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Northern Illinois hired Wisconsin deputy athletic director Sean Frazier on Tuesday to be its new athletic director.
Frazier replaces Jeff Compher, who left to take the athletic director's job at East Carolina.
Frazier, who has been at Wisconsin since 2007, was also a finalist to become Rutgers athletic director before the school hired Julie Hermann.
"The fit, for me, was perfect," Frazier said. "When I look at Northern Illinois University and Huskie athletics, I see a community that reflects who I am as an administrator. Entering the process, I saw a lot of similarities between what is needed to take that next step at NIU, and what I have been able to bring to some of the jobs I've held previously."
Northern Illinois is coming off the most successful football season in school history. The Huskies went 12-2, won the Mid-American Conference championship and became the first MAC team to reach the BCS. Northern Illinois lost the Orange Bowl 31-10 to Florida State.
Overall, five NIU athletic teams advanced to the finals of MAC championships in 2012-13 and the school has won five MAC titles over the last two years.
Frazier was hired by Wisconsin as an associate athletic director after a being the AD at Merrimack College in Andover, Mass. He rose to senior associate athletic director for operations under Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez. In 2011, he was promoted to deputy athletic director and placed in charge of day-to-day operations of the Badgers' 23-sport, $100 million program.
"He has built facilities, built programs and dealt with tough issues effectively as a director of athletics and as the deputy athletic director at an excellent program," university President Douglas Baker said. "He understands the changing NCAA environment, is a national leader in fostering diversity and brings an inspiring and engaging leadership style that will build bridges with the local community and with our many constituencies."
