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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

A view of last year’s BSU game

By Frank Rusnak | October 29, 2003

The following story ran in the Oct. 7, 2002 issue of the Northern Star. MUNCIE, Ind. - In a game dominated by NIU’s special teams, it was only right that Dan Sheldon’s 64-yard punt return for a touchdown was the final score, giving the visiting Huskies...

NIU’s Canada balances football, family

By Frank Rusnak | October 29, 2003

The year is 1996, and 23-year-old Matt Canada, along with Joe Novak, is leaving Indiana University. Novak, a defensive coordinator at IU, is taking his first head coaching job at Northern Illinois University, an Independent in a small midwestern town...

Ball in the family

By Mark Pickrel | October 29, 2003

It wasn’t until 1994 that NIU defensive coordinator Scott Shafer knew he had chosen the right profession. He was in Spear Mulqueeny Funeral Home in Painesville, Ohio, attending his father’s funeral. It was there that he learned endless stories about...

Harris shines as Turner watches

By Mark Pickrel | October 28, 2003

While one star had a career day, another was relegated as a spectator. Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris threw for a career-high 438 yards, while NIU running back Michael Turner carried just 18 times and spent most of the second half blocking. It...

Did you really think we’d go undefeated?

By Mark Pickrel | October 28, 2003

It couldn’t last forever. Admit it. If you thought the NIU football team was really going to go undefeated, you were nuts. It’s just too hard to do - unless you’re Ohio State or Miami or something. Don’t get me wrong, the chance was there. But...

Huskies no longer hold own destiny

By Adam Zolmierski | October 28, 2003

With Saturday’s loss, the NIU football team stands a game behind in the MAC West, but still has a chance at the division crown - with some help. For a chance to win the MAC, NIU needs to win its remaining four games against Ball State, Buffalo, Toledo...

Falcons take down NIU

By Mark Pickrel | October 27, 2003

Bowling Green, Ohio - On a chilly, wet, overcast day in northwest Ohio, NIU saw its dreams of an undefeated football season come to an end. NIU, going into the weekend as one of four remaining undefeated teams in Division-IA , lost 34-18 in front of 31,007...

Script flipped for NIU football

By Adam Zolmierski | October 23, 2003

NIU will play an away game against Bowling Green this weekend. This time, the roles are reversed from a year ago. The No. 12 Huskies (7-0) are the ones coming in unbeaten, while the No. 23 Falcons (6-1) are trying to use their home-field advantage to...

Setting up the offense for NIU volleyball

By Ian Waddick | October 22, 2003

For NIU volleyball player Marie Zidek, being a setter is always challenging. But that’s exactly why she loves it. Huskies coach Ray Gooden likens being a setter to being the quarterback of a football field. In football, the quarterback runs the offense...

Making sacrifices for football team

By Steve Brown | October 22, 2003

NIU football coach Joe Novak expects priorities from his players.

School first, football second and social life third.

“They do have a social life,” Novak said. “They do have time for that, it just can’t be the No. 1 priority.”

Coaches often check on players who are struggling academically, to make sure they are attending classes.

“Coach Novak always says school is more important,” said Quince Holman, who started his first game on Saturday at defensive end. “If you really have something on your back, like a thesis or something, they’ll give you some slack and maybe let you miss some meetings or something.”

That sort of situation doesn’t happen often, Novak said.

“These kids don’t take advantage of it,” Novak said. “I’m not going to say I like it when people miss meetings and practice, but I really feel that their priorities are school first.”

For Novak, priority is key.

“Some of our kids will bring books on the bus,” Novak said. “We’ve got a five-hour bus ride; what a great time to do some studying. It all depends on the priorities these kids have.”

Red-shirt freshman quarterback Andre Brown agreed that time management plays a crucial role in surviving as a collegiate student-athlete.

“We’re up at the break of dawn and we don’t get to sleep until everything is done,” Brown said. “As long as you set priorities, you’re fine.”

Brown said he wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and usually gets to bed about midnight.

It’s difficult to adapt to the tight schedule of a football player freshman year, Holman said.

“You have to manage your time well,” Holman said. “If you don’t, you’re going to be swamped. Freshman year was pretty bad. I didn’t know how to manage my time well. I was all over the place.”

Novak said he’s seen improvement out of Holman, as well as others.

“I know he’s better than when he got here,” said Novak, of Holman’s time management. “I’d say 99 percent of the kids are a lot better. Basically, if they didn’t get better, they wouldn’t be here.”

A lack of free time forces players to manage what little time they have.

“Having practice, study tables and football forces you to grow up quickly,” Brown said. “Having something to do throughout the day helps out, and it’ll help us in the real world.”

Studies show that athletes do better academically in the season than out of season because time is so tight that it forces them to manage their time, Novak said.

“In the off-season, when they get some free time, sometimes they get away from what they need to do,” he said.

For Brown, the costs of playing football are worth the rewards.

“It’s one of the sacrifices you have to make when you’re on one of the best football teams in the nation,” he said.

All aboard the NIU Huskies fan van

By Mark Pickrel | October 21, 2003

Judging by the flocks of people who surround it each home football game, it’s the most popular 1989 GMC Vandura one-ton van on the campus of Northern Illinois University. And, it was purchased for only $520 off eBay. The red doors didn’t match the...

The man behind the voting

By Adam Zolmierski | October 21, 2003

NIU football coach Joe Novak has the task of preparing his Huskies for each Saturday, but after the game Novak’s day isn’t over. Each Saturday, Novak has the responsibility of keeping up with rest of college football. The NIU boss is one of 63 Division...

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