Did FSU Football Help Save Northern Illinois Program With 2018 Game?

FSU football raised some eyebrows by scheduling a single game against Northern Illinois for 2018 – a game that means plenty to the Huskies, it turns out.

When it was reported earlier this month – and confirmed this week – that FSU football would be playing a game in 2018 against the Northern Illinois Huskies, there were plenty of people wondering one thing: why? You can count the number of times the Seminoles have played a team from the Mid-American Conference (four, including the 2013 Orange Bowl win over this same Huskies team) and there was no return trip to Dekalb, IL scheduled.

As it turns out, the game means more than just another home game and likely win for the Seminoles – it could be a game that helped to save the Huskies’ football program and athletic department for a little while.

One look at Northern Illinois’ non-conference schedule for next season makes it look like they are suicidal. By adding the Seminoles to a slate that includes road trips to Iowa and BYU along with a home game against Utah, the Huskies are one of just a handful of teams who play a full non-conference slate of Power Five and Independent teams.

In doing so – and exchanging soon to be FCS foe Idaho for FSU football – NIU will pocket $1.6 million for coming to Tallahassee and likely leaving with a loss. It’s a move that, according to their athletic director (h/t FOXSports.com) says needed to happen based on massive budget cuts to both the school and the athletics program:

"“A $1.6 million infusion saved a lot of jobs and a lot of heartbreak in our department,” Sean Frazier said. “Our football staff stepped up and were a team player.”"

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Ongoing conflicts in the Illinois state government means the school has gone from getting $91 million annually to just over $26 million. Frazier says the athletic department budget of $27 million has been slashed since about a third comes from student fees and enrollment is plummeting.

Needless to say, getting a hefty check for just one football game was a no-brainer for the school – even if it meant trading in a likely win for  likely loss to the Seminoles again. It’s a move that FSU football and other top programs have done before with schools on the FCS level, but not normally seen with a program just five years removed from being in the former BCS.

Florida State will take on Northern Illinois on September 22nd, part of a non-conference schedule that includes home games against Samford (September 8th) and Florida (November 24th) along with a road trip to take on Notre Dame (November 10th).