I was very disappointed in your editorial of Oct. 15, in which you call for head football coach Joe Novak’s resignation or removal. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. But I think that you have only succeeded in making yourselves look foolish.

The team is in the midst of a bad season, after six consecutive winning campaigns. If we were in this situation (1-6) next year, after a poor year this year, your editorial might be warranted. But not now, for several reasons.
First of all, you fault coach Novak for failing to attract blue chip talent. If by this you mean Big-Ten level talent, you have little grip on reality. MAC football programs live on the edge of the NCAA’s top division. Their facilities pale beside those of the BCS conference schools. More importantly, MAC teams play in front of 20,000 people every home game, while BCS schools play before crowds in the range of 50,000 to 100,000-plus. It is a very, very rare occurrence when a high school player presented with offers from major-conference schools chooses a MAC program. MAC coaches understand that their teams must thrive on developing players overlooked by more prominent programs. This means seeing potential in players that others reject. Sometimes, this potential comes out. Sometimes it doesn’t. That makes coaching MAC football inherently risky.

Second, NIU’s facilities have, until this year, been very poor, even by MAC standards. When Sports Illustrated published a feature story on NIU’s successes in 2003, they termed our program’s facilities “the worst in Division One.” You might argue that the fact that NIU posted winning records in 2003 and subsequent years disproves my point about the importance of facilities. But I would argue that relatively poor facilities make it nearly impossible to maintain success. Michael Turner, Garrett Wolfe and Doug Free were not highly recruited out of high school, and NIU was fortunate to get them. Having excellent facilities means having to rely less on luck for attracting talented players. This year, our luck ran out. A number of players recruited in 2003 failed to pan out. In the next several years, coach Novak should reap the benefit of what is now the MAC’s best facility.

Third, you argue that Novak “received a pass” for going 3-30 in his first three years. I don’t believe you have any idea how bad things were when he arrived. Previously, the program was out of control. When Joe Novak showed up, he had two choices. He could strip the program down and start over, or he could try to win immediately by attracting transfers and junior college players. He chose the former. He kicked a number of players off the team and played short-handed for the first several years. He did not bring in the transfers and JUCO’s who so often bring additional academic and behavior problems. In short, he did things the right way. He has been widely praised by knowledgeable college football fans for this approach.

Fourth, you argue that the fact that assistant coaches are leaving the program is a sign of trouble. To the contrary, this is a sign of success. Assistant coaches leaving MAC programs can double their salaries at BCS-level institutions. But they can only get these jobs if they come from a winning program. NIU won. Their assistant coaches moved on. Now they have to rebuild.

Finally, you fault Novak for losing a game to Southern Illinois, a team that “literally isn’t even in NIU’s league.” Everyone was disappointed to lose to a lower-division team, but this is not a rare occurrence. This year, Michigan began their season by losing to Appalachian State. Last year, this same SIU team beat Indiana, another Big Ten school. This year Indiana is 6-1. Last year Colorado began the year by losing to lower-division Montana State. Earlier this season, Iowa State, another BCS school, lost to lower-division Northern Iowa. Earlier this year, Central Michigan, the MAC’s defending champion, lost to lower-division North Dakota State. This kind of thing happens. Southern Illinois is a top-ten program in their division, and they played well. The loss was not so shocking at all.

I am not about to tell you that you have no right to call for coach Novak’s retirement or firing. You do. Everyone can say their piece in our society. But I think that the reasons supporting your argument are very weak, and put the Northern Star in a bad light. They suggest that you wrote your editorial largely as motivated by emotion, rather than any real thought.

Drew E. VandeCreek
Director of Digital Projects

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