(08-27-2012 04:20 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I think that the numbers in the stadium started dropping around 2008 and that perfectly coincides with when the economy took a dump. Where one of my sons works laid off HALF of their workforce towards the end of 2008 and they have not yet hired any people back.
The media says the "recession" ended 3 years ago....I think they're full of crap. My paycheck has continued to shrink each of the last 4 years and the price of everything under the sun continues to rise. People just don't have money to blow like they used to.
The only reason my boys & I continue to be able to come to Huskie Stadium is because we split the expenses of gas (from Central IL) & parking between the 3 of us. No way could we do it if I had to pay all of it myself.
It's quite expensive to drive from here, eat on the road, and pay for parking. I just don't think people can afford that as much these days.

Oh right, cause your focus group of yourself must be accurate. Listen, it is a fact that the recession ended over 3 years ago. That is not up for debate and not a matter of opinion. There is specific criteria for a recession. Sure, economic growth has been sluggish the past 3 years, but we are definitely NOT in a recession. My salary has increased each of the last 4 years so that cancels out you. And inflation is very much in control. In fact, we had deflation for a brief period of time.

You can look up sporting attendance in general and deduce that possibly a bubble is bursting and high end tickets and leagues (professional sports leagues) will have to offer different price points. In fact if that's already happening and if people are really, really struggling, they'll look for more affordable entertainment options. For example, changing the family vacation from Disney World to Wisconsin Dells. Still a lot of fun, just a different fun and a lot less money. In the sports world, that's going to a Cougars game instead of a Cubs game. That's going to an NIU game instead of a Notre Dame game. While that has actually happened with the vacation example, the same hasn't happened with our world of mid-major college football. Attendance across the MAC sucks in general and is on a downward trend over the past decade. So something else must be going on.

In our specific example, NIU athletics marketing has always been an embarrassment and that doesn't help anything. I'll give you 3 reasons why attendance was so much better in 2003-2005 than it is today.

#14
#21
#10

#14 Maryland visited Huskie Stadium in 2003. WE HAD A TOP 15 TEAM COME TO HUSKIE STADIUM. Oh, and we beat them and instantly had national recognition.

A couple weeks later we went down to Tuscaloosa and beat #21 Alabama. It doesn't matter that Alabama finished that season 4-9, WE BEAT ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA. More national recognition and into the top 25.

We peaked at #10 in the BCS that year. THE HUSKIES WERE A TOP 10 TEAM IN THE NATION. Amazing to think about even to this day.

These are the kinds of things that really get peoples attention and get butts in the seats. We finished 19-5 in 2003 & 2004 including a bowl victory and were ranked for a time in both years.

Home scheduling matters. Winning signature games matters as well. We haven't had attractive opponents at Huskie Stadium in recent years and we just barely snuck into the BCS standings at #24 for a week or two last year. It was great, but still under the radar and near the end of the year.

Someone else should look up the exact details, but here's two games to look at that illustrate my point. As I recall:

In 1997 Kansas State came to DeKalb. KSU was ranked #7 or #8? and we were absolutely pitiful and were the laughing stock of college football. We got destroyed, but as I recall attendance was 25K+.

In 2003 we were 9-2 and finishing up one of the best seasons in school history. The fervor had died down from the #10 BCS ranking and we had completely fallen out of the rankings and had Eastern Michigan at home. Attendance was about 16K. It was an exception for attendance during our glory years, but it shows how quickly it can come and go.

(08-27-2012 04:29 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  As I've said before, I know a lot of people in the greater DeKalb-Sycamore area that have NEVER been to Huskie Stadium. Affordability of tickets would not be an issue for any of them.

And, to really top it off, a member of this board who lives in the area said to me, "why should I go to the game when I can stay home and watch it on TV?"

I am in favor of NIU blacking out the home games within its own cable system (for the dorms and other campus buildings).

I remember one time in 01 or 02 when students were having a party in their rooms watching the game instead of actually going. I can't imagine that it still doesn't happen.

Gotta beat exciting BCS teams. Iowa would help.