First-year Northern Illinois head coach Dave Schrage was recognized as Coach of the Year
for the "All-Pavlovich Team" selected Collegiate Baseball editor Lou Pavlovich Jr.
For the past 11 years, the Collegiate Baseball editor has put together "a remarkable
collection of coaches and athletes who typify what the games should be all about." Schrage
received this year's honor for leading Northern Illinois from the depths of the 1999 season
that ended with a 32-game losing streak and NCAA record 51 losses to the fourth most
amount of wins in school history and a third-place finish in the Mid-American Conference
West Division.
Schrage's Huskies improved upon 1999's 4-51-1 record by 19 games with a 24-33 mark
and made the school's first ever appearance in the MAC Tournament.
"I personally felt that it was one of the more miraculous things I've seen over the year, to turn
a program around like Dave has done," Pavlovich said. "To be plus-19 games doesn't
happen that often, especially after having that long losing streak, it's just marvelous what he's
done. Dave has always been a great coach."
Schrage joined the Huskie program in July of 1999 after leading the University of Northern
Iowa for nine seasons.