Northern Illinois has worked to position itself as the Boise State of the Midwest, and has lived up to that self-appointed billing by winning on the field with four straight MAC West titles and two conference crowns and by lining up a national non-conference schedule. Boise State built its brand by doing both of those.
Next comes facilities, and the Huskies announced a new grand master plan on Thursday
“This is a launching point for Huskie Athletics,” athletics director Sean T. Frazier said in the announcement. “Now that we have the plan, we will move forward with the evaluation of the projects to determine our priorities. I know that I’m excited for the next steps because we have the passion, the drive and the determination to make it happen, and it’s going to be outstanding."
The master plan will touch about every corner of the Northern Illinois athletics campus, with football's Huskie Stadium at the top of the list. "Three areas of Huskie Stadium are addressed, with the East Side receiving a major makeover with premium suites and club seating, the creation of a new South Endzone, and phased improvements to the West Side," reads the release.
Capacity presently sits at 24,000. No official figures have been released, but the new project figures to boost that figure above 30,000.
The East side:
East side interior:
West side:
South side:
As a point of reference, here is Huskie Stadium in its current form:
A timetable for construction was not listed in Northern Illinois' press release.