Back in the summer of 2014, Northern Illinois University Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier announced a flurry of future football contests in what they dubbed as “SchedulePalooza.”
Among the schedule additions for the Huskies were home-and-home series with BYU, Maryland, San Diego State, Tulsa, USF, Utah, and Vanderbilt.
Northern Illinois also announced a home-and-home series with the Boston College Eagles, which was played in 2015 in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and in 2017 in DeKalb, Ill. Boston College won both contests, 17-14 and 23-20, respectively.
While it appeared at the time that the NIU-Boston College series was complete, the two schools still have one more game scheduled. Although announced as a home-and-home, the series is actually a two-for-one, according to a copy of the contract obtained from Northern Illinois University via a state Freedom of Information Act request.
According to the contract, which is dated August 29, 2014, Northern Illinois will travel to take on Boston College at Alumni Stadium on either Friday, September 1 or Saturday, September 2, 2023. The specific date of the game will be mutually determined no later than one year prior to kickoff, per the contract.
Boston College will pay Northern Illinois a $1.1 million guarantee for the contest in 2023, per the contract. The Eagles paid the Huskies $350,000 for the 2015 contest, which was followed by a $300,000 payment from Northern Illinois to Boston College for the contest in 2017.
With the game at Boston College, Northern Illinois’ non-conference schedule for the 2023 season is tentatively complete. NIU is also scheduled to host Southern Illinois (Sept. 9) and Tulsa (Sept. 23) and travel to Nebraska (Sept. 16).
Boston College’s 2023 non-conference is also set with the addition of Northern Illinois. Other opponents scheduled for BC include Holy Cross (Sept. 9) and UConn (Oct. 28) at home and Army (Oct. 7) on the road.
Football Schedules