(12-26-2015 06:20 AM)Djud Wrote:  15 year run? The "run" started in 2010. From 2001 to 2009 only 3 seasons were better than this year. The last five years have completely redefined a suncessful season for NIU football. For the bulk of our school's history the 2015 season would have been outstanding, but now it is an absolute failure. That is progress.

Politely disagree with you. Increased interest and far better attendance at NIU games did start back in 2001 with a second straight winning record and the anticipation that the next year would be even better. Beating Wake Forest, getting hosed at Wisconsin, sweeping through the MAC up to a showdown with Toledo really fueled more hope. Then beating Maryland, a then ranked Alabama on the road, plus a home win over Iowa State opened people's eyes to getting cheated out of a bowl berth. In 2004, earning a bowl berth and winning it cemented NIU's status as a contender plus the desire for more than just having a winning record.