1963 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

1963 Northern Illinois Huskies football
1963 Northern Illinois Huskies football
AP small college national champion; IIAC champion
Mineral Water Bowl, W 21–14 vs. Southwest Missouri State
Conference	Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	10–0 (4–0 IIAC)
Head coach	Howard Fletcher (8th season);
MVP	George Bork
Captain	Michael Henigan, George Bork
Home stadium	Glidden Field
	Seasons ← 1962 1964 →

1963 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Northern Illinois $	4	–	0	–	0	10	–	0	–	0
Western Illinois	3	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Central Michigan	2	–	2	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Eastern Illinois	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Illinois State Normal	0	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from NAIA poll

The 1963 Northern Illinois Huskies football team was an American football team that represented Northern Illinois University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1963 NCAA College Division football season. In their eighth year under head coach Howard Fletcher, the Huskies compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the IIAC championship, and outscored opponents by 337 to 97. They appeared in the Mineral Water Bowl, defeating Southwest Missouri State. The Associated Press recognized the team as the 1963 small college national champion.^[1] However, the United Press International recognized Delaware as the small college champion. Northern Illinois played home games at the 5,500-seat Glidden Field on the east end of campus in DeKalb, Illinois.

Senior quarterback George Bork broke several national passing records, including single-season records for passing yardage (3,077), passing touchdowns (32), passes attempted (374), and completions (244). He also set single-game records for passes attempted (67), completions (43), and passing touchdowns (7). He was voted the team's most valuable player for the second consecutive year.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	Whitewater State*		Glidden Field DeKalb, IL	W 55–7	6,000	^[3]
September 21	at Winona State*		Maxwell Field Winona, MN	W 61–0	4,000	^[4]
September 28	at Northeast Missouri State*		Stokes Stadium Kirksville, MO	W 21–12	6,800	^[5]
October 5	Omaha*		Glidden Field DeKalb, IL	W 18–7	9,007	^[6]
October 12	Hillsdale*		Glidden Field DeKalb, IL	W 19–13	9,103	^[7]
October 19	Illinois State Normal	No. 1	Glidden Field DeKalb, IL	W 43–0	9,767	^[8]
October 26	at Eastern Illinois	No. 1	Lincoln Field Charleston, IL	W 43–0	6,803	^[9]
November 2	Western Illinois	No. 1	Glidden Field DeKalb, IL	W 29–22	10,177	^[10]
November 9	at Central Michigan	No. 1	Mount Pleasant, MI	W 27–22	11,000–11,164	^[11]^[12]
November 30	vs. Southwest Missouri State*	No. 1	Roosevelt Field Excelsior Springs, MO (Mineral Water Bowl)	W 21–14	6,500	^[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

References

^ "Northern Illinois Is Small College Champ". The Clarion-Ledger. Associated Press. November 30, 1963. p. 18. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "George Bork Voted Most Valuable Player At Northern Illinois". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. November 15, 1963. p. 18. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Beard, Curt (September 16, 1963). "Bork Breaks Pass Record". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bork Pitches 5 Touchdowns In 60 To 0 Rout". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. September 22, 1963. p. 2:3. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bork Shatters Pass Record - Beats Kirksville". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 29, 1963. p. 4E. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Passing Parade: Bork Pitches Northern Illinois Over Omaha, 18-7". Decatur Herald. Associated Press. October 7, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Northern Illinois Edges Hillsdale". The Miami News. Associated Press. October 13, 1963. p. 3C. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bork's Bombs Destroy Redbirds, 43-0". The Pantagraph. October 20, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Huskies Host Western In Showdown For Interstate's Top Step: Make Eastern Easy Victim". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. October 28, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Beard, Curt (November 4, 1963). "NIU Survives Scare By WIU". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bork Smashes Record Books". Petoskey News-Review. United Press International. November 11, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
^ "Bork Sparks Illinois To Spa Bowl Victory". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. December 1, 1963. p. 17. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

This college football 1960s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Northern Illinois Is Small College Champ". The Clarion-Ledger. Associated Press. November 30, 1963. p. 18. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "George Bork Voted Most Valuable Player At Northern Illinois". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. November 15, 1963. p. 18. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Beard, Curt (September 16, 1963). "Bork Breaks Pass Record". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Bork Pitches 5 Touchdowns In 60 To 0 Rout". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. September 22, 1963. p. 2:3. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Bork Shatters Pass Record - Beats Kirksville". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 29, 1963. p. 4E. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Passing Parade: Bork Pitches Northern Illinois Over Omaha, 18-7". Decatur Herald. Associated Press. October 7, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "Northern Illinois Edges Hillsdale". The Miami News. Associated Press. October 13, 1963. p. 3C. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "Bork's Bombs Destroy Redbirds, 43-0". The Pantagraph. October 20, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Huskies Host Western In Showdown For Interstate's Top Step: Make Eastern Easy Victim". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. October 28, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] Beard, Curt (November 4, 1963). "NIU Survives Scare By WIU". The DeKalb Daily Chronicle. p. 12. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Bork Smashes Record Books". Petoskey News-Review. United Press International. November 11, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 14, 2022.

[13] "Bork Sparks Illinois To Spa Bowl Victory". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. December 1, 1963. p. 17. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 12, 2022.

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v t e Northern Illinois Huskies football
Venues	Glidden Field (1903–1948, 1951–1965) Dekalb Township High School football field (1949–1950) Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Ball State: Bronze Stalk Trophy
Culture & lore	"Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Small college football national champions (1958–1974)
Selectors	AP (1960–1974) UPI (1958–1974)
1950s	1958: Mississippi Southern 1959: Bowling Green
1960s	1960: Ohio 1961: Pittsburg State 1962: Florida A&M (AP) / Southern Miss (UPI) 1963: Northern Illinois (AP) / Delaware (UPI) 1964: Wittenberg (AP) / Cal State Los Angeles (UPI) 1965: North Dakota State 1966: San Diego State 1967: San Diego State 1968: North Dakota State (AP) / San Diego State (UPI) 1969: North Dakota State
1970s	1970: Arkansas State (AP/UPI) 1971: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1972: Delaware (AP/UPI) 1973: Tennessee State (AP/UPI) 1974: Central Michigan / 1975: Louisiana Tech (UPI)