NIU Sports Information Director Mike Korcek considers himself an avid collector of comic books.

So when Korcek’s co-worker, Associate Sports Information Director Robert Hester, was asked if one could compare Korcek to the comic hero Superman, he said, “Yeah, I guess that’s probably the best comparison. Superman is his favorite and Mike is No. 1 in the office.”

Like Superman, Korcek’s identity has been unknown to NIU students for the past 31 years. Who is the man who gets NIU into Sports Illustrated? Who’s the guy who gives up his entire summer to create the football media guide? Who is this super man who puts in 70- to 80-hour workweeks trying to get NIU mentioned in the same breath as the Universities of Michigan and Notre Dame?

Mike Korcek is that man.

Korcek also knows more than just NIU sports – he knows NIU. An alumnus of NIU (1967-1970), Korcek bleeds cardinal and black, said former NIU Sports Information Director Owen “Bud” Nangle.

As a student, Korcek grew to know NIU through the Northern Star as a sports reporter his freshman and sophomore years. As a senior, Korcek went on to be the the first assistant sports information director under then-director Nangle.

“I didn’t have an assistant for many years, but when they told me I could hire one I knew I wanted him,” Nangle said of Korcek. “It was the best hire I’ve ever made. And I’m not sure if it’s not the best hire in the Athletic Department for a long time.”

After a year as Nangle’s assistant, Korcek was off to serve in the Army. After graduating with honors in the field of defense information at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Ind., Korcek was shipped to Darmstadt, Germany. For two and a half years, he wrote for the the sports department in the European Stars and Stripes newspaper.

After his honorable discharge, Korcek came back to NIU to join Nangle’s staff in December 1973.

As the current sports information director, Korcek has to retain many facts and stats for NIU sports. Hester calls Korcek a one-man encyclopedia. With his memory, Korcek rattles off trivia and facts in everyday conversations. He goes on tangents about past sports stars and their stories.

Did you know football player and track and field athlete Reino Nori tied the first Heisman Trophy winner Jay Burlanger in the long jump in 1930?

Superman knows.

If it takes awards to be Superman, then Korcek is your man. Over the past 31 years, Korcek has been awarded 29 College Sports Information Directors of America Awards, among others.

With all the work he has put in at the office, the 56-year-old Korcek has little time outside of NIU.

“If I ever got married, I’d be divorced,” Korcek said. “I consider NIU my surrogate family, and its students like my surrogate kids.”

In Korcek’s 35 years in DeKalb, he has never been married, but that’s fine with him.

An old friend of Korcek’s once asked, “So you want to play games for the rest of your life, huh?”

Korcek’s present-day response to this line – he just smiles and says, “I have.”