The football programs of Northern Illinois University and Miami University will honor the late Bill Mallory, the only head coach in Mid-American Conference history to lead two MAC schools to league championships, by playing for the Mallory Cup. It will begin this year when the teams will play at Huskie Stadium Wednesday, Nov. 14.
“Bill Mallory was a special coach and a great man who left a lasting legacy in the Mid-American Conference and certainly at NIU and Miami,” said Northern Illinois associate vice-president and director of athletics, Sean T. Frazier.
“The Mallory Cup honors a man whose impact on both programs should and will be remembered each time our teams meet on the football field. We’re happy to work with our colleagues at Miami (Ohio) on this initiative and invite all fans to be here at Huskie Stadium on November 14 for the first Mallory Cup game.”
Mallory, who passed away May 25, led Northern Illinois to its first Mid-American Conference championship in 1983, and to its first bowl appearance, and bowl victory, as a major college, now Football Bowl Subdivision, program. His tenure at Northern Illinois, from 1980-1983, set a standard of success that continued under his close friend and defensive coordinator, Joe Novak, who served as head coach of the Huskies from 1996-2007. Mallory’s influence on Northern Illinois Football continues today under current Huskie head coach Rod Carey, who played for Mallory at Indiana University, 1989-1993.
Mallory, whose head coaching career included stops at the University of Colorado, 1974-1978, and Indiana, 1984-1996, led the Miami program from 1969-1973. His 1973 Miami team finished with an 11-0 record that included a MAC championship and a Tangerine Bowl victory over Florida. He is the only coach in MAC history to win Coach of the Year honors with two schools.
— Northern Illinois University
