McGuire, a future Naismith Hall of Fame inductee and three-time national coach of the year.

That was then. That storied 1971-72 group was enshrined into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame for a reason. This is now. Yes, it's a different world in the 21st century, I understand.

As an NIU lifer, donor, season ticket-holder, and retired staffer who rode that bus hundreds of times between 1966 and 2006, Huskie basketball can do a much better job – if you get my drift – between then and now.

• Mike Korcek is a 1970 graduate of NIU, and was the school’s head sports information director from 1984-2006. His historical perspective on NIU athletics appears periodically in the Daily Chronicle. Write to him at [email protected].