An NIU Huskies fan poses with the GoDaddy.com Bowl trophy.
For those whose ears are still ringing with stadium-filling cheers of euphoria and Bill Baker’s breathless shouts of “Huskies win! Huskies win!” on the radio, Intercollegiate Athletics has some wonderful news.
Season ticket sales for the 2012 football campaign begin next week!
To celebrate, Athletics and University Relations are inviting all fans to pose for professionally photographed pictures with five of the fall season’s trophies at the Wednesday, Feb. 15, men’s basketball game inside the Convocation Center.
The quintet of awards includes three from the gridiron – the GoDaddy.com Bowl and the MAC and MAC West championships – as well as the MAC Championship hardware awarded to the volleyball and men’s soccer teams.
Convo doors open at 5 p.m. that day for the Huskie Athletic Support Fund kickoff event, which takes place in Victor E. Court. The main arena opens at 6 p.m. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We will post the photos to the NIU Facebook page right after the game,” said Jay Orbik, director of Media Services.
“Fans can tag their photos right from there and use them on their own Facebook sites. We will also post higher resolution photos to the NIU Media Services database the following day, and fans can download them for their own use, including making their own prints for Christmas cards, gifts and more.”
Orbik thought of the promotion when he was prowling the Convo with his own camera during a basketball game last month.
“Intercollegiate Athletics had the trophies from the recent championships on display on a table on the track. I noticed a few people taking their photos with them with their phones,” Orbik said.
“I remembered at the football bowl game, when they brought the trophy down to the sidelines and it looked like we were going to win, some folks on the sideline really wanted their picture taken with it, so I did.”
He then reached out to Huskie Athletics administrators, who loved the idea.
Shelley Binegar, associate athletics director, said the Feb. 15 promotion will boost the “huge excitement” still pulsing through the hallways of the Convocation and Yordon centers and give fans an up-close look at the goods.
“We are continuing to promote the team – the team is being recognized at halftime – and created a traveling trophy tour for the community,” Binegar said. “We’re looking to increase season tickets to the 4,000 mark, which we have never reached before.”
Coach Dave Doeren and his reigning MAC Champion Huskies open their 2012 season Saturday, Sept. 1, at Soldier Field versus the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Orbik has high hopes that Huskie sports lovers who come out Feb. 15 for the free photos will prove and deepen their NIU loyalty by become a more-frequent “sixth man” for men’s basketball coach Mark Montgomery, women’s coach Kathi Bennett and their teams.
“With stronger fan support for our student-athletes and coaches,” he said, “maybe one day soon we will have some basketball trophies once again.”
