Northern Illinois hosts Western Illinois to open coach Thomas Hammock’s 6th season

Northern Illinois welcomes Western Illinois to DeKalb on Saturday for the 2024 season opener. It’s the fourth time in coach Thomas Hammock’s six seasons that the Huskies are playing an in-state FCS school in their first home game. NIU beat Illinois State in 2019 in Hammock’s first game as head coach and beat Eastern Illinois to open the 2022 season but lost to Southern Illinois in last year’s ...