Mountain West · DeKalb, IL
Northern Illinois
Huskies
Unranked2026: 0-4 (0-0 conf) Huskie Stadium
National titles
0
Claimed
Heisman winners
0
CFP berths
0
since 2014
All-time
324-356-4
.477 win pct
Weeks ranked
2
of 104 polls since 2020
Weeks at No. 1
0
since 2020
The program
Overview
Northern Illinois became a perennial Mid-American Conference contender under Joe Novak and Jerry Kill, and quarterback Jordan Lynch helped lead the program to the Orange Bowl after the 2012 season. In 2024 the Huskies upset No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend.
- Institution
- Northern Illinois University
- Nickname
- Huskies
- Founded
- 1895
- First season
- 1966
- Conference
- Mountain West
- Head coach
- Rob Harley (since 2026)
- Colors
- X / Twitter
- @NIU_Football
Since 2020
AP poll history
0-4 overall
2026 season
- Sep 5
- Sep 12IlliIllinois State28
- Sep 19
- Sep 26
Georgia State (home)35 - Oct 10Northern Illinois (home)
- Oct 17
Wyoming (home) - Oct 24
Hawai'iNorthern Illinois (home) - Oct 31
UNLV (home) - Nov 7
San José State (home) - Nov 14
NevadaNorthern Illinois (home) - Nov 21
North Dakota State (home) - Nov 28
UTEPNorthern Illinois (home)
Players
Roster & stats
Rosters and player stats are tracked for teams ranked in 2026 and later.
Home field
Huskie Stadium
Capacity
23,595
DeKalb, IL
- Opened
- 1965
- 61 seasons ago
- Surface
- Artificial turf
- Roof
- Open air
- Elevation
- 877 ft
- Time zone
- Chicago
- Avg. home crowd
- 9,249
- 39% of capacity · 32 games since 2020
- Biggest crowd since 2020
- 18,688
- vs Buffalo, 2024
- Zip
- 60115
Titles & awards
Trophy case
National championships0
No claimed national titles.
Heisman Trophy winners0
No Heisman winners yet.
College Football Playoff0
No playoff appearances yet.
1966–2026
Program history
Win %★ National title season
Best seasons
- 201212-2Dave Doeren
- 201312-2Rod Carey
- 198310-2Bill Mallory
- 200310-2Joe Novak
- 19899-2Jerry Pettibone
- 201011-3Jerry Kill
On the sideline
Head coaches
| Coach | Tenure | Record | Pct | Best final AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Harley | 2026 | 0-0 | — | — |
| Thomas Hammock | 2019–2025 | 35-47 | .427 | — |
| Rod Carey | 2012–2018 | 52-30 | .634 | #22 |
| Dave Doeren | 2011–2012 | 23-4 | .852 | #22 |
| Jerry Kill | 2008–2010 | 23-16 | .590 | — |
| Joe Novak | 1996–2007 | 63-76 | .453 | — |
| Charlie Sadler | 1991–1995 | 18-37 | .327 | — |
| Jerry Pettibone | 1985–1990 | 33-32-1 | .508 | — |
| Lee Corso | 1984 | 4-6-1 | .409 | — |
| Bill Mallory | 1980–1983 | 25-19 | .568 | — |
| Pat Culpepper | 1976–1979 | 14-29-1 | .330 | — |
| Jerry Ippoliti | 1971–1975 | 25-29-1 | .464 | — |
| Doc Urich | 1969–1970 | 6-14 | .300 | — |
0 picks · 0 first-rounders
NFL Draft since 2020
No draft picks imported.