Northern Illinois Extends Mark Montgomery Through 2017-2018

The Northern Illinois Huskies announced on Friday that men's basketball coach Mark Montgomery would be receiving a contract extension through the 2017-18 season, adding an additional two years to his contract.

Montgomery, in just his third season with the Huskies, has begun to turn around one of the worst programs in the MAC (and nation). His first two years didn't start out on the right foot, as the Huskies won just five games each season, but managed to lose a total of 51 games. In fact, since their 2005-06 campaign, when the Huskies went 17-11, NIU had not won more than 10 games in a season. Until this year.

This season saw a 10-game improvement over last season, the largest single-season win turnaround in school history. The Huskies 15-17 record, while not great, did propel Montgomery to finish second in the MAC Coach of the Year voting and got the Huskies a seven seed in the MAC Tournament. The Huskies also won six non-conference games this season (the most since the 1999-2000 season) and had ten home wins, something they had not accomplished since 1994-95!

"We made many positive strides this past season and I am excited about the future of NIU basketball. We look forward to raising the bar and reaching new heights in years to come," Montgomery said in a statement.

The Huskies are expected to return all but two players next season and, if their offense can improve, they could be a real threat in the MAC West.