This Week in Huskie Athletics Northern Illinois University will have five teams in action. NIU football opens their season at home at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31 against Western Illinois. The NIU Volleyball team also hosts Western Illinois in their season opener at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30. NIU women’s soccer hosts Southern Indiana at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29 before heading to Michigan to take on Oakland on Sunday. Men’s soccer travels to Memphis on Thursday and then hosts Green Bay on Sunday. Men’s golf will head to Michigan to open their season at the Island Resort Intercollegiate.

Football
Saturday, August 31: vs Western Illinois, 2:30 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats

The NIU Football team opens its 2024 season on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies have won their last three season openers, winning last season at Boston College 27-24 in overtime.
NIU won six of its last eight games in the 2023 season to finish with a 7-6 record. The Huskies won their first bowl game in 12 years with a 21-19 victory in the Camellia Bowl over Arkansas State. NIU was sixth in the nation last season in passing defense at 171.2 yards allowed per game while also ranking in the top-30 in scoring defense and total defense.

Three of NIU’s five 2023 All-MAC selections return this year led by first team running back Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga.) who rushed for 1,296 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cornerback Javaughn Byrd (Milwaukee, Wis.) was a second team selection after making 28 tackles with two interceptions and five pass breakups. Wide Receiver Trayvon Rudolph (Crete, Ill.) earned his third career All-MAC honor with a spot on the third team. Rudolph led NIU with 51 receptions for 536 yards while averaging 22.0 yards per kick return.

Volleyball

Friday, August 30: vs Western Illinois, 6 p.m. –  Watch | Live Stats
Sunday, September 1: vs Milwaukee, 3 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats

The Huskie Volleyball program opens the season at home with the Huskie Invitational, August 30 to September 1 in the Convocation Center. The Huskies face Western Illinois on August 30 before taking on Milwaukee on September 1. The Huskies will welcome six new faces to the program for the fall season while returning four members from the 2023 squad who saw action in over 100 sets. The Huskies will look to “Cram the Convo” for the home opener on August 30 before having a post-match autograph session on September 1 following the Milwaukee game.

Men’s Soccer
Thursday, Aug. 29: at Memphis, 7 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats

Sunday, Sept. 1: Green Bay, 1 p.m. – Watch| Live Stats | Free Admission

The Huskie men’s soccer team opened with a weekend split against St. Thomas and Chicago State. Four different players scored in the victory over the Cougars with all four, Jose Gomez, Martin Montoya, William Mugisha and Jaephil Seo, netting for the first time in their Huskie careers. NIU’s four goals in the contest marked its most in a game against a Division I opponent since scoring five in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals against Bowling Green on Nov. 11, 2021.
Memphis comes into this weekend with a 0-2 record after falling to Lipscomb and Evansville on the opening weekend of the season while Green Bay started the campaign with setback to Northwestern and UIC. The Phoenix will host Southern Indiana on Thursday before Sunday’s matchup in DeKalb.

Women’s Soccer
Thursday, August 29: vs Southern Indiana, 4 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats
Sunday, September 1: at Oakland, 1 p.m. – Live Stats

The NIU women’s soccer team has opened their season going 1-0-1. After an opening night 0-0 draw at DePaul the Huskies defeated St. Thomas 4-1 on Thursday, Aug. 22. The Huskies scored four goals for the first time since 2021 as Kelsi McLaughlin, Lea Gruennagel, Aubrey Robertson and Chantelle Parker scored the goals for the Huskies.

USI enters Thursday’s match 0-2-1 and fell to Eastern Kentucky 1-0 on Sunday. Oakland has opened their season 0-3-1 and fell to Kent State 4-0 on Sunday.

Men’s Golf
Sunday, September 1 – Tuesday, September 2 at Island Resort Intercollegiate

The NIU men’s golf team begins its 2024-25 season at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, hosted by South Dakota State at Sage Run Golf Club in Bark River, Mich. Huskie golfers had a successful summer with two golfers qualifying for USGA national tournaments. Sophomore Craig Long qualified for the US Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club while freshman Patrick Raupp played in the US Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills. Freshman Beau Petersen won his second straight Nebraska Junior Amateur championship. The Huskies return two All-MAC selections from a season ago in seniors Ben Sluzas and Felix Krammer, who were NIU’s top two golfers in scoring average.