Huskie Stadium - Stadium History

Stadium History

Before the 1966 college football season, the Huskies played at Glidden Field, a 5,500 seat facility on the east end of campus. On September 20, 1969, the game between Northern Illinois and Idaho marked the state’s first major-college gridiron contest played on artificial turf; the Huskies won, 47–30. The field was re-carpeted in 1980 and 1990 before being replaced by a new FieldTurf surface in 2001. The stadium originally consisted of the main concrete west stands (which used to contain practice facilities for the gymnastics and wrestling teams) and much smaller temporary stands on the east side. The east side was completely redone in 1995, creating a steel structure to mirror the concrete one. The university has maintained and enhanced the institution’s all-around athletics facility, updating the scoreboard and video display system in both 2000 and 2001, and creating the South End Zone berm in 2002. In 2003, the field was renamed Brigham Field in honor of Robert J. Brigham, a former player, coach, and athletic director at the school.

In 2005, it was announced that the NIU Academic and Athletic Performance Center, a new field house and athletic training facility, would be built in the north end zone.

The stadium was also the site of a few NCAA records. On October 6, 1990, against Fresno State, quarterback Stacey Robinson rushed for 287 yards (262 m) in the 1st half, and finished with 308 overall, as the Huskies upset then-24th ranked Bulldogs, by a final score of 73–18. In that game, the Huskies established school records for rushing yards(733), total offense (806), and First Downs (36). It was also the first victory over a ranked opponent at the stadium. Since then, the Huskies have experienced large amounts of success in the national spotlight, defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Iowa State Cyclones and the Maryland Terrapins. Because of the Huskies success, NIU has averaged the highest attendance per game in the MAC between 2004-2006.

In recent years, the football program has generated national headlines for the institution. With seven consecutive winning seasons (best in the MAC), Northern Illinois has the 25th best record in the nation since 2000 (53–30)---including triumphs over Bowl Championship Series programs such as the Wake Forest, University of Alabama, University of Maryland, Purdue University (2009), and Iowa State University. The Huskies finished ranked in the Top 30 during the 2003 and 2004 seasons and defeated Troy University, 34–21, in the 2004 Silicon Valley Football Classic. In 2006, NIU faced off against TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, California making it the second time in the last three years NIU has gone to a postseason bowl game. The Huskies made it four bowls in six years with a trip to the International Bowl in 2010 against the University of South Florida.