Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock has agreed to a contract extension with the school through the 2026 season.
Hammock, 40, is a former NIU running back who has led the Huskies to a 6-3 record this fall, a year after the team went winless during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He is 11-16 overall.
“Under Coach Hammock, our program has made tremendous strides forward — competitively, academically and socially,” athletic director Sean Frazier said in a prepared statement. “We are seeing the tangible results of that progress on the field this year, and over the past two years, we have seen it in the record-setting team GPA, and the commitment to doing things the right way on and off the field. As a former player and alumnus, Thomas is invested in this university, in this athletic department and in this community. He is very deserving of this contract extension, and we look forward to continuing the upward trajectory of NIU football.”
Hammock, who had 2,432 rushing yards at NIU before retiring from football because of a heart condition, returned to lead the program after five years as a Baltimore Ravens assistant. He had made college assistant stops at Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northern Illinois.
This season, NIU has five one-score wins, including an opening victory against Georgia Tech.
The Huskies, who lead the MAC West Division, host defending league champion Ball State on Wednesday (7 ET, ESPN2).