I'm proposing that we sticky this thread and make it required reading for all members of the NIU Dog Pound, present and future. A lot of good history has been posted on the 479+ pages of this board. But the posts get lost in a thread with an unrelated subject or are hard to find if you even remember them. Since NIU is missing Mike Korcek (since June 2009) and his supreme knowledge of Huskie history, maybe we can keep some of it alive right here in the Dog Pound. Maybe Mike will even add a few things to the thread, because I am 110% sure he checks the board (hint).

Therefore, I am proposing that:

1. We post articles or links to articles of historic NIU interest here.
2. We stay on topic. If you want to go OT, post it elsewhere.

New NIU students, alums, Huskie fans, fans from enemy schools, etc. can read about our history, which is always in the making. If anyone thinks that posting stuff about NIU's 1963 College Division national championship makes us seem like a non-major, too bad. It's where we came from and is part of our history. If you read these articles, you'll find we grew from:

1. 5,500 seat Glidden Field with wooden bleachers on the current Art Building site to
2. The Stadium (no name until May 1974) with concete west stands and about 20,257 seats to
3. Huskie Stadium with a somewhat matching east side in 1995 and about 31,000 seats. (I'm conveniently overlooking the later reduction to 28,000/24,000 seats. Hey, we have the Yordon! Gotta do something with the south side and berm.)

Anybody with me on this? If you like the idea but you think we're getting too many stickies, is there a way to combine it with the "Introduce Yourself Here" thread?

BTW, rabidawg900's Red And Black Attck has most of this stuff, so that's a good source of Huskie history. http://www.redandblackattack.com/

In any case, to start this as a "normal" thread or an "important" thread, here are a few of items of NIU history that have been posted previously:

1. The Huskie Hall of Fame in the Convocation looks great. Fans can read an article about the HOF by Mike Korcek in the summer 2009 Northern Now. See pages 8-11. There's a picture of George Bork. And go see the HOF next time you are on campus.
http://www.myniu.com/alumni/downloads/summer_09.pdf
http://www.niuhuskies.com/genrel/101708aab.html

2. The George Bork 11/11/1963 Sports Illustrated article along with the Hustle Belt link.
http://www.hustlebelt.com/2010/9/29/1718...k#comments

3. The George Bork College Footfall Hall of the College article from Football Historical Society August 1999.
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibr...v12n4d.pdf

4. Leshon Johnson 8/30/1993 article in SI posted by BigDog.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/a.../index.htm

5. "Unknown, Undefeated…Led by in-state kids with something to prove, Northern Illinois has crashed the rankings and become the underdog favorite of 2003" from the 10/13/2003 SI.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/a.../index.htm

6. "Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium" article from 2005 - it looks like it is from Huskie Illustrated.
http://www.netitor.com/photos/schools/ni...tadium.pdf

Sorry, I'll stop drinking the Huskie Kool-Aid now.

ACCY - if someone PMs me and explains how to embed pictures onto a reply, i can post some historic photos i have of Huskie Stadium & general NIU

(10-01-2010 07:10 PM)DSniu41 Wrote:  ACCY - if someone PMs me and explains how to embed pictures onto a reply, i can post some historic photos i have of Huskie Stadium & general NIU

Done - looking forward to your photos and stories!

I agree with the idea.

Sweet stuff. I'll make sure to put all these links on a dedicated webpage.

Re-live the Maryland win in 2003 from the Chicago Tribune.

"Big shots The largest crowd in Northern's history sees Huskies take down one of the . . ."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-...andee-drew

"Major Face-lift Planned For NIU Stadium"

from the 1/19/1994 Chicago Tribune.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-...hase-seats

Here was NIU's fund-raising brochure for the "major face-lift."





Apparently, the artist was expecting a major world-wide catastrophe that resulted in the sun shining from the north, maybe over the new IPF.

"For all the bowl talk going around town, one serious fact is staring Northern Illinois` football program right between the uprights: If the Huskies don`t average 17,000 fans at home or 20,000 home and away this season or next, it`s goodbye NCAA Division I-A status."

From the Chicago Tribune 8/22/1990

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-...n-illinois

Remember THAT game against #24 Fresno State in 1990? Here was the run-up to that game in the Chicago Tribune on 10/5/1990:

"NIU Tries To Regroup Vs. Fresno St."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-...esno-state

And here's what happened in the game - one of Huskie Stadium's "Epic Battles" on October 6, 1990:

http://www.fanbase.com/101731-1990-10-06

A tiny understatment by Stacey Robinson: "I was reading the seams very well and anticipating the blocks."

(10-03-2010 12:09 PM)niuaccy1976 Wrote:  "Major Face-lift Planned For NIU Stadium"

from the 1/19/1994 Chicago Tribune.

Quote:Huskie Stadium is outdated.

Although the YC has upgraded the overall look of the stadium, the west stands are still outdated 16 years later. And the drawing shows end zone seating which has never materialized. It would be nice to get some built on the south side.

But the most disappointing aspect of this article is the total failure to schedule any of the proposed teams or their caliber for home games. A nice vision but, with the exception of 2003, O'Dell could not have been more wrong.

Why were the south end zone bleachers removed in the first place? I know we rarely sell out the east and west, but on the rare occasion a Kansas comes to town you can sell a few thousand more tickets (season tickets if the name is good enough). What am I missing here?

(10-03-2010 02:17 PM)Max Power Wrote:  Why were the south end zone bleachers removed in the first place? I know we rarely sell out the east and west, but on the rare occasion a Kansas comes to town you can sell a few thousand more tickets (season tickets if the name is good enough). What am I missing here?

Good question. The north end zone seats were in place for the 2003 Iowa State win but were not used and covered with a black tarp and the Huskie logo because they "were condemned."

I checked some pictures and the south end zone seats were gone for that 2003 ISU game - the berm was already there. The Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium article says NIU "created the
attractive South end zone berm in 2002."
I would imagine those beachers were in unsafe condition and were removed.

I can't imagine it costs all that much to maintain some bleachers, especially if rarely used. If NIU doesn't install some type of seating in the south end zone before (if?) Kansas comes to town, it seems to me they're just leaving money on the table.

I have, in a box, the SI issue with the "unknown undefeated" article AND the Northern Star issues where we beat Iowa state, maryland, and alabama

(10-03-2010 04:09 PM)Max Power Wrote:  I can't imagine it costs all that much to maintain some bleachers, especially if rarely used. If NIU doesn't install some type of seating in the south end zone before (if?) Kansas comes to town, it seems to me they're just leaving money on the table.

+1

I don't get it either, and I didn't get it in 2003.

(10-03-2010 04:10 PM)niuguy Wrote:  I have, in a box, the SI issue with the "unknown undefeated" article AND the Northern Star issues where we beat Iowa state, maryland, and alabama

That's cool. I keep the same stuff and my house is sinking about an inch per year.

(10-03-2010 04:25 PM)niuaccy1976 Wrote:  

(10-03-2010 04:10 PM)niuguy Wrote:  I have, in a box, the SI issue with the "unknown undefeated" article AND the Northern Star issues where we beat Iowa state, maryland, and alabama

That's cool. I keep the same stuff and my house is sinking about an inch per year.

You must have bought an issue with more material :)

I remember vividly being in an ER with my son at then end of september 2003, picking up an NY Times and reading the following article..

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/sports...nking.html

Prior to 2003 NIU struggled to get coverage in Chicago papers(still do to an extent)..but the NY times, that was something! Looking for the USA Today article with turner on the front sports page day of Maryland game.

Meet The Burner...USA Today sports page cover...published day of Maryland game.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/f...over_x.htm

(10-03-2010 04:10 PM)niuguy Wrote:  I have, in a box, the SI issue with the "unknown undefeated" article AND the Northern Star issues where we beat Iowa state, maryland, and alabama

PJ Flecks now wife used to work at fattys. I had given her my copy of teh SI for PJ to sign., never got it back.