Northern Michigan Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt Majkrzak has accepted an offer to be the next coach of Northern Illinois University. During his time at the helm of NMU’s program, Majkrzak led the Wildcats to four GLIAC titles, the program’s first hardware since a conference tournament championship in the 1999-2000 season.
In his seven seasons, Majkrzak went 136-73 and helped right the ship to a program needing a spark. Majkrzak guided the ‘Cats to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, and helped NMU climb as high as No. 10 in the national polls, the program’s highest ranking since 1993.
“I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve done here and want to thank all the players, coaches, and administration for all the support,” said Majkrzak. “What I’ll always remember are the people. The great crowds and the way our community and university embraced basketball were so special.”
Under the guidance of Majkrzak, several players became some of the most successful in program history since NMU began playing basketball in 1906. Dylan Kuehl finished his career as NMU’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,197 points and earned GLIAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year this season. The 2025-26 campaign in particular was one of the best seasons in program history, setting the record for most wins in a single year with 28.
Majkrzak also became just the third coach in NMU history to win consecutive Coach of the Year awards, and the first to do so in the GLIAC. Additionally, Majkrzak’s four 20+ win seasons make him the first coach in the history of the program to do so, with no other coach logging more than two 20+ win seasons.
While his chapter at NMU officially comes to a close, Majkrzak looks at a similar situation inheriting the NIU Huskies. Northern Illinois has seen just two winning seasons since 2006, and went 6-25 in their final season as a Mid-American Conference member. In addition to taking over as a Division I head coach, Majkrzak will also have the challenge of transitioning to a new conference. All NIU Athletics except for football will begin competing in the Horizon League starting in the 2026-27 year, ending a 53 year stint in the MAC that began in 1973.
