Sports return to NIU, AD Phillips resigns

Last night was the return of sports to Northern Illinois Unversity. Despite losing 56-49, it was very fortunate to see the team back on the court. We had an attendance of 2,032, which I think is our 3rd best for the season. The attendance was disappointing, but somewhat reasonable considering there were only 700 or so people at the last game. Let's not forget that our basketball team is 6-18 and plays in the MAC conference.

Read any article and it will tell you that more people should have gone to the game. Maybe it was a problem with marketing and nobody knew about the game. People may have been expecting a Virginia Tech-esque crowd of people. We don't have any legacy in basketball. The last time we made a tourney was in 1996. Ricardo Patton has us on the right tracks, just now is not the time. Now if there was a football game coming up, the crowd for that would have been insane and would have set the attendance record without a doubt.



AD Jim Phillips is gone to Northwestern. The hiring happened weeks ago, but the announcement was obviously delayed because of the February 14th shootings. It would not have been appropriate to announce his resignation because of the situation.

It was only a matter of time the arguably greatest AD NIU has ever seen would leave the school. He has done so much for the university and was a master of fundraising, upgrading NIU's facilities significantly with the opening of the Yordon AAPC last fall.

Phillips had a contagious positive personality that everybody he met and talked to got to feel. He had to make tough decisions in the firing of basketball coach Rob Judson and hiring of Ricardo Patton from Colorado, providing the resources needed to succeed in that sport in the future.

Not only did he hire Patton, he also went through 1,000 resumes in the hiring of new head football coach Jerry Kill. It was the absolutely perfect time to get a new football coach, and Phillips completed the task admirably.

We offered to match Northwestern's offer, but he just had to make the decision to move on. It was the best decision he could have made and here's why: Ron Guenther, the AD for University of Illinois is expected to leave after 2010. That is the dream job for Phillips, because he is an alum from U of I from the class of 1990. That job is the biggest opportunity for Phillips, except he is not guaranteed the job will be available to him. He may not be hired to be the AD for Illinois 2 years from now. So instead of putting all of his eggs in one basket, Phillips has decided to move up to the Big 10 and have Illinois pry him away from NW.

Goodbye Jim, we will never forget you and will always appreciate the things you have done for this university.

One Week Later

First of all, check out the NIU Athletics link on the right to check out the cool tribute they have.

At this point, there's only one thing you can do as a student of Northern Illinois University. You have to acknowledge the fact that this entire incident happened and move on.

There's no sense in dwelling on the subject, since Donald Grady and the rest of the NIU Police are doing the best job they can in analyzing interviews, evidence and figure out anything about the motive of the shooter. It's not our fault that the coward took out his hard drive from his computer and the sim card from his phone to thwart the investigation.

The best thing we can do as students is just move on and focus on other positive things. This event has brought to life the more important things in life. It makes you look past the minor squabbles and arguments that you may have with your friends. You realize how much your friends mean to you, and who cares for you.

Usually I take solace in the fact that a Northern game is coming up whether in Basketball or the upcoming Baseball season. I can't wait now for the remaining home basketball games and the season opener for baseball @ SIU February 29th.

The last memorial service before school starts will be Sunday at 7 PM @ the Convo. Then 2 days of "class" with counselors around the classrooms. Then a regular schedule will resume.

Special thanks to all the tributes including:

The Chicago White Sox
The Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Blackhawks
Virginia Tech
Western Michigan
Sycamore & Dekalb High Schools

And all others...

Sports-Related Articles Pt 2

Hawks, Sox, honor NIU (Photos by Tribune, Getty):

Ricardo Patton consults with Virginia Tech (Tribune)

Athletes touched by Northern Illinois tragedy (ESPN)

Sports-Related Articles

AD Jim Phillips talks about crisis plan (ESPN)

Drew Jeskey, a midfielder on the Huskies soccer team, was in the lecture hall during theshooting but escaped. Tim Mayerbock, an offensive guard on the school's football team, was just outside Cole Hall at the time of the shooting and helped a wounded student.

"The student got hit with some pellets off of one of the shotgun shells, was not in critical condition but was certainly injured," Phillips told ESPN.com on Friday night. "Tim and his friend helped the kid to safety and also took him to the hospital. He really jumped in at a horrific moment."

NIU tragedy hits close to home for Bears RB Wolfe

Safety Alex Kube - "We couldn't learn in peace?" (Chronicle)

Entry Number 3

I am sad. I am sad because this event involves me and so many people I know.

I have been told to go home, but I choose to stay here right now. I want to get out of Dekalb as soon as I can, because it is dead here. Right now it is just me and a few fraternity brothers that stayed. Just hanging out, drinking and listening to music. There's only so many nights of this I can take. I want normalcy, but know it's not going to happen anytime soon.

One of my friends told me he had a dream the night before about seeing people with buckshot wounds. I am very sad these unfortunate actually happened.

I don't want to go home. I have gone to 3 vigils in 2 nights. I am too close for comfort and also too few friends have talked to me and offered me condolences. Tonight's included the reverend Jessie Jackson.

Out of all the universities in the nation, it just has to be us. Why? I ask.

I do know that the service and the people on the scene of the crime get a 10 out of 10 from me. They truly did all they could do in an impossible situation.

I also have a new hero and its this guy:



NIU Police Chief Donald Grady

What a badass.

Everything Cancelled this weekend

I would have really liked to have seen my Huskies play at the Convo against WMU on Sunday to get over this tragedy, but that event has been canceled, as is the women's game on Saturday.

Women's gymnastics, track and field, the tennis teams and the wrestling and golf teams will not be traveling anywhere this weekend.

I went to the candlelight vigil last night and it was really good. I went to both the one on Glidden/Normal and the one by the Pike house for the late Dan P and 2 Sigma Kappa girls that were injured.

The updated list includes 6 people have died along with the gunman.

You can find the names online if you go to the school's website on the right or any recent news article.

I guess the shooter lives in Champaign. There is video of police searching his house. He is 27, attends U of I and is a recent grad of NIU in sociology.

Am I going home? Haha. I don't think so. I live in a fraternity house, while my family lives in Texas and couldn't get a hold of my cousin, who is my only family in the area.

It's a good thing I don't have any classes in Cole Hall. Seriously though, they need to demolish that place. I've heard it was an old school house that was here before the time of segregation. Just put up some memorial there instead.

Feel free to comment or discuss this event on the Dog Pound Forum

School Shooting @ NIU

I am OK, but this is bad. Very surreal. Nobody should have the experience that I am having right now. The shooter is confirmed dead which is good, probable suicide. Keep the 15+ victims in your prayers. For those that don't know, the shooting was inside Cole Hall, which is located almost at the center of campus. Keep the university students in your prayers.

Luckily my class was located in Barsema at the time, as farthest away as I could be. Walking up to the building, all I heard were people talking on their cell phones about seeing ambulances and the shooting. I couldn't believe my ears. The building was properly locked down for an hour or so and we were let out and finally got cell phone service so we could call our families.

Cole Hall. I remember taking one of my finals in that place, thinking to myself and saying to my friends that this would be the place a shooting would maybe happen. Classes in Cole house the most amount of people in one place on campus. Cole is one of the oldest, most run down buildings on campus. I could care less if they tore that entire place down. Truly unbelievable. The biggest auditorium on campus. I have friends in critical condition and wish for their recoveries.

Please anybody that wants an eye-witness account, I wasn't there. Therefore I really don't want to give an interview. Especially with all this grief that is going on right now. I'm so sad that somebody close to me has to have surgery and I don't even know if she's OK. Please e-mail me support, not inquiries because I don't know anything other than what's being reported on the news.