The next time the Huskie soccer players take the field, they’ll be facing the best.

The National Champion Indiana Hoosiers will play NIU coach Willy Roy’s squad March 26 at the Odeum Indoor Soccer Facility in Villa Park. The contest, which will be called the “Indoor Shootout of Champions,” was officially approved Wednesday at the NIU Athletic Board meeting.

Roy knows it will be tough to beat the national champions, but he said his players will not be in awe of the Hoosiers.

“I’m not afraid to showcase our kids,” said Roy, whose Huskies lost a 2-1 outdoor game at Indiana last year. “We certainly respect them, but we’re not afraid of them. We’re going to be tough tigers—tough Huskies.”

Coach Jerry Yeagley has built a strong program in his time at Indiana. The Hoosiers’ 1988 title was their third under Yeagley.

“I had quite a few Indiana players when I was (coaching) with the Chicago Sting,” Roy said. “I always admired the discipline and the ability of the kids who played for Jerry.”

On March 26 the Hoosiers will put plenty of talent on the floor, including NCAA Player of the Year, Ken Snow. Snow gave the Huskies a glimpse of his fancy footwork in the 1988 game against NIU when he scored both Indiana goals.

There will be no advance tickets sales, but NIU students can get in free with a student ID.

NIU will pay Indiana a $1,500 premium for the game, in addition to paying $100 for the use of the facility. The game will be broadcast by SportsVision.

The Huskies finished 1988 with a 7-10-1 overall record that included an 0-6-0 mark in the Big Central Soccer Conference.

In other business, the board approved the NIU field hockey team’s participation in an upcoming indoor tournament at Ball State.

Set for Feb. 10, the tourney is a National Qualifying Tournament. This means if the Huskies were to finish first or second, they would get an automatic berth in the Indoor Nationals.

This marks the first time in three years the field hockey team will have played in an indoor tourney. The Huskies finished their 1988 campaign with a 15-3-1 record and were ranked in the nation’s Top 20 at times during the year.

The board also passed the ticket-price policy for the 1989 football season.

General season tickets (six home games) will cost $48, faculty season tickets will cost $38 and student season passes will sell for $28.

Single-game reserved tickets once again cost $8 and single-game unreserved will run for $4.

NIU Athletic Director Gerald O’Dell said there are no discounts for buying tickets early—the kind NIU has given in the past—because the athletic department wants to set consistent prices.

An “Early Bird” tickets sale will take place April 29 at the spring football game. General season tickets go on sale May 1. Season-ticket renewals can be made starting April 1.