Hey Huskie Fans!!! My name is Justin and I Graduated in 2001 from NIU with a BS in Computer Science. I have been a huge Huskie fan since about 2000 when things started turning around for the football team under Joe Novak. I have been to all the home football games since then and most road games as well. Actually, I have not missed a single game since the Silicon Valley Bowl game in 2004!

My main inspiration for the Huskie Mobile came several years back when some fans brought a school bus to tailgate at Huskie Stadium. It was one of those "short" busses, and a bunch of people got on top of the thing when they were tailgating. At the time I thought it was cool, but kind of crazy. As my love of the Huskies grew, I began thinking of things I could do to promote the Huskies more.

During the 2002 year, I began flying flags from my car at tailgating with a helmet at the top of the pole. At first it was a helmet I made that replicated the look of the current NIU helmet (and it did fool some people). Since then I have acquired three real NIU helmets from ebay. By the end of the football season, I had advanced to two flagpoles protruding from the sunroof of my black Acura Integra.

Following the disappointing end to a great 2002 season, I needed to do something more. That is when everything came together. I began thinking of what I could do that would not only be recognized at tailgating, but wherever else I went. That is when the Huskie Mobile was born.

I found the van on ebay in late 2002. The seller had it listed for $400. I went out to Rockford to look at the van. It was a 1989 GMC Vandura 3500. It was dirty and rusty as all hell, but was suitable for the application. I made an offer to the seller for $500, and he told me to give him $20 for a deposit, and pay him $500 when I picked it up. It was a done deal.

I took it back to my apartment in DeKalb and got to work. I worked on it whenever I could between December and the beginning of the 2003 season. Hundreds of hours of work and about $5,000 later the Huskie Mobile was ready to roll.

Some of the features of the Huskie Mobile include:

Weather Guard roof rack to support the deck
New front seats
Outdoor speakers on the deck
2 flagpoles on the deck
Folding railing on the deck
Carpeted walls, floor, ceiling
Astroturf with painted on field
New paint job, done with a brush and roller
Hitch mounted barbecue
Ladder to access the deck
Mini Huskie lights
New chrome wheels and new tires
Red Neon Lights under the van
1/4 Scale deck mounted goalpost
New remanufactured engine in 2006

I am sure I missed something, but if you want to see it all, stop by in the East lot of Huskie Stadium at any of the home games. It is not hard to find me.

Back in 2005 I decided to outdo myself and use the inspiration of the short bus I saw at NIU back in the day and got my own bus. Once again I scoured ebay and found a very nice 1994 Ford E350 short bus in Buffalo, New York. I booked a 14 hour overnight Greyhound bus trip out to Buffalo where I purchased the bus for $1800 and headed back home to Illinois.

Since the purchase of the bus the Huskie Road Crew has been formed. My good buddy Joe and I have been pioneers of the Road Crew and have been to every road since 2005. We take the bus to every possible destination (usually under 500 miles). The founding members of the Road Crew are below.

See everyone at the games and GO HUSKIES!