Fill the Field — Homecoming 2022

Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8

Huskie Marching Band and Silverette alumni are invited back to campus on Saturday, Oct. 8, for the 115^th Homecoming at NIU. Even if you have not played your horn, tossed your flag or danced your routine since your last performance at NIU, now is the time to dust off your instrument/flag/dance shoes and help “Fill the Field.”

In an effort to build a strong alumni band and keep us all in touch with the current Huskie Marching Band and Northern Illinois University, the Marching Band Alumni Council—in conjunction with the NIU Alumni Association—formed the NIU Alumni Band affinity group in December 2006. We are building a database of former band members, including instrumentalists, color guard, Silverettes and twirlers, and helping the NIU Alumni Association plan appropriate social events to bring us together on a regular basis.

PERFORMING OPPORTUNITIES: For the 15^th year, the Alumni Band and Silverette alumni will perform the entire pregame and halftime show on the field alongside the Huskie Marching Band. The 2022 Homecoming activities will include the parade, tailgating, pregame, postgame and halftime, and will feature the following music selections: "NIU Fanfare," "Hail to the Huskies," "Huskie Fight Song," "Alma Mater," "The Star-Spangled Banner," as well as music from Billy Joel, featuring songs such as: "Only the Good Die Young", "I Love You Just The Way You Are" and "We Didn't Start the Fire."

POSTGAME AFTER PARTY: Band and Silverette alumni and guests are encouraged to attend the postgame after-party at the Hampton Inn & Suite, located at 663 S. Annie Glidden Rd., DeKalb.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Kids who are 12 and younger are free. Tickets will include a pizza buffet, salad, soft drinks, water, beer and wine.

GAME TICKETS: Game tickets for general admission seating in the east grandstand are available at the group rate of $15 each. Band and Silverette alumni are welcome to sit near the band. You’ll need to purchase tickets for yourself and each guest. Tickets can be purchased directly through NIU Athletics, using code MBAC or call 815-752-6800. You must have a game ticket to perform on the field. Game tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be for sale at registration.

REGISTRATION: Due to the complexity of Saturday's performing activities, walk-ins can't be accommodated and advance registration is required. Please register by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 27. 

BAND UNIFORM: Participants are encouraged to wear the “official” long-sleeved cardinal T-shirt or any other NIU-logo apparel with black pants or jeans.

Alumni marching band apparel is available for purchase. Items will be picked up during check-in before the field rehearsal.

SILVERETTE UNIFORM: Black long-sleeved and short-sleeved Silverette alumni shirts are available to order in several women's sizes. If you have a concern regarding sizes, please see the size chart on the Silverette Alumni Facebook group page.  Please wear the black long-sleeved Silverette alumni shirt, the black sequined Silverette alumni jacket or the black Silverette racerback top, black pants (yoga, performance leggings or black jeans) and black footwear. Silver poms are needed for the Huskie Fight Song and the halftime routine. If you still have those, please bring them. If you need to purchase silver poms, please contact Cheryl Ringler, the Silverette alumni representative. As soon as the choreographer uploads the halftime routine to YouTube, the link will be posted on the Silverette Alumni Facebook group pages. For those attending but not on Facebook, the link will be emailed to you by Cheryl Ringler.

INSTRUMENTS: Due to the band’s tremendous growth in recent years, virtually every band-owned instrument is used by current members, so we ask that you provide your own instrument. Your local school or music store may be able to assist you. The band can provide flags for Alumni Color Guard.

MUSIC: The pregame music is available in PDF format on the Huskie Marching Band website. Please note that these arrangements might be different from what you played “back then.” The Alumni Band music PDFs will be emailed to you after you register, but can’t be posted online due to copyright laws. Please print the music and bring it with you. And don’t forget your lyre and flip folder, which you may obtain from your local music store or an online supplier.
 

FUNDRAISING: Traditionally, the Marching Band Alumni Council and members of the community have worked tirelessly to help raise money for the marching band in terms of scholarships. As a result of these efforts, and through a great deal of support from NIU, every single member of the group now receives some level of scholarship assistance! Looking forward (together forward), the hard-working men and women of the band need quality instruments to support NIU and to help the band sound its very best.

This year our focus is to provide trumpets and alto saxophones for members of the band. Many surrounding school districts (such as Rockford, Milwaukee and Peoria) provide school instruments for their students, K-12, so when those students come to NIU and want to join the band, we want to be able to encourage their participation by providing an instrument for them. If you have a high-quality instrument at home that you would be willing to donate to NIU, we can work with the NIU Foundation to assess the instrument and possibly create a tax deduction for you. If you are interested in donating an instrument please contact Huskie Marching Band Director Tom Bough at tbough@niu.edu. Or, cash donations allow us to buy new instruments to add to our inventory.

Please help us do so by donating today, and by sharing this message with your network of family and friends.

Each Homecoming season, Silverette alumni, parents and friends come together to support the NIU Silverette dance team. In doing so, loyal supporters like yourself not only ensure the ongoing success of the Silverettes but, more importantly, are investing in the future of each dedicated student-dancer. This year’s stellar team is not only a dance powerhouse but academic standouts with majors ranging from business and nursing to education, physical therapy and pre-med.

Silverette Alumni donations provide dancers uniforms, scholarships, school essentials, training and more to ensure success on the field and in the classroom. Donations to the Silverette Alumni Fund are 100% tax-deductible.

Please join us in supporting the Silverettes by selecting the Silverette donation level that is right for you.

SCHEDULE: Please see the schedule below. Although we don’t expect changes, the final schedule will be emailed to registrants and posted on the Alumni Band website a few days before Homecoming.

Friday, Oct. 7

• 7-9 p.m., Silverette alumni practice, Details TBA

• 7 p.m., Optional Wind Ensemble alumni performance, Boutell Concert Hall: New this year, Dr. Bough and the NIU School of Music has invited alumni to perform with the Wind Ensemble. Please see this link for more details regarding ticketing and registration to perform.

Saturday, Oct. 8 - Game Day 

• 8 a.m., Welcome and Sign-in: Band and Silverette alumni sign-in and welcome opens at southeast gate to the stadium.

• 8:30-10:30 a.m., Rehearsal in Huskie Stadium. ALL PERFORMERS.: Band and Silverette alumni and current HMB combined REHEARSAL at Huskie Stadium. We will run through the music and review the schedule and logistics for the day. To ensure that Saturday’s activities proceed without difficulty, Dr. Bough and the council request that all who are performing any portion of the event attend the rehearsal.

• 10:30 a.m., Rehearsal dismissed: Band and Silverette alumni are dismissed for tailgating and are welcome to visit the alumni tailgating area at The Yard, west of the stadium. The Yard alumni tailgate will include a "Kids Zone," entertainment and NIU giveaways. Food and beverages can be purchased from various vendors. Members are welcome to visit Mission's Grove located next to the Barsema Alumni & Visitor's Center. New in 2022, Mission's Grove will feature food trucks as well as alumni-led Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling Company and alumni-founded Waterman Winery trucks. Plenty of space is available to bring the family and enjoy. Mission will also be in the Grove until 45 minutes before kick-off. Cases and/or instruments must be stored off the field since the south end zone is now a party zone. 

• 12:45 p.m., Huskie Preview (optional): Band and Silverette alumni are invited to perform with the Huskie Marching Band at the Huskie Band preview mini-concert, located north of the Chessick Practice Center, or at The Yard, west of Huskie Stadium.

• 1:15 p.m., Perform at The Yard (optional).

• 1:45 p.m., Perform the Fight Song at "Mission's March" (optional): south of the Barsema Alumni & Visitors Center.

• 1:50 p.m., Pregame call time: The band and Silverette alumni will join the band and will enter Huskie Stadium from the southeast.

• 2:05 p.m.: The pregame show starts.

• 2:30 p.m., Kickoff: Band and Silverette alumni and their guests are welcome to sit in the east grandstand with the band during the game. All band and Silverette alumni and guests must have tickets.

• Approximately 4 p.m., Halftime: Silverette alumni perform their halftime routine. Band alumni are invited to join the current band in performing the halftime music, then all alumni will perform the Huskie Fight Song while marching off the field at the end of the show.

• Approximately 6:30 p.m., Post-game performance (optional): Band and Silverette alumni are invited to join the band on the field to perform the pre-selected music.

• 7 p.m., Post-game after party at Hampton Inn DeKalb (optional): We hope to keep the party going and celebrate a Huskie victory. Feel free to bring family, friends and guests as we swap stories from "back in the day," meet with other alumni and relax!

SECURITY: Per the NIU Athletics policy, only performing members with wristbands may come onto the football field for rehearsal, pregame and halftime. Wristbands are only for staff and performers. Your guests may watch us from the stands, and children younger than age 18 must be supervised by an adult.

STORAGE: Limited instrument storage space is available along the fence on the south end of the stadium. Performers are encouraged to leave cases and other belongings in their cars or plan other arrangements.

HOMECOMING PARKING: Free parking is available at the Chick Evans Field House if you enter the lot before 11 a.m. Parking is also available at the Convocation Center and is included with the price of the football ticket. The field house is across from the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center at the corner of Annie Glidden Road and Lucinda Avenue, the Convocation Center is located off of Lincoln Highway. If you require handicap parking, please indicate that on the registration website or form so arrangements can be made with NIU Athletics.