NIU to hire Northern Michigan's Matt Majkrzak as next basketball coach | Reports

Upsets, Final Four picks & region breakdowns for the NCAA Tournament Field of 68

The brackets are officially set. Tina and Chris break down the NCAA Tournament Field of 68, including their Final Four picks and upsets to watch out for.

A new basketball coach is coming to DeKalb.

Northern Illinois is set to hire Northern Michigan's Matt Majkrzak as its next head men's basketball coach, according to multiple reports. 

Casey Ford, a broadcaster covering Northern Michigan basketball and football, first reported the news on social media.

What we know:

Multiple outlets have reported that NIU will hire Majkrzak. It has yet to be announced by the university.

Majkrzak will replace Rashon Burno, whose contract was set to expire in June. Burno resigned at the beginning of March to pursue other coaching opportunities, the university said. Burno had a 6-25 overall record in the 2025-2026 season.

NIU is on the cusp of a new era. The university will officially depart the Mid-American Conference this summer. The football program will join the Mountain West. The Olympic sports, including men's basketball, will join the Horizon League.

The last time NIU finished a season with a winning record was the 2019-2020 season, when Mark Montgomery led the Huskies to an 18-13 season. The last time NIU advanced to the NCAA Tournament was in 1996 under Brian Hammel. 

By the numbers:

Majkrzak has coached Northern Michigan basketball for seven seasons.

In those seven years, Majkrzak posted a 136-73 record. He also led NMU to four straight conference titles and four straight Division II NCAA tournaments. Majkrzak has won 20 games or more in four consecutive seasons.

This past year, Majkrzak led the Wildcats to a 25-8 record. They advanced to the Division II NCAA Tournament but fell to Wayne State in the first round.

Before Northern Michigan, Majkrzak spent a season as head coach of Bryant & Stratton College-Wisconsin.

There, he led Bryant & Stratton College-Wisconsin to a 25-8 record. The team ranked No. 1 in the region, ranked No. 17 nationally, and reached its first NJCAA Division II Region IV Championship in program history.

Majkrzak has also spent time as an assistant at Chadron State University, and was a student assistant under then-head coach at Green Bay Brian Wardle. Now, Wardle coaches Bradley University.