Known as the team clown of the NIU men’s soccer team, senior Andy Champion had to change his ways this season. P The Huskies have three seniors returning to a team that welcomes 12 newcomers, and Champion took this opportunity to become the team’s new leader.

“It wasn’t a natural transition,” he said. “I’m the clown on the team. Last year I would do some inappropriate things to be funny, but I’ve learned that there are only certain times to be funny and lighten the mood.”

Although Champion may be the men’s soccer version of Will Ferrell, the two-time All-Academic All-MAC selection still takes care of business in the classroom.

This, combined with his leadership in the locker room, led NIU coach Steve Simmons to name Champion a team captain.

“Coach Simmons knows what I’ve done in all three areas,” Champion said. “And though I’m vocal on the field, I like to think I also lead by example.”

Simmons said Champion flat-out earned the right to be captain, and in the process has earned the respect of his teammates.

“A big responsibility of ours is to give players a chance to develop leadership abilities,” Simmons said. “We don’t let the crew members run the ship, but we let them have some stake in it.”

Former teammate Matt Stukenberg, now a student assistant with the team, said Champion has always been a leader and was just waiting for his time to come.

Champion also worked hard over the past few weeks to instill the same work ethic in his new teammates by keeping up on their academic life and making them feel comfortable.

The Peoria native relates his new role on this year’s squad with that of his first year in DeKalb. As a freshman, Champion said he got along better with the upperclassmen than members of his recruiting class, in which many hailed from the suburbs. It was the older players that had made him feel at home.

Champion has returned the favor to this year’s group of freshmen, making sure they don’t get behind on their classes by reiterating to them that school comes first.

“It started with Willy [Roy],” said Champion, about the former NIU coach. “A lot of guys still on the team stayed with that mentality.”

The teams that played under coach Roy, who roamed the sidelines before Simmons took over last season, were known for their academic accomplishments. In Roy’s last season, the team ranked in the top 20 of all Division-I men’s soccer programs in academics.

However, Champion said he’s going to be just as focused on the field after having suffered through an 11-38-4 record over the past three seasons.

“I believe finishing over .500 is a very realistic goal,” Champion said. “Personally, I expect nothing less.”