The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the campus of the Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
The 2011 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by first year head coach Dave Doeren. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium. NIU finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in MAC play to win the West Division Title. The Huskies defeated Ohio in the MAC Championship game to win their first MAC Championship after two previous trips to the Championship game. The Huskies were invited to the GoDaddy.com Bowl where they defeated Arkansas State.
The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Dave Doeren for the regular season and Rod Carey in the 2013 Orange Bowl. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium. They finished the season 12–2, 8–0 in MAC play to win MAC West Division Title. With their win over Kent State in the MAC Championship Game on November 30, NIU moved to 12–1, the most regular season wins in the program's 113-year history.
The 2002 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Northern Illinois competed as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They were coached by Joe Novak. Despite finishing the season bowl eligible, the Huskies did not receive a bowl berth.
The 1971 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. The Huskies competed as an independent in the University Division, which became Division I in 1973. They were led by new head coach Jerry Ippoliti, where he led the Huskies to this first .500 season, and played their home games on campus at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
The 1979 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football at the time, Division I-A. The Huskies competed under the Mid-American Conference banner during this season. They were led by head coach Pat Culpepper, and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1980 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football at the time, Division I-A. The Huskies played under the Mid-American Conference banner during this season. They were led by new head coach Bill Mallory, and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1983 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University, and were the champions of the Mid-American Conference in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football at the time, Division I-A. They were led by head coach Bill Mallory, and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1988 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by fourth year head coach Jerry Pettibone and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1989 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by fifth year head coach Jerry Pettibone and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1991 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by first year head coach Charlie Sadler and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1993 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by third year head coach Charlie Sadler and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1995 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by fifth year head coach Charlie Sadler and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 1996 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by first year head coach Joe Novak and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 2000 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University. The Huskies competed in the highest division of football, Division I-A. They were led by fifth year head coach Joe Novak and they played their home games at Huskie Stadium.
The 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Rod Carey. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois. They finished the season 5–7, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division.
The 2018 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by sixth-year head coach Rod Carey. They played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the West Division of Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–6, 6–2 in MAC play to finish as champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the MAC Championship Game where they defeated East Division champion Buffalo to become MAC champions for the first time since 2014. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they lost to UAB.
The 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by first-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois. They competed as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 5–7, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division.
The 2021 MAC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It was the 25th edition of the MAC Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for the 2021 season. The game began at 12:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. The game featured the Northern Illinois Huskies, the Western Division champions, and the Kent State Golden Flashes, the Eastern Division champions. Sponsored by mortgage lending company Quicken Loans through their Rocket Mortgage brand, the game was officially known as the Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship Game.
The 2021 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by third-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
