After four years as an NIU assistant football coach, Ted Huber will spend his last day on the Huskie Stadium turf Saturday.

The 45-year-old Huber will move to Warsaw, Ind., in late May where he will take a head coaching and physical education teaching position at Warsaw High School.

Huber, who has been both defensive line coach and academic coordinator during the past two years, will move to an administrative position next week, where he will “wrap up” some of the team’s academic business in his last two months at NIU.

He said he is leaving mainly so he can be closer to his family.

“My wife and I have a son, Danny, who is a freshman at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. We want to be there to see him play,” Huber said.

Warsaw is only 25 miles from where Huber grew up and where most his immediate family lives, “so in a sense I’m going home,” he said.

NIU head coach Pettibone said, “We’re losing an excellent coach in Ted Huber—a first-class individual who has done an exemplary job both as a coach and academic coordinator.”

Huber came to NIU with Lee Corso as the defensive coordinator in 1984-85, and when Corso darted for the USFL later that year, Huber was named interim head coach. He filled that position for the final two games of the season, which NIU lost 13-7 to Toledo and 10-3 to Ohio.

When Jerry Pettibone took over the head coaching position in 1985, Huber remained as defensive coordinator. The following season he was moved to his present positions.

As the team’s academic coordinator, Huber worked with Don Bramlett, the coordinator of NIU’s Athletic Counseling Program, to track each player’s classroom progress.

He helped Bramlett send out grade reports to the players’ instructors twice a semester, in addition to getting tutors for players who needed it. Huber also filed reports to Pettibone about the academic progress of each athlete and the team as a whole.

Pettibone said receivers coach Robert Jackson will take over Huber’s academic position. Meanwhile, his coaching spot replacement should be named by the end of the week. Pettibone said he has narrowed the search to two candidates, who are currently being reviewed by Affirmative Action.

“We’ve had several very qualified coaches apply for the job. We’re confident we’re going to get a good coach,” Pettibone said.

At Warsaw High School—a Class 5-A (large school) member— Huber will teach four advanced physical education courses in addition to coaching.