It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

(03-12-2015 09:53 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  

(03-12-2015 09:14 AM)GCD70 Wrote:  

(03-12-2015 08:57 AM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(03-11-2015 08:02 PM)Enaiu Wrote:  At least us NIU fans aren't the only one's who think we're a potential candidate.

Okay, so add this one blogger to the list.
Read it again and notice the statements: "....Northern Illinois thinks that it should be them. Well, at least their fans do."
Does he cite anyone at another Big 12 school or league administrator saying this? No, his blog is based on referring to posts from here that are debateable to begin with since most folks on here believe we're ignored by the Chicago media, yet we claim to be able to have the TV market to an extent that we could get that market interested in following a Texas-based conference.
He then notes a liability (significantly smaller stadium) that will be addressed. His conclusion is: "Like Houston, adding Northern Illinois is interesting to think about." And then he backtracks: "The verdict is still out on whether the Big 12 should expand or not.......Let's not forget SMU's interest either. Boise State, BYU, ECU and UCF have their merits as well."
Guess he hadn't read other "bloggers" who mentioned Cincinnati and Memphis in a Janaury thread. But hey, now you can say "the talk" continues since you put up a thread to enable everyone to rehash this topic --- that is until it gets hijacked by references to hot dogs, the former alum coaching east of here who some insist is a hot dog, the notion of Vienna Beef becoming a corporate sponsor (or maybe Oscar Meyer because the Weinermobile was spotted on I-88 over a week ago), or else hot dog-like memories from the late, great Grotto.

with the university in a transistion and working to increase the enrollment, I find it hard to believe we could ever garner the resources of tens of millions of dollars to get into the Big 12. Then NIU would just be in the conference with never having a chance to ever beat a baylor texas etc for a conference title. would you want to be a Temple when they were in big east and never won a game.

You're right. We should never think big dreams. We should be content to dominate one of the worst conferences in FBS football. By staying in the MAC, we can keep our cheap football tickets and parking and be satisfied with our football team playing in a small stadium.

Reminds me of a few years ago when several of us were talking about how cool it would be to see the Huskies play in a BCS bowl. Could never happen, we all agreed. We need to be realistic about NIU football. NIU in a BCS bowl? No way.

Oh, wait. . . .

My personal favorite was always alumni85 (WhiskeyDick) saying we woudl never play at Soldier Field and how he was buddy buddy with the Alumni President and knew this for a fact. It was literally less than a year that the first Iowa game was announced.

I think that signifies I've been reading this board was to long...

(03-19-2015 02:20 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  BYU's desire to join the B12 just went down a bit after this announcement.

@McMurphyESPN SEC will now count games vs. independents #BYU, #Army, ND toward its Power 5 nonleague requirement sources told @ESPN

Nope. They have NO bowl tie-ins at all. Last year it was at-large spot in a big bowl or Miami Beach for them. Those were the only choices.

(03-19-2015 02:34 PM)HuskieRak Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:20 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  BYU's desire to join the B12 just went down a bit after this announcement.

@McMurphyESPN SEC will now count games vs. independents #BYU, #Army, ND toward its Power 5 nonleague requirement sources told @ESPN

Nope. They have NO bowl tie-ins at all. Last year it was at-large spot in a big bowl or Miami Beach for them. Those were the only choices.

BYU was contracted for the Miami Beach bowl before the season started...they were not an at-large pick.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...beach-bowl


Here is 2015 and one additional year in the near future announcement.
http://byucougars.com/m-football/byu-ann...ettia-bowl

And here is 2016 and 2018.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...ettia-bowl

(03-19-2015 02:32 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

(03-19-2015 04:34 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:32 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

Still need a couple more conferences to get on board and for the Bowl Games to include them like they do Notre Dame.

(03-19-2015 04:39 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:34 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:32 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

Still need a couple more conferences to get on board and for the Bowl Games to include them like they do Notre Dame.

The only 2 conference who now require 1 P5 matchup (the SEC and ACC) say that BYU counts as a P5 opponent. The other P5 conferences have no such agreement about playing 1 P5 OOC game...so how are the rest supposed to get on board when they are not going to make it a requirement for themselves?

I agree their bowl situation is not super...I could see BYU doing a 4 game 2/2 agreement with the AAC for shared bowl access like ND has with the ACC. However I don't see it happening until 2020.


Still back to my point the SEC and ACC scheduling 1-1s with BYU will help keep their demands high if the B12 comes calling...making our slim chance for the B12 even better right now than they were this morning.

(03-19-2015 05:06 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:39 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:34 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:32 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

Still need a couple more conferences to get on board and for the Bowl Games to include them like they do Notre Dame.

The only 2 conference who now require 1 P5 matchup (the SEC and ACC) say that BYU counts as a P5 opponent. The other P5 conferences have no such agreement about playing 1 P5 OOC game...so how are the rest supposed to get on board when they are not going to make it a requirement for themselves?

I agree their bowl situation is not super...I could see BYU doing a 4 game 2/2 agreement with the AAC for shared bowl access like ND has with the ACC. However I don't see it happening until 2020.


Still back to my point the SEC and ACC scheduling 1-1s with BYU will help keep their demands high if the B12 comes calling making our slim chance even better right now than is was this morning.

I was talking about them officially recognizing them.

(03-19-2015 05:11 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 05:06 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:39 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:34 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:32 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It's only a matter of time before BYU is considered a Power School. Also, I don't think the Big 12 is going to expand anytime soon.

Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

Still need a couple more conferences to get on board and for the Bowl Games to include them like they do Notre Dame.

The only 2 conference who now require 1 P5 matchup (the SEC and ACC) say that BYU counts as a P5 opponent. The other P5 conferences have no such agreement about playing 1 P5 OOC game...so how are the rest supposed to get on board when they are not going to make it a requirement for themselves?

I agree their bowl situation is not super...I could see BYU doing a 4 game 2/2 agreement with the AAC for shared bowl access like ND has with the ACC. However I don't see it happening until 2020.


Still back to my point the SEC and ACC scheduling 1-1s with BYU will help keep their demands high if the B12 comes calling making our slim chance even better right now than is was this morning.

I was talking about them officially recognizing them.

There is zero reason for the B1G, P12 and B12 to do that unless they first come out as a conference requiring that their teams play 1 P5 team in OOC play. A conference doesn't just give free publicity to a team not in its conference without a need to.

(03-19-2015 05:17 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 05:11 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 05:06 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:39 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 04:34 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

Still need a couple more conferences to get on board and for the Bowl Games to include them like they do Notre Dame.

The only 2 conference who now require 1 P5 matchup (the SEC and ACC) say that BYU counts as a P5 opponent. The other P5 conferences have no such agreement about playing 1 P5 OOC game...so how are the rest supposed to get on board when they are not going to make it a requirement for themselves?

I agree their bowl situation is not super...I could see BYU doing a 4 game 2/2 agreement with the AAC for shared bowl access like ND has with the ACC. However I don't see it happening until 2020.


Still back to my point the SEC and ACC scheduling 1-1s with BYU will help keep their demands high if the B12 comes calling making our slim chance even better right now than is was this morning.

I was talking about them officially recognizing them.

There is zero reason for the B1G, P12 and B12 to do that unless they first come out as a conference requiring that their teams play 1 P5 team in OOC play. A conference doesn't just give free publicity to a team not in its conference without a need to.

sigh. never mind

Quote:Not sure what else has to happen for that to happen after the SEC announced today that they as a conference considers BYU the same as a P5 school for scheduling.

A conference to open their doors for More than 1 new team + willing to work with BYU on Sunday travel/games.

I agree that there's enough Texas teams in the B12 where that wouldn't be so necessary to add Houston, as they'd want to expand their geography for viewing purposes and conference recruiting.

- BYU [Bad: Mormon hoops to jump thru; Good: Both Football & Basketball Good + watched throughout country by Mormons like Catholics to ND]
- Cincinnati [Bad: Not a Great team in both main sports; Good: Big City Viewing; Expands to midwest; Balanced at least in both sports]
- Memphis [Bad: Football is Not historically good at all; Good: Basketball has been great and is decent now + Expands geography]
- NIU [Bad: Basketball is BAD + University is on low-end + Hasn't Expanded yet; Good: Football team is SET to be 'drafted' by its performance record + Best TV Audience target in Geo Expansion]

(03-19-2015 04:16 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:34 PM)HuskieRak Wrote:  

(03-19-2015 02:20 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  BYU's desire to join the B12 just went down a bit after this announcement.

@McMurphyESPN SEC will now count games vs. independents #BYU, #Army, ND toward its Power 5 nonleague requirement sources told @ESPN

Nope. They have NO bowl tie-ins at all. Last year it was at-large spot in a big bowl or Miami Beach for them. Those were the only choices.

BYU was contracted for the Miami Beach bowl before the season started...they were not an at-large pick.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...beach-bowl


Here is 2015 and one additional year in the near future announcement.
http://byucougars.com/m-football/byu-ann...ettia-bowl

And here is 2016 and 2018.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...ettia-bowl

I know that. That was my point. Last season the only bowl game option they had was Miami if they didn't go undefeated.

Go find a BYU fan that is happy with that scenario. BYU isn't Notre Dame. They need to find a conference.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...n-14-years

average attendance
BYU: 57,141
Boise St.: 32,504
Houston: 28,311
NIU: 13,563

Advantage BYU.

Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...n-14-years

average attendance
BYU: 57,141
Boise St.: 32,504
Houston: 28,311
NIU: 13,563

Advantage BYU.

Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

Increasing attendance should be STF's number one goal and priority. Anything else would be a distant second. The upgraded OOC schedule will definitely help, but how much? The master plan is a huge risk if it does not significantly increase our attendance. Will it do it? I'm sure it will to some extent, but will the stadium fill up? That's what will be necessary to make the conference jump that so many pine for. Will the community and alumni finally and all-of-a sudden embrace the team and show up for the games? I don't know. It's a gamble and a risk. I will tell you this, however. If the team's performance comes back down to earth and we become a middle of the pack or close to the top team, we will have a nice stadium with fine facilities that will be empty. Also, increase the number of weeknight games and watch what happens. But, STF has to, and is, doing what he feels will bring in the fans. Let's hope he makes a touchdown with these big plans.

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...n-14-years

average attendance
BYU: 57,141
Boise St.: 32,504
Houston: 28,311
NIU: 13,563

Advantage BYU.

Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

How about NCAA tournament appearances... (most recent)

BYU: 28 (2015)
Houston: 19 (2010)
Boise State: 8 (2015)
NIU: 3 (1996)

Basketball would also need to take a massive step forward. When you look at all sports, NIU looks really one dimensional.

Spring game can't come soon enough.

(03-24-2015 09:44 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  average attendance

Increasing attendance should be STF's number one goal and priority. Anything else would be a distant second. The upgraded OOC schedule will definitely help, but how much? The master plan is a huge risk if it does not significantly increase our attendance. Will it do it? I'm sure it will to some extent, but will the stadium fill up? That's what will be necessary to make the conference jump that so many pine for. Will the community and alumni finally and all-of-a sudden embrace the team and show up for the games? I don't know. It's a gamble and a risk. I will tell you this, however. If the team's performance comes back down to earth and we become a middle of the pack or close to the top team, we will have a nice stadium with fine facilities that will be empty. Also, increase the number of weeknight games and watch what happens. But, STF has to, and is, doing what he feels will bring in the fans. Let's hope he makes a touchdown with these big plans.

I agree and think its pretty much a now or never type scenario for NIU. The MAC really is a dead league full of schools that have no aspirations of moving on to something bigger. They are what they are and that is ok. If NIU wants something more though than its got to position itself now to get out of the MAC. All of this capital improvement is great but there will always be a ceiling on what can be realized in the MAC and if performance drops as you mentioned, people will question why the money was spent to play on Tuesday nights in front of no fans.

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

TV ratings = money and nothing else is remotely close

(03-24-2015 11:50 AM)armour248 Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

TV ratings = money and nothing else is remotely close

Sad but true. It's everywhere.
And I imagine "Donor & Sponsorship" $$ > Attendance $$.

(03-24-2015 12:01 PM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 11:50 AM)armour248 Wrote:  

(03-24-2015 09:33 AM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  Wins are nice, but attendance = money.

TV ratings = money and nothing else is remotely close

Sad but true. It's everywhere.
And I imagine "Donor & Sponsorship" $$ > Attendance $$.

But the more fans who attend the games and get excited about the team, the better the chance for new and increased donor $.