Five Saturday home games, along with highly-anticipated non-conference road contests at Notre Dame and North Carolina State, highlight Northern Illinois University’s complete 2024 football schedule released Tuesday by NIU and the Mid-American Conference.

The Huskies will play in Huskie Stadium six times this fall, and the five Saturday home dates are the most for a NIU football team since 2012. Season tickets for all six Huskie home games are on sale now online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets and by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) with prices beginning at as little as $105 (general admission) and $152 (reserved) for great seats in Huskie Stadium.

“I really like the schedule,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, who enters his sixth year at the helm of the Huskie program in 2024. “It’s a very balanced schedule. We have no back-to-back road games except when we go to MACtion. We have a true bye week, which is something we haven’t had.  We are playing our two trophy games which is a big deal for our players, and playing five Saturday home games is a tremendous thing for the fans.”

As previously announced, NIU will open its 123rd football season in Huskie Stadium versus in-state foe Western Illinois on Saturday, August 31 and will take on Notre Dame for the first time in school history on Saturday, September 7 in South Bend.  After an open date on September 14, the Huskies will open MAC play at home versus Buffalo on Saturday, September 21.

“Beginning with Western Illinois and Notre Dame is great and then having the bye week to rest, recover and shift the mindset to get ready for a conference game, understanding how important that is,” Hammock said.

The non-conference slate continues on Saturday, September 28 when NIU travels to Raleigh, N.C. to face North Carolina State in just the second meeting between the teams, and the first since 1997, and wraps up on Saturday, October 5 when future MAC opponent (beginning in 2025) UMass comes to Huskie Stadium.

“After we finish the non-conference with N.C. State and UMass, the next two are against teams in our pod and you are fully into the part of the schedule that becomes very challenging from a MAC standpoint,” Hammock said. “We know the level of toughness, the level of competition and what it takes to win every week in this league.”

MAC play resumes on Saturday, October 12 as NIU plays at Bowling Green for the first time since 2017. The Huskies will take on Toledo on Saturday, October 19 in the 117th Homecoming game, before Ball State and NIU play for the Bronze Stalk Trophy on Saturday, October 26 in Muncie.

The three-game November #MACtion line-up features NIU at Western Michigan on Wednesday, November 6, a home game with Akron on Wednesday, November 13 and the Mallory Cup game at Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, November 19.

NIU closes out the 2024 schedule with a Saturday Senior Day match-up versus Central Michigan on November 30th. The MAC Championship game – which will pit the two highest rated teams in the league – will be played Saturday, December 7 at Ford Field in Detroit.

The Huskies won their final three games of 2023, including a 21-19 victory over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl, NIU’s first bowl win since the 2011 season.  NIU returns 18 starters for 2024, including first team all-conference running back Antario Brown, with spring practices scheduled for March 26-April 27.

Football season ticket prices for the Huskies’ six 2024 home games begin at as little as $105 for a general admission ticket on Huskie Stadium’s East Side. That calculates to less than $12 a month through the nine-month plan or just three monthly payments of $35 each. Reserved seats on the West Side are $152 in sections A, B or F, or $170 in sections C, D and E. Stretched over nine months, that is less than $17 or $19 per month, respectively. Senior citizens (65+), NIU faculty and staff, young alumni (within 5 years of graduation) and DeKalb County residents are eligible to purchase select season tickets at discounted prices.

Discounts are also available on tickets located in reserved sections A, B and F on the West Side and in G.A. section G on the West Side with the purchase of the four or more season tickets. With the Huskie 4 Pack, pay just $110 each for West Side reserved tickets in sections A, B or F or $96 each for four general admission season tickets in section G on the West Side.

Access to the tickets for the September 7 game at Notre Dame will be determined through the Huskie Athletic Fund priority points system and reserved for season ticket and Huskie Athletic Fund members. Priority point rank will be calculated based first on annual giving level and then by points rank within each level. Contact the Huskie Athletic Fund at 815-753-1923 or huskieathleticfund@niu.edu for more information.

See all the pricing information at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.  To speak to a member of the NIU Ticket Office or Huskie Athletic Fund staff call 815-753-PACK (7225) during regular business hours or send an email to huskiestickets@niu.edu.