There is a new coach, a new staff, new players, and a new conference for the NIU men’s basketball team and winning is the goal. That was the message from new head coach Matt Majkrzak during his appearance this week at Rotary. Majkrzak has an impressive winning mark where he came from compiling a 136-73 record while at Northern Michigan University that included four consecutive NCAA Division II Tournaments. Besides winning on the court, Majkrzak says he wants to build a culture where his players recognize high achievement in the classroom is equally important. He believes this blend of athletics and scholarship will keep a core of players at NIU instead of chasing bonus dollars through the transfer portal. Majkrzak hopes that it also translates into player identification with a fan base for a resurgence in game attendance.
Majkrzak says he will be recruiting his team “the old school way.” He defined this as players who want to come to NIU as a learning institution and with a mindset that is “irrationally confident in winning” basketball games. He also alluded to the desire of players to be in the game rather than sit on the sideline. He noted that bigger schools offering more money through the transfer portal may raise an athlete’s interest, but many times the player ends up warming the bench for lack of regular playing time. You just might see a recruit who is six-foot-10 inches tall and 250 pounds playing for NIU for that very reason.