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Chessick Practice Center brick campaign begins

August 31, 2012

Artist’s rendering of Chessick Practice CenterWork on Northern Illinois’ newest athletic facility, the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center, is set to begin this fall.

NIU fans now can make their marks on Huskie history – literally – by purchasing lifetime legacy bricks in the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Huskie Pride Plaza.

With each brick purchase, proceeds from the NIU Legacy Brick Campaign will directly support the construction of the Chessick Practice Center. Fan bricks will be prominently featured at the entryway of both the Yordon and Chessick centers around a beautiful statue of three heroic scale Huskies.

Thousands of guests, not to mention generations of future Huskie students and student-athletes, will pass by the legacy bricks as they become a permanent part of the “gateway” to the home of Northern Illinois Athletics.

In a little less than a year since the historic announcement of a $3 million leadership gift from Kenneth and Ellen Chessick, Huskie Athletics and the NIU Foundation have amassed gifts and commitments totaling more than $9.1 million. The NIU Huskies Legacy Brick Campaign is positioned to allow all Huskie fans the opportunity to support the new facility and help get NIU across the goal line of the $9.5 million campaign goal.

“We have had tremendous leadership gift support from several donors for the Chessick Practice Center,” said Jeff Compher, NIU associate vice president and director of Athletics. “Throughout the campaign many of our loyal fans and season tickets holders have asked how they can get involved and help with the project. We believe the Legacy Brick Campaign provides an attractive way for all of our fans to help finish off the campaign … one brick at a time.”

Fans can choose to purchase legacy bricks for themselves, family members, friends, businesses or in memory of someone special to them with a unique message engraved on each brick. Each brick option comes with a complimentary keepsake replica and an individually numbered “Certificate of Ownership.”

Replicas are made of the same material as the installed brick, and are inscribed with the same personal message as the brick at the Huskie Pride Plaza.

A small plaque commemorating the contribution to the NIU Huskies Legacy Brick Campaign will also be included. Fans buying the brick for someone else may purchase gift certificates for bricks, allowing recipients to create their own personal message on their legacy brick.

NIU Huskies Legacy Brick CampaignSizes and prices for the NIU Legacy Bricks are:

  • 4”x 8” brick with replica includes 1-3 lines of text – $200* (additional replicas $55)
  • 8”x 8” brick with replica includes 1-6 lines of text – $400* (additional replicas $80)
  • 8”x 8” Huskie Logo brick with replica includes 1-4 lines of text – $500*(additional replicas $95)

* Price includes shipping replicas to a home or office within the contiguous United States, excluding Hawaii and Alaska.

To place an order, visit www.NIUHuskies.com/fanbricks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or call 855-NIU-FANS (855-648-3267) between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. (CST) Monday through Friday.

Visit the NIU Huskies Legacy Brick Campaign website at www.imaginemyniubrick.com to see the virtual Chessick Practice Center brick where fans can enter their personal message to see how it will appear on the brick. Examples of what other fans have put on bricks, and a “Frequently Asked Questions” page provide specific information on the campaign.

Installation of the legacy bricks is scheduled prior to Fall 2013. Once the legacy bricks are installed, a locator map will allow fans to find their specific Huskie bricks in the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Huskie Pride Plaza.

For more information on Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.