HR0846 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor Northern Illinois University Head Football Coach Joe Novak on his career as a football coach and on his retirement; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak was a three-sport letterman at Mentor, Ohio, High School and was inducted into the Mentor High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1999; he received a Bachelor's degree in Education in 1967 and a Master's in Education Administration from Miami University in 1968; he and his wife, the former Carole Hinkel of Mentor, have two grown sons, David and Jeremy, and three grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak began his prep coaching career as defensive ends coach at Warren, Ohio, Western Reserve High School in 1968; he was elevated to head coach five years later, and led Western Reserve to a 12-0 record and Ohio's large school division state title, earning 1972 Coach of the Year honors; he took Western Reserve back to the state finals a year later with an 11-1 record; and

WHEREAS, He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Miami University; at the University of Illinois Joe Novak worked for Gary Moeller as defensive line coach before joining the coaching staff at Indiana; he was a part of 65 Hoosier triumphs, seven winning regular seasons, and six postseason bowl appearances in 12 years; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak was hired as Northern Illinois University's 19th head football coach on December 22, 1995, after 22 seasons as a full-time assistant at the NCAA Division I-A level at his alma mater, Miami University, (1974-1976), the University of Illinois (1977-1979), Northern Illinois University (1980-1983), and Indiana University (1984-1995); and

WHEREAS, The principles of honesty, integrity, and respect have guided Joe Novak, not only throughout his 12 year tenure as head coach of the Northern Illinois University football team, but throughout his 40 years as a football coach; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak's coaching philosophy included teaching the basic life skills that have made so many of his players successful off the field; he demanded toughness, hard work, and accountability from each of his Huskie players throughout the years; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak emphasized academics and viewed the student-athlete as a whole person; players learned the program goals from Coach Novak: earn an NIU degree, represent Northern Illinois University in a first class fashion, and win; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak was selected to coach in the 2003 Blue-Gray Classic, was the recipient of the prestigious Ray Meyer Coach Award at the Giant Awards Dinner in Chicago in June of 2005, and is dean of Mid-American Conference coaches; and

WHEREAS, Teams led by Joe Novak posted a school-record seven straight winning seasons; Northern Illinois ranked as a top team in Illinois, and one of the Top 30 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams, in terms of winning percentage, since 2000; Northern Illinois' resurgence has captured the attention of fans and media in Chicago, across the region, and throughout the nation; and

WHEREAS, Joe Novak led his team to landmark wins against two high profile BCS teams in 2003 by defeating the 15th ranked University of Maryland at home and traveling to Tuscaloosa to beat the 21st ranked University of Alabama; the 2003 Huskies rose to as high as 10th in initial BCS standings in 2003; in 2004 Coach Novak led NIU to their first bowl victory since 1983 by becoming the Silicon Valley Bowl champions; during the 2005 season NIU appeared in their first MAC Championship and the following season the Huskies played in the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl; and

WHEREAS, Thanks to the winning tradition established by Coach Novak, Northern Illinois University realized a significant upgrade to its football facilities in the fall of 2007 with the opening of the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center; the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services center in the bottom floor will directly and significantly impact not only Huskie football players, but student-athletes in each of the 17 NIU sports programs and is named in honor of Novak and his wife, Carole; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Joe Novak on his retirement as Head Football Coach of Northern Illinois University and wish him the best in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Coach Joe Novak as a token of our esteem.