A Mid-American Conference Championship comes only once in a lifetime … or once every 20 years, anyway.

The last time NIU won a MAC title was in 1983, but tonight’s game against Toledo could very well be the stepping-stone to the Huskies’ next MAC title – and an important moment in NIU athletics history. It could even lead to a bowl game.

The push for students to attend this game is extra hard this year – President John Peters and head football coach Joe Novak took out a full-page ad in the Star telling NIU students the team “needs” them at Huskie Stadium for “the Big Game.”

Huskie Buses sported ads plugging the game and a mass e-mail was sent out Monday urging students to attend the game. The athletics department also made football tickets readily available for student pickup at NIU’s residence halls.

All this promotion is a good thing, but if the university is going to push so hard for attendance, it should make it feasible for all students to go – including those with night class tonight.

Essentially, two things can happen today – students can skip class, or skip the game. For die-hard NIU fans, the choice is obvious. And other students will take it to the next degree, blowing off afternoon classes to start tailgating.

If NIU truly wants every student at the game, as its effort indicates, perhaps the university should have thought of cancelling night classes. While it’s true that not all students are into athletics, those who are should have an equal opportunity to be at Huskie Stadium tonight.

Ivan Legg, executive vice president and provost, said the idea of cancelling classes for Tuesday’s game was never brought up and that education is a priority. However, he said students should stop by the game after class and we think that is a fair compromise if they can’t be there for the whole thing.

History is only made every so often. Who knows when the Huskies will get this chance again? Regardless of whether NIU wins or loses, memories are sure to be made. And if they do win, wouldn’t you want to be there?

You can always catch the scores on TV or read about the game in the papers the next day, but wouldn’t it be cool to be able to say, “I was there when NIU won the MAC West Division title in 2004”?