Northern Illinois Women's Soccer
Recruiting guide · Huskies
D1NCAA Division I · Horizon League · Dekalb, IL
Northern Illinois at a glance
- Level
- NCAA Division I
- Conference
- Horizon League
- Location
- Dekalb, IL
- School type
- Public
- Undergraduates
- 11,301mid-sized for D1 · larger than 57% of D1 programs
- Published cost
- ~$28,851 / yrmid-range for D1 · before aid or athletic scholarship
Size and cost from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; confirm current figures on the school’s own site.
How to get recruited by Northern Illinois Women's Soccer
Division I programs recruit early and can offer athletic scholarships, so a strong film, a short honest intro email, and early contact matter most. Check the grade-by-grade recruiting timeline for your class, then reach out to the coaching staff directly.
Your recruiting timeline
Recruiting runs on a grade-by-grade calendar, and the milestones that matter right now depend on your graduating class. Open the free recruiting timeline and pick your class to see exactly what to do — every key NCAA date, sourced and dated.
See the recruiting timelineFill out Northern Illinois’s recruiting questionnaire
Almost every college program has a “recruiting questionnaire” (or “prospect form”) on its athletics website. Filling it out is how you get into a coach’s recruiting database — it’s usually the expected first move before you email. Look for it under the team’s “Recruits” or “Prospective Student-Athlete” menu.
Use your real graduation year and a parent-monitored email. If the form is broken, only open to older grads, or you simply can’t find it, don’t stall — send a short intro email instead (below) and note that you couldn’t complete the questionnaire.
Who to contact at Northern Illinois
Start with the head coach. 3 Northern Illinois women's soccer coaches are on file, 3 with a publicly listed email, each linked to the staff directory it came from.
Also on staff: Luke Aspinall-Stanton (Assistant Coach), Gabi McAlpine (Assistant Coach).
See all 3 Northern Illinois coaches, emails and sourceHow to contact the coaches
Find the right coach
For a first email, the head coach (Michael O'Neill) or recruiting coordinator is usually right — both are on the Northern Illinois women's soccer coaches page, with publicly listed emails and the source they came from.
Keep the intro short and honest
Grad year, position, club/high school, GPA, and one or two key metrics. Say why this school specifically — coaches can tell a copy-paste blast from a real message. The coach email guide has a copy-and-paste template and the mistakes that get an email deleted on sight.
Lead with film
A short highlight video (with a full-match link) does more than any paragraph. Put the link near the top so a busy coach can watch in seconds.
Send it from the athlete
Coaches want to hear from the player, not a third party. Email from the athlete’s own account and reply promptly when they respond.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you get recruited by Northern Illinois Women's Soccer?
- Division I programs recruit early and can offer athletic scholarships, so a strong film, a short honest intro email, and early contact matter most. Check the recruiting timeline for your graduating class, then email the Northern Illinois coaching staff directly.
- Who should I contact about Northern Illinois Women's Soccer recruiting?
- Start with Michael O'Neill (Head Coach) — listed with the rest of the Northern Illinois women's soccer staff, with publicly listed emails, on the coaches page linked above. Email from the athlete's own account with a short, honest intro — grad year, position, club or high school, and GPA — and put a highlight-film link near the top.
- When should I start the recruiting process?
- Recruiting runs on a grade-by-grade calendar, so the milestones that matter right now depend on your graduating class. Use the free recruiting timeline to see exactly what to do now — every key NCAA date, sourced and dated.
- How big is Northern Illinois, and what does it cost?
- Northern Illinois has about 11,301 undergraduates — mid-sized for D1 (larger than 57% of D1 programs), and the published cost of attendance is about $28,851 per year before aid or athletic scholarship, mid-range for D1. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; confirm current numbers on the school's own site.
Similar programs to compare
A realistic target list has several schools at the same level. Start with these.
Other D1 women's soccer programs in IL
| School | Div | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago StateWomen's · Chicago, IL | D1 | Northeast Conference |
| DePaulWomen's · Chicago, IL | D1 | Big East Conference |
| Eastern IllinoisWomen's · Charleston, IL | D1 | Ohio Valley Conference |
| IllinoisWomen's · Champaign, IL | D1 | Big Ten Conference |
| Illinois StateWomen's · Normal, IL | D1 | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Loyola ChicagoWomen's · Chicago, IL | D1 | Atlantic 10 Conference |
Also in the Horizon League
| School | Div |
|---|---|
| Cleveland StateWomen's · Cleveland, OH | D1 |
| Detroit MercyWomen's · Detroit, MI | D1 |
| Green BayWomen's · Green Bay, WI | D1 |
| IU IndyWomen's · Indianapolis, IN | D1 |
| MilwaukeeWomen's · Milwaukee, WI | D1 |
| Northern KentuckyWomen's · Highland Heights, KY | D1 |
| OaklandWomen's · Rochester Hills, MI | D1 |
| Purdue Fort WayneWomen's · Fort Wayne, IN | D1 |
Looking for Northern Illinois University (NIU) Men's Soccer?
Want help reaching Northern Illinois's coaches?
Path To Sign helps you draft coach emails in the athlete’s own voice, send them from your Gmail, and automatically track every reply — so nothing slips through the cracks at Northern Illinois or anywhere else. It’s free to start.