(11-13-2014 03:16 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  Wow didn't mean for this. Just wanted to give props to the GA So for doing what they have even in a transition year from FCS.

True, they were very good and FCS and are continuing that in FBS it seems. Good addition for the Sun Belt I always thought.

So anyway, Carey Sux!! :-) And Lee Corso is still an idiot.

(11-13-2014 04:27 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-13-2014 03:16 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  Wow didn't mean for this. Just wanted to give props to the GA So for doing what they have even in a transition year from FCS.

True, they were very good and FCS and are continuing that in FBS it seems. Good addition for the Sun Belt I always thought.

So anyway, Carey Sux!! :-) And Lee Corso is still an idiot.

A bloodbath over Georgia Southern!

(11-13-2014 02:31 PM)armour248 Wrote:  

(11-13-2014 02:28 PM)PrideinthePack Wrote:  Stick to your shi*ty repeated hot dog jokes, grown ups are talking.

Jesus you're an uptight dude

I prefer "You're an uptight dude, Charlie Brown" but to each their own.

Quote:but I stand behind my belief I would like to see the program strive for greater heights than simply being good in the MAC.

You're going to need fans to do that. In the MAC, it's hard to keep getting double-digit wins year after year. You'd have to move up. But in order to do that, you'll need at least 25k to be a Norm on a really cold day or against who-cares competition on a blah-day.

(11-14-2014 05:04 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  You're going to need fans to do that. In the MAC, it's hard to keep getting double-digit wins year after year. You'd have to move up. But in order to do that, you'll need at least 25k to be a Norm on a really cold day or against who-cares competition on a blah-day.

You just keep repeating this. The fact of the matter is that if you put NIU in the B12 tomorrow, season tickets would go from 3500 to 15000 within a week.

(11-13-2014 11:25 AM)cawoo22 Wrote:  

(11-13-2014 11:01 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  Georgia Southern is really good. Didn't Billy Lowe transfer there?

Kedzman would know... probably drove him there.

We have a Billy Lowe sighting, is that Barksdale with him?

(11-14-2014 05:07 PM)armour248 Wrote:  The fact of the matter is that if you put NIU in the B12 tomorrow, season tickets would go from 3500 to 15000 within a week.

How is this a fact? Should the world's biggest IF (NIU was in the B12 tomorrow) occur, where would all of these would-be season ticket holders come from to quadruple our numbers? First and foremost we barely had over 15000 for the Kent State game and 20122 for Homecoming, so you can guarantee all those people are suddenly going to buy season tickets? Come on, the numbers would go up....if they doubled, that would be great. You assuming anything above that is not supported by any of our present or even recent past attendance. We hosted Kansas and had over 18,000, so all of those folks minus 3800 are suddently going to buy season tickets? Again, not saying the attendance wouldn't be better, just saying the number of season ticket holders jumping that much is unrealistic.

(11-14-2014 11:42 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(11-14-2014 05:07 PM)armour248 Wrote:  The fact of the matter is that if you put NIU in the B12 tomorrow, season tickets would go from 3500 to 15000 within a week.

How is this a fact? Should the world's biggest IF (NIU was in the B12 tomorrow) occur, where would all of these would-be season ticket holders come from to quadruple our numbers? First and foremost we barely had over 15000 for the Kent State game and 20122 for Homecoming, so you can guarantee all those people are suddenly going to buy season tickets? Come on, the numbers would go up....if they doubled, that would be great. You assuming anything above that is not supported by any of our present or even recent past attendance. We hosted Kansas and had over 18,000, so all of those folks minus 3800 are suddently going to buy season tickets? Again, not saying the attendance wouldn't be better, just saying the number of season ticket holders jumping that much is unrealistic.

As much as I disagree with most of what armour says, I think he is spot on here and that type of increase would be a very modest estimate, and I believe would be even larger. Maybe not a week, but a 15-20,000 season ticket base would be possible if NIU entered the Big 12

Oklahoma State has more than 30,000 alums in Chicagoland....probably each of the 12 schools has nearly the same on average.........that makes for 350,000 to 400,000 Big 12 graduates who would likely love to re-experience their college days at football games. If just 10% came to games (not counting whomever travels to see these games from the campus of these schools, we might not have 30,000 season ticket holders but would sell a helluva lot of tix each game and it would build. There are now 4 starting NFL quarterbacks playing and people would travel and pay t watch this level of talent.

(11-14-2014 11:42 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(11-14-2014 05:07 PM)armour248 Wrote:  The fact of the matter is that if you put NIU in the B12 tomorrow, season tickets would go from 3500 to 15000 within a week.

How is this a fact? Should the world's biggest IF (NIU was in the B12 tomorrow) occur, where would all of these would-be season ticket holders come from to quadruple our numbers? First and foremost we barely had over 15000 for the Kent State game and 20122 for Homecoming, so you can guarantee all those people are suddenly going to buy season tickets? Come on, the numbers would go up....if they doubled, that would be great. You assuming anything above that is not supported by any of our present or even recent past attendance. We hosted Kansas and had over 18,000, so all of those folks minus 3800 are suddently going to buy season tickets? Again, not saying the attendance wouldn't be better, just saying the number of season ticket holders jumping that much is unrealistic.

It's a chicken and egg scenario, but I think if you got an invite to the Big 12, coinciding with stadium upgrades, there would definitely be a massive bump in season tickets.

Now, my reasons for saying that are because of this:
1. It's a bit apples & oranges, but almost all MLB teams got a big attendance bump with a new stadium. Even just the novelty was good enough to push attendance way up, at least for a year.
2. If you couple a real big-time stadium with a real big-time conference, that might be enough to get the latent, apathetic NIU fans that we know are there, to actually jump in on things. A slate of home games vs Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kansas, Kansas St, Baylor, and TCU would certainly get people excited over what they've come to expect from NIU.
3. Thousands of NIU fans were in Miami for the Orange Bowl. True, most didn't purchase tickets through the university, but there were thousands of people there who dropped everything and went with 4 weeks notice. Little anecdotal things like that and the crowd at HS for the Bowling Green game in 2002 (a long time ago, I know) says to me that deep down, NIU alums want to give a s*^t and be big time.

Now, working against that, is:
1. Despite my cloud 9 forecast of "if you build it, they will come" is we're talking about the NIU fanbase, whom I wouldn't give a squirt of piss for, honestly. As my parents (NIU alums from the 60s) say: "NIU: Where the only tradition is apathy."
2. All of that movin' on up would involve a huge jump in the cost of going to NIU games. The product would be sexier, but you'd be paying for it.
3. There's no guarantee that NIU could handle that jump in quality. If NIU became an Iowa St-type bottom feeder instead of a TCU upwardly mobile program, then all of that excitement would die off really quickly. Give NIU fans a reason not to go and they always seem to take it.

Well, this post sure rambles a hundred different directions and I may have disproved my own premise with the last paragraph. I think, in my heart of hearts, that NIU alums want to give a crap, but they almost have to be presented with a no-lose scenario in order to go all-in. Pretty tough, but a worthy goal.

As someone who is in his mid-20's and doesn't have season tickets I'd like to give my perspective.

This idea has been tossed around with my group of friends who live in Chicago and attended NIU.

We still wouldn't buy season tickets if they joined the Big 12. I'd go to the high profile teams like Texas/Oklahoma, maybe even Baylor but that's it. 2-3 times a year sounds about right, instead of the 1-2 times we go now.

I'm sure people who live closer to the DeKalb will be more interested but that's just my train of thought.

Bucking for a promotion II: Northern Illinois head coach Rod Carey
Get a load of who’s back on top of the MAC West. In what was supposed to be a mild rebuilding year as QB Jordan Lynch was being replaced, the Huskies have rallied to four straight wins, including Tuesday’s pivotal defeat of Toledo. Carey is proving he can win without Lynch carrying the team, which is going to resonate with larger programs, possibly the coach’s alma mater, Indiana.

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1481353.html