The goal of the 1990 Huskie football season is to be invited to a bowl game.

Any bowl game.

After being snubbed last year by every bowl committee in the country, head coach Jerry Pettibone and his players have dedicated the upcoming season to this one simple cause.

“This is the season we’ve been building for,” Pettibone said. “We are gonna have a great team. I can make that statement. I’d be crazy not to think we’re gonna be great.”

Perhaps the biggest uncertainty of this season will be fan support. Last year’s home attendance average was 13,743, which was up 57 percent from the previous year.

“I probably, anxiety-wise, maybe overreacted a little bit at the end of the season because I was so determined to make all the positive things happen to create a good atmosphere for us to be invited to a bowl game,” Pettibone said.

This year the attendance statistics are critical.

“To remain Division I-A, we have to average 17,000 at home or 20,000 at home and on the road,” said Mary Mihelich, Assistant Athletic Director for Promotions and Marketing. “We did not do that last year.

“We have this year and next year to do it. We have chosen this year as the year we go all out and do that. We have a better chance of doing it this year because of our home schedule.”

The Huskies will host only five games at home this year instead of the usual six. And the last three games are on the road.

“For the last couple games of the season, it’s been tradition that, unless it’s a beautiful day, attendance tends to go down,” Pettibone said.

The combined attendance of the last two homes games in 1989 was only 11,575. Then again, the temperature was only 46 degrees at both games.

“I think we can create an excitement early on in the season, from the Kansas State game on, that hopefully the student body and the fans in this community will maintain that support all the way through the end of the season,” Pettibone said. “I think the way the home games were scheduled this year is very conducive to that.”

The biggest game on the minds of both Pettibone and Mihelich right now is the home opener against Eastern Illinois, but for different reasons.

“Students traditionally haven’t turned out for the Labor Day Weekend game,” Mihelich said. “But last year we had double the student attendance than we’ve ever had for a Labor Day game. This year we are bringing in the San Diego Chicken for the first game.”

After consecutive weekends on the road at Nebraska and Toledo, NIU will then host Kansas State on Sept. 22. It will be the first time any major conference school has played in Huskie Stadium. Last year in Manhattan, Kansas, the Huskies defeated the Wildcats 37-20 in their first-ever meeting.

“I really have a dream for the Kansas State game,” Pettibone said, “that when we walk out underneath the goal post, to run out on the field, for the first time since I’ve been the head coach here, there will be a packed house. That’s what we want.”

Once again, Mihelich echoes Pettibone.

“We are looking at a sellout and we’re doing everything we can to sell it out,” she said. “That game will be the most important of the season.”

In addition to it being the first Big Anything school to play in DeKalb, it will also be Business/Agriculture night. Last year’s Bus-Ag game was against Western Illinois and drew 22,365 fans, the second largest home crowd of the season.

“There will be a tremendous atmosphere and excitement around the Kansas State game,” Pettibone said. “The fans would be crazy not to be here to watch us play against Kansas State.”

Will the Huskies be able to surpass the required NCAA attendance levels?

“I think it’s realistic that we’ll (average) between 17,000-20,000,” Mihelich said. “I think the Labor Day Weekend game will have a lot to do with that.”

Pettibone is aiming even higher.

“I’ll really be disappointed if we don’t average over 20,000 for our five home games this year.”

If not, the extra attendance from the road games should boost the home/road figure. Not only do the Huskies play at Nebraska again, they will also face Northwestern.

The attendance at last year’s inaugural meeting against the Cornhuskers was 76,194, only 6,446 less than the entire home attendance for the 1989 season.

The contest against Northwestern could produce nearly 49,000 more fans, if Dyche Stadium is full. This game will also be carried live on ESPN, which could expose Huskie football to over 50 million people across the country.

“If you feel you’ve got a great team, you’ve got a bowl-worthy team, a national game against Big Ten team is what you’re looking for,” Pettibone said.

This will be the biggest season of Pettibone’s career at NIU, and he knows it.

“I’m excited about this season more than any other,” he said. “I’m also scared because I know when you’ve got that opportunity out there, against the type of schedule we have, there is also an element of ‘what’s gonna happen?’. But I do feel good based on the things we’ve been able to do in the past.”