Welcome to NIU, the home of the Huskies. We’re excited you will be with us and hope to see you at one of the many athletics events throughout the year.

To be sure, exciting things are happening in Huskie athletics. Our football team, the 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic champions, kicks off the season against the nationally ranked University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sept. 3. The following week, the Huskies travel to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Sept. 10. Our first home football game is on Family Weekend, Sept. 17 against Tennessee Tech. We open our MAC season on national TV (ESPN2) as the defending co-Western Division Champions play Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 6:35 p.m. Be there!

Our other fall sports begin almost as soon as the new semester does with soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball in competition early in September. Basketball and wrestling begin their schedules in November. You can look for gymnastics in January followed by our spring sports of women’s indoor and outdoor track and field/cross country, golf, baseball and softball.

When you have the opportunity, please visit our Web site (www.niuhuskies.com) for complete schedules and ticket information for all 17 of our Division I sports programs. Remember that as an NIU student, your admission to athletics events is free with a valid student ID card. We encourage you to be part of the excitement of Huskie athletics this year.

The entire staff is working hard to ensure a “world-class” experience not only for the student-athletes, but the entire student body. We want to make Huskie athletics events part of your college experience and provide memories long after you’ve graduated. Bonds of a lifetime are built at these types of events.

Good luck in the upcoming year. We look forward to seeing you and welcome you to campus.

Jim Phillips

NIU Athletics Director