MAC announces 2010 football schedule
The Mid-American Conference announced the 2010 football schedule this afternoon. Here is what Northern Illinois' schedule will be for 2010. You can check out the full MAC schedule here.
The Huskies open up the season with a Thursday night game at Iowa State. Following that, NIU plays its lone home game of the first five weeks with a game against an FCS team in North Dakota. The Huskies round out the non-conference schedule with games at Illinois and at Minnesota.
After a trip to Akron to start the MAC schedule, NIU gets four of five at home and will conclude the season with road trips to Ball State and Eastern Michigan.
The Huskies get a long layoff in-between a trip to Western Michigan on Oct. 30 and playing Toledo at home at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9 on ESPN2.
“Scheduling is a difficult process and a lot of things go into it,” NIU coach Jerry Kill said in a news release. “As a coaching staff and a team, we play who is on the schedule. You’d like not to play four of the first five on the road, but we’re looking forward to the first game at Iowa State and that’s what we’re concentrating on.
“There’s no question the MAC will be extremely competitive again in 2010. People like to focus on the non-conference schedule, and those games in the first month of the season are important and will present a big challenge for our team, but our goal every year is to win our league.”
NIU plays only five home games this season, as Kill and NIU athletic director Jeff Compher scheduled three non-conference road games, with the payouts from the Illinois and Minnesota games alone totaling over $1 million.
What do you think of NIU's schedule for the 2010 season?
Northern Illinois
Sep.
2 at Iowa State
11 North Dakota
18 at Illinois
25 at Minnesota
Oct.
2 at Akron
9 Temple
16 Buffalo
23 Central Michigan
30 at Western Michigan
Nov.
9 Toledo, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
20 at Ball State
26 at Eastern Michigan, TBA (ESPNU/ESPN360.com#)
#ESPN Multiple-Game Selection Date (an ESPN weekday multiple-game selection date will be announced 12 days prior to the listed date. One (1) game will be selected by each ESPN service listed).
