Dave Doeren
Dave Doeren, who led Northern Illinois to back-to-back Mid-American Conference Championships and a 23-4 record in two seasons as head coach of the Huskies, has accepted the head coaching position at North Carolina State University, the Wolfpack announced Saturday.
Doeren, who coached NIU to a 44-37 overtime victory over No. 17 Kent State Friday night in Detroit, informed the Huskie team of his decision Saturday. NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff Compher addressed the players after Doeren.
“What Dave has done here in two seasons has been unprecedented,” Compher said. “His record on the field speaks for itself, and the family atmosphere and culture of hard work he has fostered have led directly to our success. Under Dave and his staff, Northern Illinois has gone from being a great team to being a great program.”
Compher said the effort to replace Doeren is already under way.
“We will move quickly, as we have in the past, to get the right person to lead this program going forward,” Compher said. “We are confident there is a high level of interest in Northern Illinois as the incoming staff will take over one of the best programs in the country.”
Doeren’s departure is effective immediately and he will not coach NIU in its bowl game, Compher said.
Northern Illinois is one of only two schools in the country to post three straight 11-win seasons under both Jerry Kill, now the head coach at Minnesota, in 2010 and Doeren in 2011-12.
The Huskies are the only FBS school with 21 wins in their last 22 games. With a school-record 12 consecutive wins, Northern Illinois is tied with Notre Dame and Ohio State for the longest winning streak in the country, owns the longest conference winning streak in the nation (17 games) and the longest home winning streak in the nation (21 games). The Huskies will play in their fifth straight bowl game in 2012 and the senior class is the winningest in school history with 41 victories over the last four seasons.
NIU will learn its 2012 bowl destination Sunday night.
The Huskies, who entered the MAC Championship game ranked No. 21 in the BCS Rankings, could be in line for a spot in a BCS bowl depending on Sunday’s poll rankings. The Mid-American Conference bowl tie-ins are with the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl in Detroit, the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala. and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
For more information on NIU football and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
