Northern Illinois University has a no-track mind.

That’s not to say university officials have lost their collective smarts, or the heads of the school have been derailed.

Quite the opposite really.

Plans to remove the outdated track next to Huskie Stadium, and replace the eyesore with the Academic and Athletic Performance Center is a step in the right direction.

When athletic recruits visit DeKalb, they will soon be shown a state-of-the-art facility, instead of an oval so hideous NIU’s cross country and track and field teams venture to an area high school to practice.

These potential Huskie athletes are ready to get out of a high school setting, why would they want to attend a school that makes them practice right back where they came from?

Additionally, students, faculty, staff and alumni watching our growing football program on television hold their breaths and cross their fingers that commentators don’t mention the sub-par surroundings.

Any camera crew with a dramatic sense could accumulate stock footage of the decrepit path, and use it to sensationalize a story about the Huskies triumphing despite NIU’s facilities.

Imagine some stuffy halftime report about the cornfields of DeKalb, the cold Midwest winters … and … gasp … the horrible training conditions.

The best part about the track’s removal is the cost.

The AAPC will be paid for by donations – no student fees.

So NIU wins all around. A new training facility. An improved campus. Potentially better and happier recruits. Sports commentators forced to focus on stories of substance, instead of knee-jerk lazy pieces about bad surroundings.

Teams allowed to practice on our campus instead of sharing space with 14-year-olds.

And that is why the right track is no track.

Agree? Disagree? Contact us at

www.northernstar.info.