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Diesel, Northern Illinois' beloved husky mascot, dies at 13

Sam Cooper
College football writer

Diesel, Northern Illinois’ beloved former Siberian husky mascot, passed away Sunday night after a recent cancer diagnosis. He was 13 years old.

The news was announced in a post on his official Facebook page.

"Dear family and friends. Thank you for the outpouring of support and for visiting during the home opener yesterday. We are very sorry to tell everyone that Diesel's time had come today and he is no longer with us,” the post says. “He was a very lucky dog because he had all of you as friends. Thank you for the last decade of great memories. Please give your pets a big hug from us. We love you all and Go Huskies!"

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According to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle, Diesel was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in August. He retired as the school’s mascot in 2013 after nine seasons and became well known on the national stage when he was captured high-fiving an NIU cheerleader on an ESPN broadcast.

The school’s athletic department confirmed the dog’s death on Monday morning.

“NIU athletics would like to extend its deepest sympathies on the passing of ‘mascot emeritus’ Diesel,” it said on its Facebook page. “For nine years he visited every stadium in the Mid-American Conference (except UMass), four MAC Championship games, and NIU road games throughout the Midwest. Diesel was a fan favorite to the Huskie faith and fans of opponents alike.”

Diesel, who was given the “mascot emeritus title” upon retirement, spent his last home game as the team’s mascot at Huskie Stadium during NIU’s 2013 season finale on Nov. 26, where he was honored alongside the team’s seniors. He later attended the Huskies' Orange Bowl contest against Florida State.

Even after his retirement, Diesel made appearances at NIU tailgates and even made it to Saturday’s game against UNLV, a 38-30 Huskies victory.

Upon Diesel’s retirement, his successor, Mission, was introduced and put under the care of NIU’s ROTC program.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!