The Victor E. Ball fundraiser gets a star-studded panel: Chicago Bears’ Pro Football Hall of Famer, Dan Hampton; twenty-two season MLB veteran and former Chicago Cub, Bill Buckner; three-time NBA Champion Bill Wennington of the Chicago Bulls, according to a Jan. 31 NIU Media Services press release.

The goal for this event is to raise funds for Huskies’ Athletes, the event started in 2005 by NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier.

“Having support for the quality of experience for our student-athletes is job one,” Frazier said, according to NIU Media Services. “This event was born based on need — from cost of attendance to facilities to day-to-day operations, it’s so important, so critical that we have the resources that are necessary to remain competitive.”

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction and cocktail reception. The program is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with catering by one of the top caterers in Illinois, My Chef Catering.

Online registration for the event is now open, and tickets are $450 a person or $3,500 for a table. There is also a VIP table that will include either Buckner, Hampton or Wennington.

Huskies’ Athletics hope to surpass the total of $175,000, as that was the total for 2015 and 2017.

For more information on the Victor E. Ball, the Huskie Athletic Fund and additional ways you can support NIU student-athletes, go to NIUHuskies.com or HuskieAthleticFund.com.