Memories are what make a life.

For the 2003 football team, more memories were made than can ever be recorded and shared.

At first, however, I didn’t believe this. My goal was to discover all the stories, moments and events from the coaching staff of the 2003 team. These coaches were a tremendous help, providing a wealth of information.

Yet, when it came to memories, they shared many but couldn’t recount them all. “There are just too many memories,” said former defensive ends coach Mike Sabock as he tried to share as many as he could.

So I decided to gain players’ perspectives, hoping this would alleviate my problem.

Just like the coaches, the players had so many memories to share. One of my favorites came from former wide receiver P.J. Fleck.

NIU was preparing to face Bowling Green, the game that ended NIU’s undefeated season. ESPN Game Day traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio, which marked the first time the program went to a mid-major university.

The night before the game, Fleck and some other players were walking the hall of their hotel. That’s when the senior and his teammates ran into someone they never thought they would meet.

“I’m walking to my hotel room in the hall and Kirk Herbstreit walks right past me, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s Kirk Herbstreit,'” said Fleck of seeing the ESPN announcer. “We were all like little kids sitting there talking like we’re looking at a big movie star.”

Herbstreit retired to his room. Fleck, however, couldn’t miss an opportunity to really meet the iconic sports broadcaster. So the former wide receiver mustered up the courage and knocked on Herbstreit’s door.

The former Ohio State quarterback appeared and greeted the Huskie warmly, inviting Fleck into his room.

“We talked for about five, 10 minutes about some things, some things not even about football, just talking about things,” Fleck said. “He was happy to be there and wished us luck.”

But by talking to players, I didn’t solve my memories dilemma. Instead, it was only compounded further. I discovered new memories, but found it impossible to get in contact with the 22 starters of the team, let alone the over-100-man roster.

It was in the middle of writing this series that I discovered I had forgotten some of the most important memories of all – the fans.

As I stood in the stands during an NIU game this year, a fan came up to me. She gave me words of appreciation for this series, as it reminded her of so many memories she had forgotten.

Her words made me finally realize that the end of my project was obscene.

Not only does every coach, player and recruit have memories from the NIU 2003 football season, but everyone who attended a game, watched the Huskies on television and even other NCAA coaches who the Huskies didn’t play have memories of that season.

In January of 2004, Sabock took his family with him to the American Football Coaches Association national convention. During the convention, Sabock asked his sons if they wanted to meet the renowned Bobby Bowden, Florida State’s head coach.

His children were, of course, interested but doubted that Bowden would know who was about to approach him.

“I had a Northern Illinois shirt on,” said Sabock, as he went to meet Bowden. “The first thing he said to me was that you guys had a great season this year. My kids were shocked that Bobby Bowden knew about Northern Illinois.”

Shocked is what sums up the season.

In the summer of 2003 the Huskies were a small mid-major team. Former NIU head coach Joe Novak had shocked a miserable program into a competitive team within the MAC.

Yet, as the seasons changed, Novak, the coaching staff, the players and the fans brought a vision into reality. NIU had beaten three BCS programs, was ranked in the BCS top 10 and should have been in a bowl game.

Students, members of the community, the world and even some of the coaching staff were shocked – for in 2003 NIU produced the season, a memory that will not soon fade away.

Editor’s note: This is the 12th part in a 12-part series of an in-depth look at the 2003 NIU football team and its impact on NIU.