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Northern Illinois University Huskies

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Pg. Section56 Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center57-58 Northern Illinois University59 Location60 Mid-American Conference61 President John G. Peters62 Director of Athletics Jeff Compher

HUskIe atHletIcs

JEFFREY & KIMBERLY YORDON CENTER Opened in August 2007, the state-of-the-art Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center benefits every student-athlete and all 17 programs on campus. The Yordon Center provides Huskie student-athletes with facilities in which to develop their minds, bodies and spirits as they work toward achieving academic and athletic success. It is a cornerstone facility in Northern Illinois’ athletic footprint, centrally located adjacent to Huskie Stadium as well as NIU’s baseball, softball, tennis and soccer sites. Every aspect of the Yordon Center is designed to help NIU meet its goal of providing a “world class” experience for its current Huskie student-athletes, and to ensure the ongoing success of the Northern Illinois intercollegiate athletic program. The facility provides an impressive welcome for prospective student-athletes and their families, alumni, donors, guests and visitors. A few highlights of this state-of-the-art facility:

Frances and George Wilkins Academic Support Center (honoring Carole & Joe Novak): The heart of the 62,000-square foot facility features one-on-one tutorial rooms, a group study room and a fully-equipped computer lab, as well as offices for the counselors of the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS). This area brings the staff of SAASS into more direct daily contact with NIU’s student-athletes. Strength and Conditioning Center: At 12,500 square-feet, NIU’s professional strength and conditioning coaches avoid scheduling conflicts while allowing space for warm-ups, plyometric exercises and speed and agility activities. The spacious area features brand new equipment with a variety and multitude of machines, as well as a four-lane sprint track. Athletic Training Room: All Huskie student-athletes benefit from the dramatically increased space and improved facilities used by NIU’s professional athletic training staff and the team doctors to prevent, treat and rehabilitate injuries. Doctors and trainers alike have been provided all the tools they need, as the Yordon Center’s state-of-the-art health center features an X-ray room, doctor’s office, two rehabilitation pools, a drug testing area and offices for staff. Equipment Room: Features include an expandable storage system, laundry drop system, pass through lockers and ample counter and work space for the equipment staff. Home of Huskie Football: The full-time home of the Huskie football program features new locker rooms for both student-athletes and coaches along with meeting rooms and office space. The beautiful football locker room provides the team with not only 120 lockers, but an informal gathering space and a comfortable area to relax and prepare before and after practice. On the second floor, the Huskie coaching staff works and meets in new offices with the latest video equipment. The offices include three conference rooms, a head coaching suite and nine assistant coaches’ offices overlooking Brigham Field, as well as a video editing room. The second floor also features meeting rooms for each position group, and the tiered McCareins Room with capacity of 150, which is also used by Student-Athlete Academic Support Services for larger group sessions.

Top: An exterior view of the Yordon Center.

Middle: The strength and conditioning center features 12,500 square-feet, state-of-the-art equipment and a four-lane sprint track.

Bottom: Student-athletes from all 17 Huskie programs have access to the computer lab as part of the Academic Support Center.

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HUskIe atHletIcs

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY Northern Illinois University is among the nation’s premier regional public universities. Located in one of the most dynamic regions of the country, NIU is a comprehensive teaching and research institution with a diverse and international student body of more than 25,000.

uNIU has been ranked in the top four percent of all American universities by the Carnegie Foundation, having received the agency’s highest possible designation – “Doctoral/Research University Extensive.”

uThe American Chemical Society (ACS) has ranked the NIU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry among the top 25 in the nation for the number of ACS-certified bachelor’s degrees awarded annually. The department also is well known for producing highly sought-after chemistry and science teachers.

u U.S. News ranks the NIU Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) program as fourth-best nationally in the field of city management and eighth for public finance.

uThe NIU MPA program has been a major force behind efforts to professionalize municipal staffs in Illinois and advance the national good government movement. About one-third of Illinois city managers are graduates of the program.

u NIU’s Department of Accountancy has been ranked in the nation’s top 10 by the Public Accounting Report for the last four years, while its graduate program has become a fixture in that ranking’s top 20.

Top: Altgeld Hall houses the university administration offices and is Northern Illinois University’s oldest, and most iconic, building.

Bottom: The Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center is used for a variety of campus gatherings and events.The Holmes Student Center sits near the center of the Northern Illinois campus.

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uLast year, U.S. News and World Report placed NIU Accountancy among the top 25 accounting programs in the country.

u NIU’s marketing program is ranked among the top five percent in the nation by Chicago-based Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training.

uNIU’s Professional Selling program was the first collegiate sales program in the nation certified by SMT.

uThe NIU College of Business was ranked 65th in BusinessWeek’s 2007 ranking of best undergraduate business programs in the country. The college received especially high marks for the quality of its faculty, its job placement services and for its facilities. According to the survey, “With dedicated professors and extraordinary facilities, students say NIU provides a private school education on a state school budget.”

uIn 2006, Crain’s Chicago Business asked local MBA graduates to rate their schools. Nobody was more pleased than NIU alumni, who reported the highest overall satisfaction and gave the highest marks to the teachers in their program. With endorsements like that, Crain’s placed the NIU MBA program among the top seven in Chicago.

uBlack Issues in Higher Education magazine consistently ranks NIU in the top 100 institutions nationwide for graduating minority students, including No. 1 in the country for number of graduate degrees in education awarded to African-Americans.

uNIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology ranked in the top 40 among engineering master’s degree programs nationwide this year, according to U.S. News and World Report.

uAll December 2005 NIU School of Nursing graduates passed the state board exams with scores in the 100th percentile on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Examination. Comparatively, the pass rate is 86 percent for all nursing programs in Illinois and for all U.S. programs.

NIU Fast Facts

uThe main campus in DeKalb (population 40,000) spans 755 acres. NIU also operates outreach centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford and Oregon, Ill.

uNIU has seven degree-granting colleges, 55 undergraduate majors, and 75 graduate programs, including 10 Ph.D. programs, doctoral degrees in education and the Juris Doctorate.

uThe student to faculty ratio is 17 to 1. 91 percent of NIU students are from Illinois, 46 percent are men, 54 percent are women, 26 percent ethnic minorities and there are 862 international students from 88 nations.

uNIU has 1,279 faculty members and the average class size is 28 students (18 in senior-level classes). There are 40 academic departments.

uFounders Memorial Library and its seven branch libraries contain more than 2 million books and 6,000 electronic journals.

uAltgeld Hall, opened in 1899 and rededicated in 2004, is NIU’s oldest building.

Notable alUmNI

businessDennis Barsema - Chairman of the Board, Blue Lane Technologies, Inc.

Jeff Yordon - Chief Executive Officer, Sagent Pharmaceuticals

educationPaul Sereno - Paleontologist

entertainmentDan Castellaneta - Actor, Voice of Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

governmentDennis Hastert - Representative (retired), 14th District of Illinois; former Speaker of the House of Representatives

lawBarbara Giorgi-Vella - Partner, Vella & Lund, P.C.

mediaTim Bennett - President, Harpo Productions, Inc.

scienceKathleen O. Havelka - Chemist, The Lubrizol Corporation

sportsJustin McCareins - Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans

Left: A view of NIU campus dorms. Right: Former Huskie gymnast Jen Rice receives her degree at NIU’s 2008 commencement.


HUskIe atHletIcs

AN IDEAL LOCATION The home of Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois provides NIU students with a college-town atmosphere in the shadow of one of the world’s great cities. Located just 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and less than half that distance from the city’s ever-expanding western suburbs, DeKalb maintains a unique character and offers a quality existence to its nearly 45,000 residents.

uDeKalb is successfully combining the old and the new as brick-paved streets and historic homes co-exist with a growing business sector and brand new residential and commercial developments.

uThe proximity of Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, means that local citizens, including NIU student-athletes, have easy access to the city’s many offerings, including cultural events and festivals, professional sports, restaurants, theatres and recreational facilities. Three airports – O’Hare, Midway and Rockford – are within an hour’s drive of the NIU campus.

uIn addition to many activities, including athletics, available on campus, DeKalb is famous for its annual “CornFest,” welcoming students back to town in late August. During CornFest, streets in downtown DeKalb are closed, bands play and vendors open their doors to the returning population. Nearly 10,000 ears of sweet corn from fields that surround the city are given away free at the Corn Boil.

uA comprehensive bus service, proposed high-speed fiber-optic cable installation and a young population (25% are age 20-25) make DeKalb a growing and vibrant community in which to live, work and play.

Top: A view of the DeKalb water tower when heading into town.

Bottom: Thousands of people flock to DeKalb each August for the annual “CornFest” celebration that coincides with the return of NIU students to campus.

Above left: Looking down Lincoln Highway at the center of downtown DeKalb. Above right: DeKalb is situated between Rockford and Chicago and can be easily accessed from several major highways and three airports.


HUskIe atHletIcs

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE Providing leadership in education and in diversity, the Mid-American Conference moves into its 62nd year of service to the student-athlete in 2008-09.

Since its inception in 1946, the Mid-American Conference has progressively grown and developed into one of the most aggressive Division I conferences in the country. Under the guidance of Commissioner Rick Chryst, the seventh commissioner in the history of the league, the MAC has responded to the ever-changing landscape of membership issues and member standards in the fast-paced environment of collegiate athletics.

In its partnership with ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, an unprecedented 25 football games involving MAC schools will be televised in 2008. That number includes regular season and post season events on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPN360. In addition, an eight-game MAC Game of the Week will be syndicated on ESPN Plus and available on over-the-air network affiliates to more than 22 million homes in the Midwest.

Based in Cleveland since July 1999 following a 15-year stay in Toledo, Ohio, the MAC has established historic measurements in both football and men’s and women’s basketball since its move to Northeast Ohio.

The Mid-American Conference was founded as a five-school league on February 24, 1946 in Columbus, Ohio with Ohio, Butler, Cincinnati, Wayne State and Western Reserve admitted as charter members. Now, the Mid-American Conference has 12 full-time schools and a 13th, Temple, for football only. Comprising the East Division is the University of Akron (joined in 1992), Bowling Green State University (1952), University at Buffalo (1998), Kent State University (1951), Miami University (1947) , Ohio University (1946) and Temple University (2007). The West Division members are Ball State University (1973), Central Michigan University (1971), Eastern Michigan University (1971), Northern Illinois University (1975-86, 1997), University of Toledo (1950) and Western Michigan University (1947).

Commissioner Rick Chryst

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE24 Public Square, 15th FloorCleveland, OH 44113

Website: www.mac-sports.comPhone: 216-566-4622Fax: 216-858-9622

Commissioner Rick ChrystDeputy Commissioner Bob GennarelliAssociate Commissioner/Legislative & Compliance Services Dell RobinsonAssociate Commissioner/Director of Men’s Basketball Operations Rick BoyagesAsst. Commissioner/Media Relations Gary RichterAsst. Commissioner/Special Events Aimee Dupree-ChambersDirector of Sport Programs Krista PlummerDirector of Compliance Jeff BaconDirector of Finance Betty SislakAssociate Media Relations Director Jeremy GuyAssistant Media Relations Director Erin Dugan

mac DIvIsIoNal alIgNmeNtwest division east division

Ball State Cardinals ...................................www.ballstatesports.com

Central Michigan Chippewas ..................... www.cmuchippewas.com

Eastern Michigan Eagles ................................. www.emueagles.com

Northern Illinois Huskies ..................................www.niuhuskies.com

Toledo Rockets ....................................................www.utrockets.com

Western Michigan Broncos ............................www.wmubroncos.com

Akron Zips ............................................................... www.gozips.com

Bowling Green Falcons....................................www.bgsufalcons.com

Buffalo Bulls ...................................................www.buffalobulls.com

Kent State Golden Flashes ........................www.kentstatesports.com

Miami RedHawks ...........................................www.muredhawks.com

Ohio Bobcats ................................................. www.ohiobobcats.com

Temple Owls (Football Only) ................................ www.owlsports.com

tHe mac


DR. JOHN G. PeteRs

northern illinois university president

Dr. John G. Peters is the eleventh president of Northern Illinois University, a post he has held since June 2000. As NIU’s chief executive officer, Dr. Peters provides strategic direction and oversight for a nationally recognized, comprehensive university serving more than 25,000 students in 120 areas of study at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Under his leadership, NIU has both expanded and refined its institutional vision to more closely align teaching, research and outreach

efforts with emerging needs of the northern Illinois / Chicagoland region.

A native of Strongsville, Ohio, Dr. Peters earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Cleveland’s John Carroll University, and a master’s in government from Ohio University in Athens. In 1974, he received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to assuming the NIU presidency, Dr. Peters was provost and chief operating officer at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His distinguished academic career also includes twenty years in teaching and administrative roles at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned numerous awards for work in and out of the classroom.

Dr. Peters’ presidency at NIU has been marked by substantial increases in university reputation and new sources of funding. In his first year as president, he gained admission for NIU to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), an honor reserved for the top five percent of universities nationwide. That same year, Dr. Peters secured NIU’s largest-ever private gift: $20 million for a new College of Business building. Since that time, President Peters has led efforts to expand federal funding of select NIU research programs – a campaign that has garnered more than $60 million, strengthened key partnerships with state and federal research programs, and enhanced NIU’s standing in the prestigious Carnegie Foundation rankings of research institutions. NIU’s longstanding commitment to regional service has also received new attention and support under Dr. Peters’ leadership. His vision of NIU as “the nation’s premier regional public university” has been the basis for substantial enhancement of regional partnerships with schools, business, health care and local governmental agencies.

In 2005, Dr. Peters established an ambitious five-year plan that leverages historic NIU strengths by connecting regional engagement and applied research to the university’s well-known focus on real-world learning experiences. Following a year-long strategic planning process involving hundreds of NIU faculty, staff and students, the university emerged with an

ambitious blueprint for institutional growth known as the Great Journeys Strategic Plan. Fortified by that plan and more than $100 million in private donations, NIU last year launched True North – the university’s first-ever comprehensive capital campaign.

Dr. Peters’ reputation as a consensus-builder and education policy expert puts him much in demand for leadership roles in statewide and national organizations. He is currently a member of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and serves on that group’s executive committee, as well as its Task Force on Commercial Activity in Intercollegiate Athletics. He has served as chair of the Mid-American Conference Council of Presidents and is a member of that group’s executive committee. His leadership in the area of intercollegiate athletics also includes membership on the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee representing the coalition conferences. Dr. Peters served as Illinois’ representative to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). He is a member of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Commission on International Education; NASULGC’s Commission on Women in Higher Education; and is co-chair of Illinois’ Center for Child Welfare and Education. He is a member of the Fermi Research Alliance Board of Directors, the governing board for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, and was appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich to a task force that promotes funding for Argonne National Laboratory’s ambitious Rare Isotope Accelerator project. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education named Dr. Peters to a special task force studying math and science education, providing a national perspective for his ongoing work with education and economic development groups throughout the Midwest.

A political scientist by training, Dr. Peters specializes in studies of public policy and Congress. He has published widely, including articles in the Journal of Policy Studies, American Politics Quarterly, American Political Science Review, and Legislative Studies Quarterly, and has co-edited two books on American politics. He is a Fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies and has served as the associate editor of the Great Plains Quarterly. Dr. Peters and his wife, Barbara Cole Peters, have a son, Russell, who lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife and young son.

President Peters addresses the media during an athletics press conference.

President Peters congratulates a graduate during a recent NIU commencement.


Northern Illinois University President John Peters introduced Jeff Compher as the Huskies’ new associate vice-president and director of athletics on April 15, 2008 and he began his tenure leading NIU’s 17-sport program on June 1.

A veteran collegiate athletics administrator, Compher came to DeKalb after nearly four years at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash. where he served as executive associate athletic director and was responsible for the general management and daily operations of the athletic department at the

Pac 10 school. The Baltimore, Md. native also brought previous experience as an athletic director to Northern Illinois as he led the athletics program at Western Carolina University from 2000 to 2004.

Peters said Compher’s well-rounded background and depth of experience made him the perfect choice to lead the Huskies’ athletic program. “Jeff has it all,” Peters said. “His experience in fundraising, athletics administration and overall management of sports programs stood out to me and to the search committee. I am confident that Jeff will take Huskie athletics to the next level in terms of our academic and athletic performance, and his commitment to the welfare of student-athletes is unquestioned.” At Washington, Compher had day-to-day responsibility for a 23-sport, 650 student-athlete department, including direct oversight of the football, men’s basketball, baseball and crew teams, as well as facilities and game operations. He also managed the student-athlete welfare areas, including strength and conditioning, athletic training, video services and equipment. Washington won a pair of national championships – in women’s volleyball and men’s crew – during his time there, and consistently ranked in the top 30 in the Director’s Cup standings while surpassing NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate standards. At both UW and Western Carolina, Compher was directly involved with capital projects and facility renovations, including construction of a new track/soccer and tennis complex and a significant expansion of the football stadium at Western Carolina, and the completion of the Football Legends Center at the University of Washington. While at WCU, he also hired successful head coaches who have since been hired at BCS programs, and saw the operating budget increase by 42 percent and the total budget for athletic scholarships improve by 113 percent. New initiatives at Western Carolina benefited current and former student-athletes as he developed the CHAMPS/Life Skills program and started an organization for former letterwinners. During his tenure in Cullowhee, the Catamount teams improved their individual and conference records and the baseball, women’s golf and indoor track

and field teams won Southern Conference titles.

As associate and then senior associate athletic director at Vanderbilt University for four years, Compher directed nearly every area of the department, including leading the external areas from 1998-2000 with oversight of fundraising, marketing and promotions, corporate sponsorship and ticket sales and multimedia rights. Prior to that, he oversaw the NCAA compliance, academic support, strength and conditioning, equipment and CHAMPS/Life Skills areas at Vanderbilt. At each of his previous three stops, Compher has been involved in developing and implementing long-range planning and working closely with constituencies within and outside the university. He has emphasized the student-athlete experience at every stop of his career. His philosophy on the essential qualities and responsibilities of a Division I director of athletics include: directing a program that honors, serves and enhances the mission of the university; building an effective team; developing effective communication and organizational structure; leading, inspiring and motivating others; creating a success-oriented learning environment and developing the resources to compete on a national level. Compher spent 13 years in several different positions at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., both within and outside the athletic department. As assistant athletic director at N.C. State from 1986-92, he managed the student-athlete support services units, established the first life skills program and handled scheduling and travel for the football and men’s basketball teams. He also served as director of the Chancellor’s Circle in the Office of University Development at NCSU, where he restructured the fundraising and gift club recognition program while doubling membership in the fund. He was the assistant to the chancellor at N.C. State before moving on to Vanderbilt and back into athletics administration. Throughout his career, the 49-year-old Compher has continued his education, participating in the NACDA Management Institute (1998), the Sports Management Institute Executive Program (1998-99) and the Division I-A Athletic Directors’ Institute (2005 and 2006). He served on numerous university committees at each of his previous stops and spent time in the classroom as an instructor at Washington, Western Carolina and N.C. State. Compher said the fact that Huskie athletics is already positioned for success, along with the leadership of Peters, made the decision to come to Northern Illinois easy. “This athletic department is in great shape, and that makes it an extremely attractive position,” he said. “I believe this university has a chance to really do well in the Mid-American Conference. We can be competitive, and the opportunities are there for success at every level. We have a great academic institution next to one of the top

cities in the country.” Compher earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University, where he was a football student-athlete, in 1980, and graduated with a master’s degree in counseling and student personnel services from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in 1982. His first position in collegiate administration was at North Carolina State, where he was the assistant director of Housing and Residence Life from 1982 to 1986. He and his wife, the former Cathy Fatica, have two sons, C.J. (16) and David (13).

The Compher family (from left): Jeff, David, C.J. and Cathy.


jeff compher

associate v.p./director of athletics

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