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2003 Northern Illinois football schedule features home dates with Maryland, Iowa State
February 27, 2003 2003 NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FEATURES HOME DATES WITH MARYLAND, IOWA STATE DeKALB, IL --- For the first time in its 102-year football history, Northern Illinois University will play a seven-game home schedule during 2003 that includes two unprecedented Huskie Stadium dates against post-season Bowl Championship Series conference opposition in the University of Maryland (August 30) and Iowa State University (September 27), plus the school’s initial gridiron meeting with the University of Alabama (September 20) on the road. The 2003 Northern Illinois football slate features 12 dates for the second year in a row and competition from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Southeastern Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, and eight Mid-American Conference games. The schedule was announced by NIU director of athletics Cary Groth Thursday (February 27). Eighth-year Huskie head man Joe Novak---named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2002---returns 39 lettermen and 14 of 24 starters this fall---including All-America picks Michael “The Burner” Turner and Dan “The Returner” Sheldon--- from an 8-4 Northern Illinois team that shared the league’s West Division title for the second straight season, ranked as high as No. 35 nationally in the USA Today / ESPN and No. 38 in the Associated Press polls, and wound up 41 seconds and a 33-30 loss to the University of Toledo in late November from the Mid-Am Championship Game. “To say the least, that is a challenging schedule and certainly the most challenging one since we’ve been here,” Novak said. “When you have nationally known opposition such as a Maryland, Iowa State, and Alabama on your schedule, those are great opportunities for your football program and our student-athletes, plus two of those three games are in DeKalb, which is super for our fans. “Any football coach in America would tell you that’s great---to have those type of quality programs in your home stadium,” Novak added. “That’s what people talked about when we came back in 1996, getting such name opposition in DeKalb. Give credit to Cary Groth and (associate athletics director) Robert Collins for that. ` “Two of our four non-conference opponents could be in the Top 15 next fall---Alabama and Maryland. I don’t think you could ask for a tougher home opener than Maryland. They go 11-3, beat Tennessee in the Peach Bowl, and finished No. 13 in both polls. And, of course, our eight MAC games will be as competitive as ever,” Novak reminded. Maryland---gunning
for its third consecutive post-season appearance after the Orange Bowl
in 2001 and Peach Bowl in 2002---returns 15 starters from the ACC runner-up
that captured a school-record 11 games last autumn. Based on that final
No. 13 rating in both the AP and USA Today / ESPN polls in 2002, coach
Ralph Friedgen’s Terps could become the highest ranked AP team ever
to play in Huskie Stadium. Previous Top 25 AP football opposition to visit
DeKalb include No. 14 Toledo (1971), No. 20 Bowling Green State (2002),
No. 21 Kansas State (1997), and No. 24 Fresno State (1990). On the road, Northern Illinois plays at Alabama, Central Michigan University (October 11), Bowling Green State University (October 25), the University at Buffalo (November 8), and Toledo (November 15). With the exception of 1980, the Huskies have played 11 game regular-season schedules since 1971. NIU played 12 football games in 2002 and and will do the same in 2003 due to an NCAA ruling that allows 12 games during a season in which there were 14 playing dates between the last Saturday in August and the last Saturday in November. Turner (North Chicago) returns as the nation’s top major-college rusher after gaining a MAC single-season record 1,915 yards and making five All-America teams as a junior last fall. Sheldon (Elgin / Burlington Central) led the NCAA Division 1-A in punt returns (22.7 yards-per-return average) and made three All-America squads as a sophomore in 2002. Season tickets are currently available at the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center. The three basic ticket packages for the seven-game home Huskie Stadium schedule include (1) general public season tickets ($85), (2) faculty-staff, Varsity Club, or senior citizen season tickets ($80), and (3) family section season tickets ($60). Single-game West Stadium Grandstand adult general admission tickets cost $15 apiece. For further Northern
Illinois football ticket information, please contact the NIU Athletics
Ticket Office by telephone at toll free in Illinois 2003 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
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