This bowl season was fantastic with the most anticipated game ever. Is there a chance NIU will ever get into a league with more interesting conference opponents. I usually really enjoy the month of September when we play decent non-conference games but then get bored out of my mind when we start playing the Ball States and Eastern Michigans. Even getting in a conference featuring teams (just thinking of some mid-level exciting competition) like Iowa State, Cincinnati, and Tulsa would probably really work for me compared to what we have now.

Dogster

Confused, are you dogpick or Dogster?

I would like to know you plan on how we could invite ourselves into the B12.

I prefer the way it is. In 2014, the highest rated non-BCS team gets into a BCS bowl every year no matter what. We will compete for that spot with Boise, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, SMU, Houston, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Utah State, ect. I like our odds of us getting in or a MAC school every couple of years if not more.

(01-03-2013 01:52 PM)fathuskie Wrote:  I prefer the way it is. In 2014, the highest rated non-BCS team gets into a BCS bowl every year no matter what. We will compete for that spot with Boise, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, SMU, Houston, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Utah State, ect. I like our odds of us getting in or a MAC school every couple of years if not more.

Even better chances if SD St, Boise St, Utah St, Houston, SMU, Nevada are all in the same conference (MWC) and they have 2 divisions with a conference championship game. Nothing kills a BCS buster like a conference championship game.

I agree. though a conference move would be great(not sure which one..Big East is done). By being in the mac we have an easier path. Though I would like to see more non conference schedule matchups with Big10(iowa, ilinois, nw, indiana, purdue), Big12(kansas, iowa st), Big East(anyone but louisville), to boost our rankings.

I think my point is that the conference opponents are just boring. I realize that some here are hardcore and would go to watch NIU play Indiana State or UW-Whitewater. I think most won't. I want every game to be exciting. Thus, I wanted to know if anyone thought that at some point we could move and have an exciting game almost every week instead of a few exciting games per year.

....and I am whatever. Dogpick or DOGSTER. It is a message board. It is supposed to be fun.

(01-03-2013 02:43 PM)dogpick Wrote:  I think my point is that the conference opponents are just boring. I realize that some here are hardcore and would go to watch NIU play Indiana State or UW-Whitewater. I think most won't. I want every game to be exciting. Thus, I wanted to know if anyone thought that at some point we could move and have an exciting game almost every week instead of a few exciting games per year.

....and I am whatever. Dogpick or DOGSTER. It is a message board. It is supposed to be fun.

I agree I don't want us to play FCS teams any more. There is no reason we can't schedule other non-AQ teams for 1-1s or try to only pay them FCS money to come here. That is the first step.

Second is just making the stadium a more enjoyable place to be. The concessions and bathrooms on the West side need to be overhauled ASAP.

Third is to make the East lot more of how is was 10 years ago.
Split the East lot in half long ways. The half closer to the stadium is for donors. The half closer to the street is for students...who can pay $20 per game to park there on game day without figuring out how to get a parking pass via the red riot. Students have the first 2hrs to fill up the spaces when 3hr to kickoff hits then the spots open to the general public at $30 a car.

Fourth is to open the movie lot for season ticket holders or individual ticket holders who are HASF donors of $175 or more...paying $25 per game or $100 for the 5 game season upfront to HASF for parking passes.

Well right. I wouldn't care about any of that other stuff as long as we could schedule good teams for home games. If I am going to get off my buttocks to attend a college football game more than once a year it just won't be against a school that I could not locate on a map. I guess I was just saying--hey, could we ever get into a conference to play schools that appeal to most other non-hardcore fans? I think it is doable considering we don't really seem to fit with most of the teams in conference. At least NIU gets mentioned on ESPN once in awhile. We need a plan baby. Maybe if the Big East actually falls apart some of those teams would be willing to play in conference with us. The only thing worse than our current conference would be if we played in the Sun Belt snoozefest and had home games against the Louisiana directionals.

If we can get in a conference with Cincinnati then great. However, it would sure as heck have to be a regional thing to make it worth it because you can bet that the Bearcats will not let another Ohio team be in that conference. Other than Ball St, Buffalo and UMASS no other MAC team has a big enough TV market to make any impact in Cinci's mind.

If that happens then we are stuck in an even more East coast league with half MAC teams who are likely not WMU or Toledo (2 of our 3 good opponents)

Oh man. I went to grad school at NIU, so I don't even consider Toledo a good opponent. A friend of mine told me that we have a rivalry with Toledo after I complained that we have no rivalries. I had no idea, so I don't think that it could be much of a rivalry. Haha. I would ditch all of the MAC for a home game every other year against Cincinnati. A home game every other year against the likes of Cincinnati is better than what we get now...and that isn't exactly asking for the world! It isn't like I am asking for a home game against Alabama or USC.

(01-03-2013 03:25 PM)dogpick Wrote:  Oh man. I went to grad school at NIU, so I don't even consider Toledo a good opponent. A friend of mine told me that we have a rivalry with Toledo after I complained that we have no rivalries. I had no idea, so I don't think that it could be much of a rivalry. Haha. I would ditch all of the MAC for a home game every other year against Cincinnati. A home game every other year against the likes of Cincinnati is better than what we get now...and that isn't exactly asking for the world! It isn't like I am asking for a home game against Alabama or USC.

All that it takes is MONEY...

Do you have the $500k that it would take to get Cinci here?

We cant do anything until we get fans in the stands paying for full priced tickets. Heck we had Kansas here and couldn't even get more than 18k selling tickets for $10.

With the "Big East" you get Cincinnati and UConn, assuming no further strangeness. But is ECU any sexier to the uninitiated than EMU?

(01-03-2013 03:33 PM)DogTracks Wrote:  With the "Big East" you get Cincinnati and UConn, assuming no further strangeness. But is ECU any sexier to the uninitiated than EMU?

Ah and that is the kicker he is not saying lets go to the BE...he want to join what even conference that Cincinnati is in.

What about Tulane???

At least we can drive to EMU

(01-03-2013 03:39 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:33 PM)DogTracks Wrote:  With the "Big East" you get Cincinnati and UConn, assuming no further strangeness. But is ECU any sexier to the uninitiated than EMU?

What about Tulane???

At least we can drive to EMU

But we can party at Tulane. :ugaexams:
Not sure about Ypsilanti's night life...

All those schools are sexier than EMU and 85 percent of the MAC. Believe me, I am not exactly die hard and I would get the four best season tickets available if we were in a conference with Cincinnati, Tulane, and UConn. They are at least respectable enough that we could locate their geographic location without doing a Google search. Heck, throw Toledo in there too. I am up for continuing to play with our "arch-rival" if they are considered an esteemed member of that group!

(01-03-2013 03:45 PM)dogpick Wrote:  All those schools are sexier than EMU and 85 percent of the MAC. Believe me, I am not exactly die hard and I would get the four best season tickets available if we were in a conference with Cincinnati, Tulane, and UConn. They are at least respectable enough that we could locate their geographic location without doing a Google search. Heck, throw Toledo in there too. I am up for continuing to play with our "arch-rival" if they are considered an esteemed member of that group!

They are nothing better than a bottom third MAC team. They stink the ONLY thing that is good about their football program is the location.


Toledo and Cincinnati will NEVER be in the same conference.

No, next question.

(01-03-2013 03:49 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:45 PM)dogpick Wrote:  All those schools are sexier than EMU and 85 percent of the MAC. Believe me, I am not exactly die hard and I would get the four best season tickets available if we were in a conference with Cincinnati, Tulane, and UConn. They are at least respectable enough that we could locate their geographic location without doing a Google search. Heck, throw Toledo in there too. I am up for continuing to play with our "arch-rival" if they are considered an esteemed member of that group!

They are nothing better than a bottom third MAC team. They stink the ONLY thing that is good about their football program is the location.


Toledo and Cincinnati will NEVER be in the same conference.

They used to be - in the MAC.

Tulane would be our academic school. Like a Vanderbilt or Northwestern. Every conference needs one of those teams with the slow but smart kids. Everyone knows Tulane. Nobody knows the name of the bottom third MAC schools. This is why we aren't referring to them by name. We don't even think about them until we look at the schedule and say, "Oh crap, this week's home game is against [Insert Bottom Third MAC school]."

(01-03-2013 03:53 PM)sarasotahuskie Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:49 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:45 PM)dogpick Wrote:  All those schools are sexier than EMU and 85 percent of the MAC. Believe me, I am not exactly die hard and I would get the four best season tickets available if we were in a conference with Cincinnati, Tulane, and UConn. They are at least respectable enough that we could locate their geographic location without doing a Google search. Heck, throw Toledo in there too. I am up for continuing to play with our "arch-rival" if they are considered an esteemed member of that group!

They are nothing better than a bottom third MAC team. They stink the ONLY thing that is good about their football program is the location.


Toledo and Cincinnati will NEVER be in the same conference.

They used to be - in the MAC.

In the future is what I meant...as Cincinnati has some money now.