Glidden Field was an athletic venue located on the campus of

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

. Opened in 1903, it was the home field of the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

, primarily for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Location

Glidden Field was located on the east end of campus, bordered by Lucinda Avenue to the north and Gilbert Way (along with Gilbert Hall and Still Gym) to the west; the

Kishwaukee River The Kishwaukee River, locally known as simply The Kish, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Illinois.. United States Board on G ...

provided a natural border to the east. The playing field had a conventional north–south alignment at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

About

The field dated back to NIU's origins, as the site originally was used as a harness racing track for the annual DeKalb Agricultural Fair. Joseph Glidden, a prominent farmer in the area and community benefactor, donated the land to help the institution expand. It was quickly put to use as a recreational field for the university's sports teams. Early iterations of the field included a covered grandstand boasting "400 strong" supporters in a 1904 football game. During the 1920s, the field was encircled by a cinder track, and even more bleachers were added after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Northern Illinois' football accomplishments, such as winning three consecutive

Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States. At one time the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or IIAC, was a robust league that clai ...

championships and a national title, in the late 1950s and early 1960s prompted not only over-capacity crowds (some as large as 10,000), but also talks of a new stadium to accommodate the team's needs. In 1964, construction began on

Huskie Stadium Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium is a college football stadium in the central United States, located on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Opened in 1965, it is the home field of the NIU Huskies of the Mid-America ...

for use at the start of the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

football season, but constant delays with the construction crew, and prolonged cold weather from the previous winter, kept the Huskies at Glidden Field for the first three home games of the season. After Huskie Stadium was completed, the bleachers and track were removed from Glidden and it became a public park. The site is now shared by the Jack Arends Visual Arts Hall and the Boutell Memorial Music Hall.

References

College football venues Northern Illinois Huskies football Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Illinois Tourist attractions in DeKalb County, Illinois Athletics (track and field) venues in Illinois Defunct athletics (track and field) venues in the United States American football venues in Illinois 1903 establishments in Illinois Sports venues completed in 1903 1965 disestablishments in Illinois {{Illinois-sports-venue-stub