Sean Kowal's departure from the NIU program is a major setback for the Huskies.  He is the fourth player to leave since the end of the season who did not leave due to graduation. 

NIU's continued problems are a major disappointment to Huskie fans.  In addition, the inability of Coach Patton and his staff to turn the program around and move out of the 20 loss per season malaise is a significant drag on the MAC due to continued low RPIs and poor out of conference performance.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation in the future.  I suspect that that athletic dept may like to make a change in coaches, but most mid major schools are not presently in a position to buy out contracts. 

I think it's just another reminder that the MAC is there for the taking this year and for a few years. There are only two or three legitimate rosters in the conference right now.  Build one quickly and you could win a few titles in a row, something we haven't seen a whole lot since the Kent State teams of the early 2000s.