This Saturday, NIU football will chase a trophy it has never once lost — and never once won.
The Huskies will welcome the Miami RedHawks to DeKalb for NIU’s 118th Homecoming, with the Mallory Cup on the line. The trophy was created in 2018 to honor the late Bill Mallory, who made a mark on both programs during his hall of fame coaching career.
Since its debut, Miami has claimed all three Mallory cup games — including last year’s meeting in Oxford, Ohio — meaning NIU has yet to touch the trophy. With the Huskies set to leave the Mid-American Conference for the Mountain West Conference next year, that makes this weekend’s matchup even more significant. NIU won’t just be playing for a win — it’ll be playing for one last chance to finally bring home the Mallory Cup.
But, why it’s important for NIU to win a cup it’s never held, one must first understand the significance of its namesake. To do that, we must first go back to the days before the rise and fall of disco.
A young coach’s rise
After serving as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Yale and Ohio State, the 33-year-old Mallory landed his first head coaching gig with his alma mater in 1969. Then known as the Redskins, Miami finished with identical 7-3 records in each of his first four seasons at helm. Its best MAC finish during that span was a tie for second in 1970.
Once 1973 hit, things finally clicked for the Redskins. Mallory led Miami to its seventh perfect season with an 11-0 record, including its ninth MAC championship and a Tangerine Bowl victory. He was named MAC Coach of the Year.
That offseason, Mallory departed for Colorado, leaving Miami as the school’s second-winningest coach with a 39-12 record.
Back to the Midwest
After leaving the Buffaloes in 1978 due to a dispute with administration, Mallory didn’t coach for the 1979 season. He returned to coaching the following year in 1980, when NIU hired Mallory to replace Pat Culpepper. That hire still stands as one of the best in school history.
Before Mallory’s arrival, NIU had enjoyed only two winning seasons as a “major college” program. In just his first year, Mallory led the Huskies to seven wins — five on the road. NIU went 8-13 over the next two seasons — going 3-8 in 1981 and 5-5 in 1982.
Then, just as his Miami team did a decade prior, Mallory’s Huskies heated up in 1983. They opened that season with a statement win over Kansas — their first win over a Big Eight (now Big 12) opponent. NIU finished 8-1 in the MAC to claim its first-ever league title and capped a 10-2 season with its first bowl appearance — in the California Bowl. The Huskies won that game 20-13 against Cal State-Fullerton.
Following the season, Mallory left to take the head job at Indiana, where he went on to lead the Hoosiers to a 69-77-3 ledger over 13 seasons. He earned back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1986 and 1987.
A lasting legacy
Mallory retired from coaching in 1996, finishing with a career head coaching record of 168-129-4.
He was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame twice — as head coach of the ‘83 team in 1995 and as an individual in 1999. Mallory was also a member of the IU Hall of Fame (2002), the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (1993), Miami’s “Cradle of Coaches” Association (1995) and the MAC Hall of Fame (2013).
Even years after he left DeKalb, Mallory’s influence on the program was still strong. Former NIU head coaches Joe Novak (1996-2007) and Rod Carey (2012-18) had extensive ties to the famed skipper. Novak worked as Mallory’s defensive coordinator at NIU (1980-83) and Indiana (1984-95) before the former took the reins of the Huskies. Carey played center at Indiana for Mallory from 1989 to 1993.
Mallory died from a brain injury on May 25, 2018, in Bloomington, Indiana. He was 82 years old.
Now, more than seven years after Mallory’s passing, the Huskies will have their one last chance.
One last chance to beat the RedHawks.
One last chance to claim the Mallory Cup .
One last chance to honor the coach that helped put them on the map nearly 40 years ago.
