General | March 18
Hello Huskies!As we continue to move forward this March – planning for upcoming events, watching student-athletes compete for and WIN championships and welcoming fans back to our venues – I can't help thinking back to March of 2020. Spring seasons, and winter championships, cancelled. Campus empty. We learned to exist in a virtual/Zoom/work from home/social distanced world. We had so many unanswered questions. Our lives were upended and tragically, we lost so many people.
Today, I am filled with hope. Nearly every day, a steady stream of people come to the NIU Convocation Center to be vaccinated through clinics run by the DeKalb County Health Department. Restaurants are open. NIU teams are competing here in DeKalb and on the road. Our coaches and student-athletes have a renewed appreciation for the privilege of competing and representing Northern Illinois University. Huskie Stadium will host NIU and 
high school graduations later this spring, and we have invited fans back to see Huskie teams in action. While still taking precautions to remain safe, and following all CDC, state and university guidelines, I look forward to a time in the not-too-distant future when we can all come together once again!
One thing I hope you will do when we can meet in person, is get to know our new head men's basketball coach, Rashon Burno. When going through the process of hiring a new leader for the Huskie program, Rashon's name quickly rose to the top of frankly, a very deep pool of candidates. In the end, NIU was able to attract an individual who has helped lead a team to the Final Four (at the University of Florida) and then was instrumental in taking a program to new heights (at Arizona State), who also brings Illinois ties (as a player at DePaul and head coach at Marmion Academy) to NIU. More importantly, Rashon's values – his vision and his ability to see the bigger picture, beyond basketball – set him apart and made him a perfect fit for NIU. Read more here and watch his introduction and press conference on the NIU Athletics YouTube Channel any time. I know you will be impressed!
Another Huskie who comes to mind right now when it comes to impressive is NIU junior Ashley Tutt. Not just impressive, historic! First, Ashley scored 30 points by winning THREE events – the mile, the 3,000-meter run and the 5,000 meters - at the 2021 MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Those 30 points powered the Huskies to the first MAC Championship in school history in women's indoor track and field. Congratulations to the entire team, led by MAC Coach of the Year Connie Teaberry and MAC Assistant Coach of the Year Adrian Myers.
The night NIU won the title, red spotlights lit the Holmes Student Center, letting the entire campus know that the Huskies were bringing home a MAC Championship! This new tradition is part of the Huskie Pride Lights initiative recently announced by the university to celebrate a special achievement or day. Read more here about Huskie Pride Lights and exactly when NIU Athletics achievements will light the HSC tower red, which we plan to make a regular occurrence!
A few days after lifting that trophy, Ashley earned a spot in the 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and then learned that she had also qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA scheduled those two very different races within days of each other with the 5K Friday in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the 6K cross country race Monday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Of course, Ashley went out and crushed it in Fayetteville, finishing 13th in the 5,000 and earning second-team All-America honors. She then took 80th in a field of 256 runners in Stillwater, capping an amazing two weeks of running for NIU. After that, I hope Coach Myers gave her a few days off, although if I know Ashley, I'll soon see her running through campus as she prepares for outdoor track season.
Ashley and her track and field teammates aren't the only 2021 MAC Champions on campus. Congratulations also go out to junior wrestler Brit Wilson, who repeated as the MAC Champion at 184 pounds at the recent MAC Championships. Wilson pinned his opponent in the final and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Championships. This weekend, he is leading a contingent of five Huskies who qualified for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, the most for NIU since 2017.
Meanwhile, one of the busiest spring competition seasons in school history continues. On any given week this month, we have had 12 to 14 of our 17 programs competing with volleyball, men's and women's soccer and even cross country joining the fray during the traditional winter/spring overlap! Good thing I have the free NIU Huskies mobile app to keep up with the scores, stats and more.
As mentioned above, we have been able to welcome fans back to our outdoor venues this spring at a 20 percent capacity. When softball and baseball open play at home in the next few weeks, just over 120 people will be allowed in each of those parks. Soccer can welcome up to 375 fans, and when NIU football holds its 2021 Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 10, 2,000 Huskie fans will be allowed in the stands.
Spring football practices get underway this weekend and Coach Hammock and his staff are ready to get the guys back on the field after a very productive offseason program. I anticipate a lot of competition in these practices as the still young Huskies will be bigger, faster and stronger in 2021. Practice will be open to the public on April 3, 10 and 17, with the Huskie Spring Showcase set for April 10 featuring a scrimmage, player skill competition, on-field interviews, fan engagement, special guests and a post-practice "chalk talk" with Coach Hammock. All of this will be done in a safe, socially distanced environment which unfortunately means no bounce house or post-practice autographs this year.
Some of you may be wondering when to expect your Huskie Athletic Fund and 2021 football season ticket information and renewal forms. The answer is SOON! We've had some turnover in both the Ticket Office and HAF, so I am very pleased to welcome new Assistant Athletic Director for Development Steven Donohue along with a familiar name, Collin Bruning, who returns as Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Operations. With these two on board as of next Monday, and university decisions regarding a return to in-person classes and on-campus activities next fall announced this week, we will be communicating directly with donors and season ticket members by the end of March.
Also, a quick "Save the Date" reminder for the 2021 Virtual Victor E. Bash which will be held June 3-11, 2021 on the NIU Huskies YouTube Channel and online.
This year's eight-day extravaganza will incorporate The Victors, the annual student-athlete awards show, the Huskie Summer Circuit with our head coaches, and the popular wine pull and silent auction. More details to come!
Huskie Nation, the past year has been one of the most challenging I have experienced in my 25-plus years in intercollegiate athletics. I am so proud of all of us – especially our student-athletes – for pulling together, adapting and doing whatever was asked of them over the past 12 months. We could not have done it without 1. the support of our administration, led by President Lisa Freeman, and 2. each of YOU and the unconditional daily support you have provided for NIU Athletics.
Please stay safe and healthy, and we will see you soon.
Go Huskies!
Sean T. Frazier
Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics
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FRAZIER'S CORNER: Filled with Hope and Pride - Northern Illinois University Athletics
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