If NIU drew like ECU does, they'd already be in a bigger conference. The fans and alumni are to blame. Period.

(10-27-2014 07:27 AM)7 Wrote:  If NIU drew like ECU does, they'd already be in a bigger conference. The fans and alumni are to blame. Period.

Fans includes students. I don't want to start another West side vs. East side argument. Improvement is needed on both sides. We need more alums and more general public fans on the West side. On the East side, student turnout is good at Huskie Stadium. But, students need to be enticed to stay for the entire game.

With that out of the way, I've got to bring up (again) that building the fan base is gonna be a long process. Years of poor outreach to alumni won't be fixed overnight. SF's efforts to improve facilities and the gameday experience are huge, but it's going to take time.

The students ain't the problem. There's 21,000 students at NIU and they show up pretty well week in and week out. Could it be better? Yes. Is it the problem? No. There's hundreds of thousands of alumni in the Chicago area as well as 60,000 people living in DeKalb/Sycamore. That's the problem. Students leaving early isn't just an NIU problem. Students are idiots haha.

(10-27-2014 09:14 AM)7 Wrote:  The students ain't the problem. There's 21,000 students at NIU and they show up pretty well week in and week out. Could it be better? Yes. Is it the problem? No. There's hundreds of thousands of alumni in the Chicago area as well as 60,000 people living in DeKalb/Sycamore. That's the problem. Students leaving early isn't just an NIU problem. Students are idiots haha.

Sure, you've identified a problem with lack of alumni support. The million-dollar question is, what do you do about it? You've mentioned this many times. What are your ideas to fix it?

But, it's not just lack of alumni support. NIU needs to reach out to football fans who may never have had a direct connection to the university. That is a big segment of the fans at P5 schools (think Iowa for example).

Glad you're admitting (sort of) that students leaving early is a problem. It doesn't look good when the ESPN cameras are centered on the East Side and half of them don't come back after halftime. That's why it's important to fix. And I'll say the East side looks great during most of the 1st half. Props to the students. 2nd half? Not so much.

Well I have lived in the area my whole life (grew up 5 miles from DeKalb) and I didn't even realize they had a football team until the early 90's when I was a junior/senior in high school. The fact that NIU waited until the early 2000's to even promote its athletics just goes to show how far behind we are from any P5 program. To add to that is the fact that NIU had no idea what to do with sudden success of football and really IMO dropped the ball when it came to fans. Am I happy we have all of our new toys? Of course I am! Am I upset that I cant afford to take my family to the game this year?? Absolutely! The economy sucks especially if you are working west of Naperville. Sorry but the money isn't there for seats, donations, parking, food, ect. I am doing my best and I am pretty sure I am not the only one out there that is struggling.

NIU switching conferences will be based on a business decision for that conference. It's all about the Benjamin's. Football prowess and attendance are only small factors. They could certainly help/harm but wouldnt be a death sentence when there's millions of dollars of tv money involved (Chicago market)

And no, I really don't thibk NIU will be leaving the MAC anytime soon outside of a major change in conference realignments - which seem to be pretty stable at the moment

(10-27-2014 10:29 AM)HuskieRak Wrote:  NIU switching conferences will be based on a business decision for that conference. It's all about the Benjamin's. Football prowess and attendance are only small factors. They could certainly help/harm but wouldnt be a death sentence when there's millions of dollars of tv money involved (Chicago market)

And no, I really don't thibk NIU will be leaving the MAC anytime soon outside of a major change in conference realignments - which seem to be pretty stable at the moment

Agreed, call it the "Rutgers Effect"

(10-27-2014 10:20 AM)NIUBIGGS Wrote:  Well I have lived in the area my whole life (grew up 5 miles from DeKalb) and I didn't even realize they had a football team until the early 90's when I was a junior/senior in high school. The fact that NIU waited until the early 2000's to even promote its athletics just goes to show how far behind we are from any P5 program. To add to that is the fact that NIU had no idea what to do with sudden success of football and really IMO dropped the ball when it came to fans. Am I happy we have all of our new toys? Of course I am! Am I upset that I cant afford to take my family to the game this year?? Absolutely! The economy sucks especially if you are working west of Naperville. Sorry but the money isn't there for seats, donations, parking, food, ect. I am doing my best and I am pretty sure I am not the only one out there that is struggling.

They need more signage, most of the time when you arrive in DeKalb you wouldn't even know there was a football game that day or that NIU even has a football team. I just hope that Frazier is not too late in his attempt to capitalize on the recent success.

(10-27-2014 10:20 AM)NIUBIGGS Wrote:  Well I have lived in the area my whole life (grew up 5 miles from DeKalb) and I didn't even realize they had a football team until the early 90's when I was a junior/senior in high school. The fact that NIU waited until the early 2000's to even promote its athletics just goes to show how far behind we are from any P5 program. To add to that is the fact that NIU had no idea what to do with sudden success of football and really IMO dropped the ball when it came to fans. Am I happy we have all of our new toys? Of course I am! Am I upset that I cant afford to take my family to the game this year?? Absolutely! The economy sucks especially if you are working west of Naperville. Sorry but the money isn't there for seats, donations, parking, food, ect. I am doing my best and I am pretty sure I am not the only one out there that is struggling.

No, you are not the only one. But, let me say that you are a dedicated fan, and NIU could afford to have a lot more like you. When better economic times arrive, you are the type of fan who would buy season tickets and donate, if possible. In the meantime, you are very important as a fan who supports and talks up the Huskies.

You are absolutely correct in what you stated about NIU dropping the ball when it comes to football. I still cannot figure out why they never capitalized on all the Orange Bowl frenzy. A golden egg landed in their hands and they dropped it.

(10-27-2014 09:35 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Glad you're admitting (sort of) that students leaving early is a problem. It doesn't look good when the ESPN cameras are centered on the East Side and half of them don't come back after halftime.

Move the cameras to the East side. Solved.

Next problem....

(10-27-2014 09:43 PM)spanky Wrote:  

(10-27-2014 09:35 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Glad you're admitting (sort of) that students leaving early is a problem. It doesn't look good when the ESPN cameras are centered on the East Side and half of them don't come back after halftime.

Move the cameras to the East side. Solved.

Next problem....

That is my number one compliment to the ESPN2/ESPNU broadcasts, they do an EXCELLENT job of cropping at Huskie Stadium to give the feeling of more people in attendance than there are.

Building a fan base takes years and alot of effort and it only takes a few down years to lose it (look at how Illinois and Purdue have dropped off in attendance, yikes)

Scheduling opponents that casual fans want to see is one part of it and Frazier is obviously working his tail off on that with success to show for it, Kudos to him!

While the MWC would not be much of a financial move up, there are several more programs in that conference in both football and hoops that have had national success and publicity that would draw more casual northern Illinois fans to see the Huskies play.

Don't think that Utah and TCU have had an easy time building their fanbases and don't have competition for the entertainment dollar in their markets.

Hoops is hugely popular in Utah and the Jazz have been a top NBA draw for decades. Soccer is also very popular and the MLS franchise draws sellout crowds. Not to mention BYU which is the top drawing non AQ Division 1 football program(#28, 2013) and Utah State(23263, 2013) draws respectable numbers as well.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...wn-in-2014

Despite have a stellar season TCU's attendance is down from 2013. Utah's is up by 2%.

TCU being in the Dallas Metroplex has to compete with the Cowboys(America's Team and NFL's richest owner) Texas Rangers who have had MLB success, Dallas Mavs led by a charismatic owner (Cuban) and the Dallas Stars who have won a Stanely Cup in the last 10 years. Not to mention Baylor in nearby Waco and the pervasiveness of UT(#8) & A&M(#2)



As Frazier continues to schedule up, as long as NIU continues it's winning ways; Huskie attendance will grow.

(10-27-2014 09:43 PM)spanky Wrote:  

(10-27-2014 09:35 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Glad you're admitting (sort of) that students leaving early is a problem. It doesn't look good when the ESPN cameras are centered on the East Side and half of them don't come back after halftime.

Move the cameras to the East side. Solved.

Next problem....

So they can see half empty stands the entire game?