Watch: NIU head coach breaks down during interview after upsetting Notre Dame

Thomas Hammock.
Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

Northern Illinois pulled off a massive upset and beat Notre Dame 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. on Saturday. The win left head coach Thomas Hammock emotional.

Hammock, who played running back at NIU from 1999-2002, broke down in tears during his postgame interview on NBC after pulling off the huge upset, per Bobby Belt of 1053 The Fan.

“I told them all week, we don’t need luck,” he said. “We just gotta be our best. And it was their best today, and we were able to get it done.”

Damn, NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock is really feeling this win pic.twitter.com/aIlLIraWIh

— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) September 7, 2024

Hammock also had a great quote when he talked about his Huskies overcoming the odds to beat a big-name program.

“A lot of teams have the transfer portal, but we have a family,” Hammock said.

That was a huge win for Northern Illinois and a huge upset suffered by Notre Dame. One could tell by his reaction just how much it meant to Hammock and his program.

Hammock has been the head coach at Northern Illinois since 2019 and has gone 26-33 during his tenure. But he sure seems to have his program heading in the right direction.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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