On March 8, the NIU athletics department discovered that Huskie wrestler Bill Lowney had been arrested for criminal sexual assault.

Lowney allegedly assaulted a fellow student in November. The grand jury issued a warrant for his arrest on Feb. 27. He turned himself in to Kane County officials on March 4. Lowney then was transferred to DeKalb County Jail. He was released on a $20,000 bond.

Lowney remains free on the bond that allowed him to travel to Mt. Pleasant, Mich., for the MAC Championships and Wisconsin to visit his family.

About 10 minutes from Mt. Pleasant, Mich., Huskie coach Dave Grant received a phone call from Associate Athletic Director Robert Collins telling Grant that Lowney would not be able to hit the mat for the Huskies, Grant said.

Lowney, the defending MAC champion, declined to comment.

Lowney's teammate, senior sport management major Scott Owen said the wrestling team does not know the whole story.

"Hopefully [Lowney] will be OK, and everything will work out," Owen said.

Lowney had a 9-7 record this season, down from 22-11 last season, and was going to be the fourth seed in the MAC Championships.

Gaelic Storm, the energetic steerage band that appeared in "Titanic," is coming back to DeKalb.

This year's performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at the Egyptian Theatre.

The band visited NIU in 2000 and gave the crowd a taste of its explosive renditions of traditional Irish music.

Gema Gaete-Tapia, chair of the CAB's Fine Arts Committee, said they wanted the group back because it was well-received on its last visit, and it was on time for St. Patrick's Day.

Nicole Fulton, assistant manager of University Programming and Activities, said tickets are selling quickly.

"A lot of people have heard of Gaelic Storm and they say it's a great show," she said.

Kevin Quaid, manager of University Programming and Activities, agreed and said Gaelic Storm is definitely worth seeing.

"It's fast-paced, it's funny, it's good," he said. "I was there the first time they came and I had a blast."

Tickets are on sale at the Holmes Student Center box office. Admission is $5 for students and children under eight; $11 for NIU faculty and staff, students age 8 to 18, and seniors over 65; and $13 for the general public.

For information, call CAB at 753-1580.

Editor's note: The following is a chronological look at the NIU men's basketball team's Spring Break games, which finished off with a final four appearance in the MAC Tournament against eventual winner Central Michigan.

March 8 - W. Michigan 71, NIU 67

In the last regular season game of the year, the best way to sum up the Huskies' loss is that they "turned it over" in front of 2,042 fans at the Convocation Center.

NIU committed 27 turnovers, compared to the Broncos' 15.

"It is hard to offset our turnovers when you have as many as we did," NIU coach Rob Judson said.

NIU held a 29-27 halftime lead, but could not stop WMU star guard Robbie Collum. Collum finished with a game-high 22 points, added with eight assists, five rebounds and six steals.

NIU was paced by Jamel Staten (14 points), Marcus Smallwood (13 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks) and Perry Smith (10 points).

"As much as we enjoyed playing, it didn't have as much impact with tournament play coming up," Judson said.

March 10 - NIU 81, Buffalo 64

Entering the MAC Tournament as a No. 4 seed, the Huskies topped last place Buffalo in the first round, held at the Convo Center - the higher seed hosted the first round.

NIU claimed its first postseason win since the 1995-96 season.

In his last home game, NIU senior Jay Bates had a career-high 11 assists combined with eight points.

Bates' backcourt mate Smith had a game-high 22 points, and Smallwood added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The win set up a rematch with Western Michigan for the second meeting in less than a week.

March 13 - NIU 75, W. Michigan 63

NIU advanced to Cleveland, Ohio, for the first time since 1992 when it was in the MCC's postseason tournament at Cleveland State.

Seeking redemption, NIU held Collum to two points while its own guard, Smith, had 32 points.

Smith shot 13-of-19 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line.

"Perry was on fire and was awfully tough for Western to stop," said Smallwood, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the year.

The win set up a semifinal game against Central Michigan, who NIU lost to twice earlier in the season. After Central Michigan's win against Bowling Green earlier in the day, CMU star and MAC Player of the Year Chris Kaman expressed his hopes of the CMU-NIU game.

"I'd rather play Western," Kaman said. "Just the rivalry we have with them. Plus, I don't like the defense Northern plays."

March 14 - C. Michigan 94, NIU 72

In the final four of the tournament, as much as Kaman didn't like the Huskies' defense, his performance didn't show it.

The 7-foot junior finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds as one of four double-digit scorers for the Chippewas.

Closing his career at NIU (17-14, 11-7), Bates finished with a career-high 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and wasn't afraid to drive directly at Kaman and the interior CMU defense. Smith added 15 points and Smallwood chipped in with 12 points.

While NIU had trouble stopping Kaman, CMU's outside shooters had a field day as well. As a team, the Chippewas shot 12-of-18 from the three-point line.

"I'm tremendously proud of our team in this game and this season," Judson said. "Central can do a lot of damage in the NCAA Tournament. They have everything you need to be successful."

Look for more on the MAC Tournament and a recap of the season throughout the week.

Going into the first round MAC game, NIU women's coach Carol Hammerle knew her team would have to control the offensive glass to be successful.

Hammerle's team did anything but in a 70-58 loss to Marshall (12-16) on March 8 at the Convocation Center.

The Thundering Herd avenged an 81-74 regular season loss by collecting 49 rebounds, compared to NIU's 31.

"This game is the best example of the importance of doing the little things," Hammerle said. "We didn't control the offensive boards. That was the difference in the game. They could throw up whatever shots they wanted and then get second and third chances."

NIU (12-16) was able to jump out to a 37-32 halftime lead behind three players with first half double-figure performances. Lindsay Secrest contributed 11, while Kristan Knake and Jennifer Youngblood added 10 apiece.

However, Knake and Youngblood were able to combine for only seven points in the second half as the Thundering Herd outscored NIU 38-21 after intermission.

"In the second half, we were doing some good things and were able to get a nine-point lead," Hammerle said. "That's when [Marshall] elevated their game and we didn't respond."

Marshall placed four players in double figures led by Sikeetha Shepard-Hall with 20.

As for the Huskies, Knake capped her career in elite NIU company. In her final game as a Huskie, Knake scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists.

Knake is now one of only four NIU players with 1,200 points, 300 assists and 200 steals.

The loss to Marshall ended an injury-plagued season for the Huskies.

Jamie Wilson and Elizabeth Strobel missed the entire season with injuries while Kim Boeding missed much of the conference season with vertigo. Knake also missed two games with an ankle injury.

"This has been a very frustrating year," Hammerle said. "Coming in, my expectations were very high. We needed more help off the bench. We began relying too much on our starting five and didn't get production off the bench."

Marshall had only a brief stay in Cleveland for the MAC Tournament before losing to No. 1 seeded Toledo.

Would you like to improve your test-taking skills in one hour?

You may be able to do just that Wednesday night.

From 7 to 8 p.m., NIU's Career Counseling Center and the University Resources for Latinos will offer a workshop, "Ace-ing It: Test-Taking Strategies that Won't Chew Up Your Pencil," on ways for students to become better test takers.

The workshop will be held at the Latino Center, 515 Garden Road.

"My main goal for the workshop is for students to come out of it with a better ability to take tests," said Brian Pillsbury, coordinator for the Career Counseling Center and presenter at the workshop.

"I'm going to be improving students' knowledge of knowing what types of tests their about to take, such as multiple choice and true/false tests," Pillsbury said. "Students need to be familiar with what material they need to know and how to lower their anxiety levels while taking their tests."

The Career Counseling Center has had a lot of other outreach workshops like this, working together with several on-campus groups, such as the University Resources for Latinos on similar topics.

"The counseling center's main objective comes from a variety of different groups," Pillsbury said. "The real objective for us is to connect with the university."

Pillsbury said he is hoping to attract more than 20 students, which is more than past seminars.

"Since the workshop will be held at the Latino Center," Pillsbury said, "I'm hoping that other students come as well. I certainly hope anyone who takes a test will come and take advantage of this."

Refreshments will be served afterward. The workshop is free for all students.

After finishing the MAC regular season in a three-way tie for first place, the NIU wrestling team took second place in the MAC Championships on March 9.

NIU finished the MAC Championships with 70.5 points. Central Michigan took the crown as it tallied 93 points in the two-day tourney.

Both the Huskies and the Chippewas had the same amount of conference champions, with three apiece.

"This is a tough tournament," coach Dave Grant said. "The thing that we have to key on is the fact that we have three champions. We won a third of the titles and that's impressive."

NIU's 157-pound Scott Owen, 184-pound Ben Heizer and 133-pound Sam Hiatt all won their weight-classes. Josh Wooton, a 141-pounder, took second to earn a wild-card spot. Marlon Felton, a 125-pounder, was selected as an alternate.

Owen faced Eastern Michigan's Chad Roush in his first-round match-up. After a quick takedown, it took Owen only 26 seconds to pin him.

After the quick disposal of Roush, the second-ranked Owen took on CMU's David Bolyard and won with a final of 14-3.

In the championship match, Owen beat Buffalo's Labe Black 22-8. With his dominating performances, the sixth-year senior won his second-straight Most Outstanding Wrestler at the MAC Championships.

"I had the same philosophy as I always have," Owen said. "It's always attack, attack, attack. I also like to be on the move and score a lot of points. That's good for me. I just tried to keep scoring and it worked out."

Heizer had a first-round bye and faced Buffalo's Garrett Bontempo in the second round.

Heizer said that match was a "control match" and won easily with a final of 8-0.

From there he went on to to grapple with CMU's Russ Vanderheyden in the championship.

Heizer said he was a little flustered after Vanderheyden took a 3-0 lead and had to refocus in that match. Heizer went on to take a 6-5 victory for the title.

"I was still a little rusty," Heizer said. "But, I still have a couple of weeks before Nationals. I don't feel it was a good performance on my part, but I still got the win."

Hiatt beat Kent State's Drew Opfer 10-4 in his first match, won a tight match against UB's Mike Trotta 4-2 before heading to the title match.

In the title match, he met Anthony Carrizales from Ohio, who beat Hiatt last year in the MAC Championships. The match went back-and-forth with Hiatt eventually winning 6-5. Being crowned champion was special for Hiatt, especially since it was on his birthday.

"Sam beat him in the dual meet after losing to him in the semis of last year's tournament and that probably kept Sam from going to Nationals," Grant said. "I think that stuck with Sam all year long and he worked hard. He gave himself a great birthday present."

Wooton, a freshman, won his first two matches setting up a rematch against CMU's Jason Mester, who Wooton beat earlier this year, and lost 11-6, setting up a second-place match for Wooton. There, he didn't waste any time as he pinned OU's Paul Hodermarsky in the first period, setting up his wild-card invitation.

With the team taking second, Owen was pleased with how well he and the team performed.

"When we came into this, we said we wouldn't be happy unless we came out as champs," Owen said. "Our guys wrestled hard and came out a little short. We should be proud because everyone wrestled hard."

There is good news for students who want to graduate with honors but are not members of the University Honors Program. Students can participate in their major department's individual honors program.

Sometimes, the individual program of the department will qualify a student for the university program as well, so it would be possible for a student to receive both departmental and university honors, said University Honors Program Director Michael Martin.

Martin said that, contrary to myth, students do not have to be freshmen or sophomores to begin the University Honors Program. Many transfer students, including juniors, have gone through the University Honors Program and still graduated on time, he said.

In order to graduate with university honors, a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2, at least 27 credit hours of honors coursework (12 of which must be outside the major), completion of a seminar and a capstone project.

It is not necessarily easier to graduate with departmental honors than to earn university honors, said William Blair, department chair of mathematical sciences. However, he said that it is easier to start out in the honors program as a freshman and later receive departmental honors than it is to begin a departmental program and then try to also fulfill the requirements for university honors later on as a junior.

This is because the University Honors Program requires honors coursework in general education classes, which are usually completed by the time a student reaches his or her junior year. However, Blair said that it is very common for students to graduate with both university and departmental honors.

The required cumulative GPA in departmental classes is higher for departmental honors than the required 3.2 for university honors. Students who wish to receive departmental honors in mathematical sciences, for example, must have a 3.5 or higher overall GPA in their math classes. The same is true for the departments of history, geography and foreign languages. Other departments, such as geology, require a 3.4.

Nicole Fulton, a junior corporate communication major and peer adviser for the University Honors Program, began the program at the beginning of her sophomore year.

Fulton said students can begin at any point in their college year because there are two divisions - upper and lower - to choose from, depending on where the student is at in his or her academic career. For students who wish to complete both divisions of the honors program, however, Fulton recommended beginning as soon as possible.

Central Michigan not only won the MAC Tournament, but also won nearly every postseason award the conference had to offer.

CMU center Chris Kaman took home the conference Player of the Year award as well as Defensive Player of the Year award. He finished second in the MAC in scoring at 22.5 points a game, and rebounding at 12.2 average. He led the conference in field goal percentage with a 63.4 percent and blocks at 3.23 a game.

"Chris does a lot for us offensively and defensively," CMU guard J.R. Wallace said. "As far as defensively, he's huge. Our defense tries to push guys towards the lane so he can alter shots."

Coach of the Year was a close vote, but Chippewa coach Jay Smith beat out NIU's Rob Judson 26-23.

CMU's Whitney Robinson rounded out the Chippewas' awards by winning the first-ever Sixth Man of the Year award.

Kaman also was a part of the All-MAC First Team, joined by Ball State guard Chris Williams, Kent State forward Antonio Gates, Ohio forward Brandon Hunter and NIU forward Marcus Smallwood.

"Just set your watch by him for another double-double," NIU coach Rob Judson said of Smallwood.

NIU's Perry Smith was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.

The Huskies also had freshman guard Todd Peterson named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. The 6-foot-6 swingman set the Huskie 3-point record by a freshman with 55.

The remainder of the All-Freshman Team was Ron Lewis of Bowling Green, DeAndre Haynes of Kent State, Josh Hausfeld of Miami (Ohio) and Toledo's Sammy Villegas.

Villegas averaged 10.9 points a game and led the Rockets in assists to become MAC Freshman of the Year.

Under pressure to come up with nearly $8 million in budget cuts for the current budget year, key players who have been lobbying in Springfield on NIU's behalf met last Tuesday to discuss relating to the budget crisis.

Members of NIU's Board of Trustees Legislation, Audit and External Affairs committee met at NIU's Hoffman Estates campus to briefly mention the current budget situation, as well as address new state legislation that could affect NIU.

Kathy Buettner, executive director of state and federal relations, said NIU is taking the budget issue day by day.

"As you know, the governor has not issued a budget message at this point," Buettner said. "We are not going to be able to know what the governor recommends until April 9."

Buettner also shared with the board the fiscal '04 priority list for capital improvements at different state institutions.

"If we follow logic from previous years, the estimated cutoff for prioritizing will be somewhere between projects 11 and 12," Buettner said.

NIU requested state funding for the renovation and addition of the Stevens Building. This year, planning funds for the project ranked 15 on the IBHE's capital improvements list, a progression from last year's ranking of 21. Funds for construction are ranked 25, an improvement from last year's ranking of 32.

"Obviously ranked 15, it appears doubtful that there will be any funding for any capital project at NIU in '04," Buettner said. "We are working very, very hard in an attempt to draw the needs of the university to the forefront."

The BOT will meet Wednesday.