NIU football’s hopes for its first bowl game since 1983 are expected to receive a big boost.

The Toledo Blade reported Tuesday that the MAC and the Silicon Valley Football Classic (SVFC) have agreed to a one-year contract for this season. The official announcement is expected to be made sometime this week, The Blade reported.

“A third bowl would definitely help our chances of playing in one, but we can’t really worry about that right now,” NIU wide receiver Dan Sheldon said.

NIU plays Saturday at Eastern Michigan in its last regular season game of the year. The Huskies were the only 10-win team in the country to not receive a bowl game last season.

The SVFC, which is played Dec. 30 in San Jose, California, generally has teams from the Pacific-10 and the Western Athletic Conference compete. But this year the Pac-10 will not have enough bowl-eligible, or six-win teams – leaving the vacancy.

The MAC currently has ties with the GMAC and Motor City Bowls. The winner of the MAC championship game, held Dec. 2 at Ford Field in Detroit, is guaranteed one of the bowls, while the loser generally plays the other.