DeKALB — NIU Athletics announced in a news release Tuesday that 50 fans will be allowed to attend indoor sporting events at the Convocation Center starting this week.

The allowance of fans to return to games comes after every region in the state reached Phase Four of Governor JB Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan. NIU will limit attendance to family members of student athletes for the Huskies and visiting teams. No tickets will be made available to the general public.

The sports that will soon see fans in the stands include men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics and volleyball. The volleyball team will be the first to see fans back in the stands as they host Eastern Michigan University at 6 p.m. Thursday at Victor E. Court in the Convocation Center.

Following a pair of volleyball games, the women’s basketball team will host fans for the first time this year when they face the University at Buffalo Bulls at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Gymnastics will hold their next home event on Feb. 19 against EMU, and men’s basketball has their next home game scheduled for Feb. 20 against Miami of Ohio University.

The news release said NIU Athletics is continuing to work “under guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the IDPH and in concert with the DeKalb County Health Department.”

The news release also confirms masks and social distancing will be required, adding that attendance policies for outdoor events will be announced at a later date.