PollBehaviorAP Top 25 Voter Analytics
College FootballLoading Scores…All Games →
Published AP Ballots — 6 Verified Current-Season Polls

School Profile

Northern Illinois · School Profile

Huskies

School facts, program titles and available AP poll analysis

Overall Record0–42026 · Updated Oct 5Schedule & Results →

My Teams

Choose Your Teams

Pick up to three schools. Changes save as you go.

0 of 3 Selected3 spots open

Your picks will appear here.

Select a school to add it to My Teams.

Saved on this device. No account needed.

Saved on this device. No account needed.

Current Programs & Conferences

2026 FBS football and 2026–27 NCAA Division I basketball. Historical title affiliations appear with the sourced program history below.

ProgramCurrent AffiliationSources & References
Football · FBSMountain West Conference
Sources & References

The Bigger Picture · Football

Where Northern Illinois Finished

Final AP rankings after the postseason. Coverage: 1989 through 2025.

Meet the School ↓

Football · Recorded Conference Titles

6 Mid-American Conference Championships

  • 1983
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2014
  • 2018
  • 2021
Explore Mid-American Conference →
Sources & References

Football · Recorded Conference Titles

4 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships

  • 1951
  • 1963
  • 1964*
  • 1965

* Shared conference title

Sources & References

Football · Recorded Conference Titles

3 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships

  • 1938
  • 1944
  • 1946
Sources & References

Conference titles follow NIU’s official program history and season records. A separate school biography adds 1935 and 1941 to coach Chick Evans’s total, but those years are absent from the program’s title list; they are not added here while that conflict remains unresolved.

Top 25 Finishes
1 / 37 seasons
Top 10 Finishes
0 / 37 seasons
Best Final Ranking
#22
Last Ranked Finish
#22 in 2012

Summary covers 1989 through 2025.

Season by Season

Showing 2016 to 2025 · 10 seasons

Higher bars mean a higher finish. NR = Not Ranked in the final Top 25, including teams receiving votes. Gold marks a school-recognized FBS / major-college national championship; an AP No. 1 finish alone is not treated as a championship.

View Every Final Ranking (1989–2025)
Northern Illinois · Final AP Football Rankings
YearFinal AP ResultSource
2025Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2024Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2023Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2022Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2021Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2020Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2019Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2018Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2017Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2016Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2015Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2014Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2013Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2012#22Source ↗
2011Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2010Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2009Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2008Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2007Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2006Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2005Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2004Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2003Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2002Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2001Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
2000Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1999Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1998Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1997Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1996Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1995Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1994Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1993Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1992Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1991Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1990Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
1989Not Ranked (NR)Source ↗
Sources & References

Beyond the Ballot

Meet Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a public university in DeKalb. Chartered in 1895, it opened in 1899 as a teachers college before developing into a comprehensive research university.

Location
DeKalb, Illinois
University Type
Public
Founded
1895First classes opened in 1899
Total Enrollment
16,078Fall 2025 · University-wide 10th-day headcount
Nickname
Northern Illinois Huskies
Football Conference
Mountain West ConferenceReviewed affiliation · 2026
Recorded College Division Football National Championships
1School-Recognized Titles1963
Recorded Football Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships
31938 · 1944 · 1946
Recorded Football Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships
41951 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965
Recorded Football Mid-American Conference Championships
61983 · 2011 · 2012 · 2014 · 2018 · 2021
Sources & References
Altgeld Hall and Still Hall on the university campus
Altgeld Hall and Still Hall · 2013Photo: Alexbaumgarner / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Available AP Poll Analysis

These dated views describe specific poll editions and seasons; they are separate from school facts and championship history.

Football AP Poll Analysis

Existing Football ranking history and individual voter analysis.

SportFootball

2026 AP Football Poll

Northern Illinois · Week 5

Ranked in 0 of 6 published polls this season.

Latest poll:

Coverage: –

AP Result

NR

Still not ranked

Compared with Week 4

Voter Support

Of the 70 available ballots, 0 ranked Northern Illinois and 70 left the team unranked.

Ranked Northern Illinois
0
Left unranked
70
0 of 70 voters · 0%70 of 70 voters · 100%
Highest Vote
—

No ranked votes available

Lowest Ranked Vote
—

No ranked votes available

2026 Games & Scores

Full Schedule & Results →

Upcoming matchups and recent results, with game statistics and AP voter context.

Oct 106:30 PM CDT
Air Force
Northern Illinois
Latest AP RanksView Game →
Oct 172:30 PM CDT
Northern Illinois
Wyoming
Latest AP RanksView Game →
Sep 26Final
Northern Illinois14
Georgia State35
ESPN+View Game →
Sep 19Final
Northern Illinois17
Arizona42
AP Ranks Before KickoffView Game →

2026 Season at a Glance

AP rank and voter agreement across available polls.

Poll
2026 · PreseasonNR00%0/69 Voters—
2026 · Week 1NR00%0/69 Voters—
2026 · Week 2NR00%0/68 Voters—
2026 · Week 3NR00%0/69 Voters—
2026 · Week 4NR00%0/70 Voters—
2026 · Week 5NR00%0/70 Voters—

A Look at the Individual Votes

Week 5 · First 10 of 70 voters, sorted by highest vote. Open the weekly view for the complete list.

VoterVote
Creg StephensonNRBoth Unranked
Jerry HumphreyNRBoth Unranked
Cameron CoxNRBoth Unranked
Tom MurphyNRBoth Unranked
Haley SawyerNRBoth Unranked
Jon WilnerNRBoth Unranked
Kirk KenneyNRBoth Unranked
Brian HowellNRBoth Unranked
Joe ArrudaNRBoth Unranked
Jamal St. CyrNRBoth Unranked

View All 70 Voters for Week 5 →

Ballot Distribution

Every complete ballot for Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois—

0% · 0 of 70 Voters
Average When Ranked: — · 70 Unranked

Ranked High — · Low —70 / 70 Ballots
View Exact Distribution
Northern Illinois votes by rank, including zero counts
RankVoters
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
250
NR70