Silas reigns once more

NIU senior guard Xavier Silas was named MAC West Player of the Week for the fourth time this season following Huskie wins over Eastern Michigan and Toledo.

In those two victories, Silas averaged 25.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, including a 31-point outing at Eastern Michigan. The hot-handed Silas shot a combined 58.6 percent from the field and an outstanding 66.7 percent from the three-point arc during the week. For the season, Silas ranks fourth best in the nation in scoring with a MAC leading 23.6 points per game.

Huskie football staff nearly complete

New NIU football coach Dave Doeren has completed his offensive staff by hiring University of North Dakota offensive line coach Rod Carey to the same position.

“Our offensive line will play physical, smart, fundamentally sound football,” Doeren said in a press release. “Rod’s recruiting ties in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota will be very valuable here.”

Prior to coaching at UND, Carey coached the offensive line at the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and Illinois State. The only position left vacant from Doeren’s staff is the cornerbacks coach, which he hopes to have filled by the end of the week.

NIU baseball playing in three professional stadiums this season

Huskie baseball going to the big leagues? Not quite, but the team will get the opportunity to play in three professional stadiums this spring.

The first contest will be on March 4 against Arizona State at Surprise Stadium located in Surprise, Ariz. The stadium is the Spring Training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The second will be on March 17 versus Illinois in downstate Marion at Rent One Park, home of the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners. The third and final game will be on April 27 when the Huskies face UW-Milwaukee at Elfstrom Stadium in nearby Geneva. The ball park is primarily used as the home of the Kane County Cougars, a Low-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

First pitch of the NIU baseball season is Feb. 18 when the Huskies travel to Southern Utah.

Sprinter sets NIU record

Setting a school record is never a bad way to kick off the new year, which is exactly what sprinter Rasheta Butler did Saturday at the Badger Track Classic in Wisconsin.

Looking strong after a long winter break, Butler set a new Huskie record by running the 200-meter dash in 25.32 seconds. The old record, set by Coretta Evans in 2007 was 25.55 seconds. Also leading the Huskies in Madison was freshman sprinter Janay Mitchell, who raced to first in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.75 seconds.

NIU continues academic success

For the 11th straight semester, NIU student-athletes have achieved a cumulative grade point average of over 3.0. The impressive streak extends all the way back to the fall of 2005. The cumulative total grade point average from all 16 programs was 3.017, however special recognition goes to the Huskie women’s gymnastics team, which produced a NIU leading mark of 3.430.

Men’s tennis signs three recruits

NIU Men’s Tennis coach Patrick Fisher recently rounded out his second recruiting class by signing three highly-touted student-athletes.

“I think this is an outstanding class,” Fisher said. “Our first two classes [since I arrived] are by far the best two recruiting classes that I think we’ve ever had here at Northern Illinois based upon results.” This year’s group will kick off 2011 with a match in Dayton on Jan. 22.