Northern Illinois Huskies football

Northern Illinois Huskies football
2025 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
First season1899; 127 years ago
Athletic directorSean Frazier
Head coachRob Harley (Interim)
1st season, 0–0 (–)
LocationDeKalb, Illinois
StadiumHuskie Stadium
(capacity: 28,211)
FieldBrigham Field
NCAA divisionDivision I FBS
ConferenceMountain West
ColorsCardinal and black
   
All-time record622–541–51 (.533)
Bowl record6–10 (.375)
National championships
ClaimedDiv. II: 1963
Conference championships
IIAC: 1938, 1944
IIAC: 1951, 1963, 1964, 1965
MAC: 1983, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2021
Conference division championships
MAC West: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021
Consensus All-Americans2
RivalriesBall State (rivalry)
Fight song"Huskie Fight Song"
MascotVictor E. Huskie
Marching bandThe Pride of the Midwest
WebsiteNIUHuskies.com

The Northern Illinois Huskies football team are a college football program representing Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. NIU football plays its home games at Huskie Stadium on the campus of the Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

The Huskies completed the most recent of their two stints in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the 2025 season, having first played in the conference from 1975 to 1985 before returning in 1997. They won six MAC championships – in 1983, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2021. NIU has played in 12 postseason bowl games since 2004, most notably the 2013 Orange Bowl.

The Huskies have agreed to move to the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member in 2026.