DeKALB | Goodbye “Rocky Top,” hello “On Wisconsin.”

It was announced Thursday that NIU will push back its 2007 date with Tennessee to 2008.

To fill the void, the Huskies will face off against Wisconsin in Madison in the 2007 season. The Badgers are the third BCS program, along with Iowa and Navy, which NIU will play in 2007.

But that’s not all, the announcement gets bigger.

Wisconsin will make NIU history as it will return a game in the 2009 season. This will be the first time a Big Ten program has ever played in the confines of Huskie Stadium.

“Since arriving at Northern Illinois, one of our goals has been to upgrade our home football schedule,” NIU Athletic Director Jim Phillips said. “Now, with Iowa at Soldier Field in 2007, Navy coming to Huskie Stadium in 2008 and Wisconsin visiting DeKalb in 2009, we certainly feel good about fulfilling that aspiration.”

The last time NIU played against Wisconsin was in 2002. In that match-up the Huskies lost 21-24 at Camp Randall Stadium.

In total, NIU holds a 1-9 record against the Badgers with its only win coming in 1988. The Huskies beat the Badgers 19-17.

But, all 10 previous match-ups have been played on the road.

“To get Wisconsin to play in DeKalb in 2009 is awesome for our fans, our team and our community. We have said all along that playing Big Ten teams is great for our program,” NIU head coach Joe Novak said. “This is quite a coup by Jim [Phillips] to get this done and to bring a team with their history of success to DeKalb.”

The last time a BCS school played in Huskie Stadium was in 2003. That season both Maryland and Iowa State visited DeKalb.