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Huskie football to face San Diego St. twice beginning in 2016

July 29, 2014

NIU Huskie Football fansThe Northern Illinois University Huskies will take on San Diego State in a home-and-home football series in 2016 and 2017, NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier announced Tuesday on the first day of Huskie Football “SchedulePalooza.”

NIU and San Diego State will meet in DeKalb in 2016 and will play in San Diego in 2017. The Aztecs will become the first active Mountain West Conference team to play in Huskie Stadium on Sept. 17, 2016. On Sept. 30, 2017, NIU will return to the city of San Diego to play a football game for the third time; the Huskies played in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in 2006 and 2013.

Frazier said the series with San Diego State meets the Huskies’ scheduling goals of bringing quality opponents to Huskie Stadium and taking on teams from the Group of Five and Power Five leagues on a home-and-home basis.

“Going forward, the College Football Playoff Committee will be evaluating Group of Five match-ups like this,” Frazier said. “San Diego State is the type of successful program we want to have on the schedule, and it’s exciting to bring a Mountain West Conference team to Huskie Stadium for the first time.”

San Diego State has made four straight bowl appearances and is the only non-Power 5 league to have multiple players selected in the NFL Draft in four consecutive seasons. The Aztecs defeated Buffalo, 49-24, in the 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho. SDSU plays its home games in Qualcomm Stadium.

NIU and San Diego State last played in 1971, with all four of the previous meetings held between 1967 and 1971. SDSU owns a 4-0 lead in the all-time series and has won both games played in Huskie Stadium.

The Huskies have never faced a Mountain West Conference team at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies have played only two games against a team that was a MWC member at the time of the game with both of those meetings coming in San Diego in the Poinsettia Bowl. NIU is 5-8 all-time against current members of the Mountain West Conference.

Beginning Tuesday, NIU is announcing one new football series every day this week on NIUHuskies.com as part of SchedulePalooza. In addition, future series will be announced as they are finalized in August. The announcements are the result of nearly a year of work by Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier and his staff, and may include games between 2015 and 2023.

The Huskies will give their fans a chance to guess that day’s opponent by offering “hints” to their followers on the Huskies’ primary social media platforms – @NIUAthletics on Twitter and NIU Huskies on Instagram and Facebook.

SchedulePalooza will lead directly into the start of preseason camp for the NIU football team as the Huskies open practice on Saturday, Aug. 2nd. NIU’s 46 wins over the last four seasons are the second-highest total in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Huskies take a school and MAC record 26-game home stadium winning streak into the 2014 season opener versus Presbyterian on Thursday, Aug. 28th at 6 p.m.

Season tickets offer the best value for the best seats at Huskie Stadium at a cost of just $110 for all five 2014 home games. Season ticket holders receive a gift and invitations to exclusive season ticket holder events in addition to the same seat for every game. Members of the NIU Alumni Association, senior citizens and NIU faculty and staff receive a $15 discount on every season ticket.

Season tickets, as well as single game tickets and away game tickets, can be purchased through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the NIU Convocation Center, online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets or by calling 815-753-PACK (7225).