NATCHITOCHES – Fans and former Northwestern State student-athletes are invited to submit nominations online by midnight Sunday for the N-Club Hall of Fame, the university's highest athletic honor, as the 2026 ballot takes shape.
 
The nomination deadline was stretched from Friday by 48 hours to take in this weekend.

 
Nominations of former athletes, coaches and staff members can be submitted online at the NSUDemons.com website by anyone with an interest in Northwestern athletics.

 
Online voting, which will occur in June, is open to all former NSU competitors. Votes are tripled for N-Club members whose membership dues are current. Fees are free for first-year athletic alumni. Dues afterwards are $120 annually ($10 monthly) with discounted longer-term rates available.

 
The nomination portal and more information, including last year's ballot and a roster and bios of those previously inducted, is available at the www.NSUDemons.com/NClubNominations link. Included are nomination criteria, including the requirement that a former athlete must have concluded competition at NSU for at least 10 years.

 
A ballot of approximately 60 candidates was considered last year. Since 1969, Inductees have been chosen annually, from a variety of NSU's current 14 intercollegiate sports as well as sports no longer contested, such as gymnastics and golf.
 
Inductions are conducted in a morning ceremony on Homecoming day, set this fall for Oct. 24.
 
Cody Fillinich, a four-time All-American in the javelin, led a class that spans seven Northwestern sports. Three Demon football players – punter Mike Crow, running back Derrick Johnese and wide receiver/return specialist Toby Zeigler – and three Demon men's basketball players – guards Josh Hancock, Tyrone Mitchell and Jermaine Wallace – gave their programs multiple inductees, along with softball, which was represented by pitcher Amanda Glenn and coach Gay McNutt.
 
Amanda Bennett (women's basketball), Heather Penico (soccer) and David Reynolds (baseball) completed the competitive-ballot selections. Layne Miller, a former Demon baseball player whose constant support has endeared him to generations of student-athletes and coaches, was named the Distinguished Service Award honoree.

Previously nominated candidates who are not elected are carried over to the following year's ballot, so there is no need to re-nominate.
 
While the easy online nomination process requests career information for nominations, even if there's credentials which are unknown to the nominator, submissions are accepted by the June 7 deadline, said N-Club selection committee chair Doug Ireland.  The committee and the NSU athletic media relations staff will check nominations and add relevant information as the ballot is prepared for voting.
 
Selection of the N-Club Hall of Fame inductees is made by a combination of voting from N-Club members and assessment of the N-Club selection committee, which is comprised of over a dozen former competitors and staff members representing the range of sports contested at Northwestern.