Hustle Belt Hall of Fame Nominations: Northern Illinois Huskies

They say the summer time is a slow time for the sports world. Slow? Maybe. But it’s also a good time to do some things that perhaps we (and ultimately, you) don’t have time for through the hustle and bustle of the sports calendar year. So in that accord, we’re happy to be undertaking a bit of a project this summer where the best and brightest of the Mid-American Conference gets recognized forever in the hallowed halls of Hustle Belt, the web’s premier home for MACtion and all things MACtion-related, in the newly crafted Hustle Belt Hall of Fame.

Here’s how the Hall of Fame works:

1. Some info and the schedule for the Hall of Fame can be found here.
2. Nominations are solicited from the community via a post just like this one for each of our MAC programs.
3. After all MAC programs’ nominations, no more than 10 nominees are put forward for each school and a poll is created.
4. The top two vote getters in each school’s poll is inducted into the Hustle Hall of Fame. Simple.

Next up is the Northern Illinois Huskies!

If this was a football-only Hall of Fame for team successes, NIU would be at the top of the list. There’s really not an argument to be made that in regard to sustained success, NIU is head and shoulders above the rest of the Mid-American Conference, at least in recent memory (and barring last season). If you doubt that, ask an NIU fan. They’ll be sure to let you know. But the Hustle Hall of Fame isn’t just about pigskin. It’s a hallowed hall spanning all the various sports that your favorite program engages in. Here’s our initial list of NIU nominees:

• George Bork (Football)
• Jordan Lynch (Football)
• Chandler Harnish (Football)
• Michael Turner (Football)
• Garret Wolfe (Football)
• LeShon Johnson (Football)
• George "Chick" Evens (Football/Basketball Coach)
• Joe Novak (Football Coach)
• Fritz Peterson (Baseball)
• Paul Dawkins (Men's Basketball)
• Jim Bradley (Men's Basketball
• TJ Lux (Men's Basketball)
• Carol Owens (Women's Basketball)
• Lisa Foss (Women's Basketball)
• Jean Pankonin (Badminton, Women's Basketball, Field Hockey, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball)
• Ruth Fender (Field Hockey, Golf, Softball, Volleyball)
• Ron Conrad (Wrestling)
• Ben Heizer (Wrestling)

Of course, the nominations above are the best we could do, but we are far from the expert that you likely are. So, we’re asking fans like you to tell us who we may have missed (or who shouldn’t be in there) in the comment section below. Do your best, and don’t worry... it’s only for an immortal award.

Comment section, Huskies fans. Come fan with us!