So went out on a bender last night in the suburbs of St Charles, Palatine, Elmhurst, and Schaumburg wearing my NIU football jersey. Literally had people all night coming up to me and yelling "go huskies" or "hell yeah NIU". My response was always a polite thank you immediately followed up with "why dont you go to the games if you love and support the team?" Keep in mind these were 95% recent grads or grad students, so 20-somethings and the like. The prevailing answer? "I just wish it was easier to get to Dekalb during the week" and "yeah I'd love to if it wasn't Tuesday and Wednesday night games"

So i think we just have to accept our attendance will be lackluster until we leave the MAC or start featuring weekend or Thursday games. On the first part though, have efforts been made to arrange shuttles from surrounding suburbs? Man, i wish they'd just extend the Metra out this way, i think that'd help some of the Chicago crowd.

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T.V. darlings, baby!

(11-26-2015 03:13 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  So went out on a bender last night in the suburbs of St Charles, Palatine, Elmhurst, and Schaumburg wearing my NIU football jersey. Literally had people all night coming up to me and yelling "go huskies" or "hell yeah NIU". My response was always a polite thank you immediately followed up with "why dont you go to the games if you love and support the team?" Keep in mind these were 95% recent grads or grad students, so 20-somethings and the like. The prevailing answer? "I just wish it was easier to get to Dekalb during the week" and "yeah I'd love to if it wasn't Tuesday and Wednesday night games"

So i think we just have to accept our attendance will be lackluster until we leave the MAC or start featuring weekend or Thursday games. On the first part though, have efforts been made to arrange shuttles from surrounding suburbs? Man, i wish they'd just extend the Metra out this way, i think that'd help some of the Chicago crowd.

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We are hurting during the weekends too, I just don't think it can be as simple as you are saying. I have a tough time believing a Thursday or Friday game would make much difference. In fact Fridays would really hurt with the big loss to high school. When you add onto the less than desirable weekday schedule, a pair of games against non-conf competition that is just horrendous, this is what you get. I am pretty confident that once the non-conf schedule gets that beef up in the next few years, the season ticket base will get back up to where it needs to be, and that alone will get more people out to the weekday games. As long as you are in a G5 conference and there are no playoffs, its always going to be that non-conf portion of the schedule that will dictate your season ticket base and that will trickle down to the regular season.

And StayCool I know you may not want to believe this, but a weekday game against Houston in Huskie Stadium is not going to draw any better than a weekday game against WMU. Fans just do not care about those kind of teams.

(11-26-2015 03:26 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  And StayCool I know you may not want to believe this, but a weekday game against Houston in Huskie Stadium is not going to draw any better than a weekday game against WMU. Fans just do not care about those kind of teams.

It has nothing to do with WHO we play on a weeknight. ANY weeknight is going to have worse attendance... period. It is just too stinking hard to get to DeKalb on weeknights. That's it in a nutshell.

People can't afford to miss work... maybe they don't have vacation days...week night games are a double edge sword.

(11-26-2015 03:41 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 03:26 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  And StayCool I know you may not want to believe this, but a weekday game against Houston in Huskie Stadium is not going to draw any better than a weekday game against WMU. Fans just do not care about those kind of teams.

It has nothing to do with WHO we play on a weeknight. ANY weeknight is going to have worse attendance... period. It is just too stinking hard to get to DeKalb on weeknights. That's it in a nutshell.

People can't afford to miss work... maybe they don't have vacation days...week night games are a double edge sword.

Unless its against a bigger P5 school I agree HFA. The thing I wonder though is just how much the last 2 years of just horrific home scheduling has hurt the weeknight attendance. There has been no reason as of late to buy season tickets, and I think that makes a major dent in the weeknight attendance. I take a look at even my personal situation this past Tuesday. I have to be honest and say if the tickets were not in my hand already with the season ticket, I would have stayed home and watched it on TV. Of course many people are not going to go because of work or whatever even with the season ticket, but you will get many more at a weeknight game if you have a substantial season ticket base. That is where this Schedulepalooza hopefully will help. The only regret is Frazier didn't pull off the monumental get, like a Michigan State. Hopefully we still see the base increase the next few years.

Our fanbase has definitely grown over the last two decades, its a shame it hasn't translated into bigger recent home attendance.

TV coverage + national attendance downswing + weekday games = stifled HS attendance

Move our games back to Saturday like the good lord intended, upgrade the stadium, and you'll see better OC opponents and increased home attendance.


*** I got an invite from an active alumni-friend to an NIU alumni holiday party downtown. He said he heard their would be a "special treat" for attendees. Stadium sponsor/donor news?

(11-26-2015 04:53 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  Our fanbase has definitely grown over the last two decades, its a shame it hasn't translated into bigger recent home attendance.

TV coverage + national attendance downswing + weekday games = stifled HS attendance

Move our games back to Saturday like the good lord intended, upgrade the stadium, and you'll see better OC opponents and increased home attendance.


*** I got an invite from an active alumni-friend to an NIU alumni holiday party downtown. He said he heard their would be a "special treat" for attendees. Stadium sponsor/donor news?

This. +1.

(11-26-2015 04:53 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  Our fanbase has definitely grown over the last two decades, its a shame it hasn't translated into bigger recent home attendance.

TV coverage + national attendance downswing + weekday games = stifled HS attendance

Move our games back to Saturday like the good lord intended, upgrade the stadium, and you'll see better OC opponents and increased home attendance.


*** I got an invite from an active alumni-friend to an NIU alumni holiday party downtown. He said he heard their would be a "special treat" for attendees. Stadium sponsor/donor news?

Don't forget scheduling, that is probably the biggest factor outside of weekday games.

Here is something mind numbing to look at


Thursday early season/Saturday home games the past 3 years


2013-14

Eastern Illinois
Akron
Eastern Michigan


2014-15

Presbyterian
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami-OH

2015-16

UNLV
Murray State
Ball State
Eastern Michigan


I mean just look at that, the best game to see on a Saturday in 3 years was either Ball State or CMU. Without the non-conf schedule being strong AND the ESPN weekday deal, can you honestly be all that critical of fans for not coming out? For us diehards it seems unreasonable, but if I take my diehard hat off, I completely understand it.

Schedule issues are changing though, thankfully!!!

(11-26-2015 08:02 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Here is something mind numbing to look at


Thursday early season/Saturday home games the past 3 years


2013-14

Eastern Illinois
Akron
Eastern Michigan


2014-15

Presbyterian
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami-OH

2015-16

UNLV
Murray State
Ball State
Eastern Michigan


I mean just look at that, the best game to see on a Saturday in 3 years was either Ball State or CMU. Without the non-conf schedule being strong AND the ESPN weekday deal, can you honestly be all that critical of fans for not coming out? For us diehards it seems unreasonable, but if I take my diehard hat off, I completely understand it.

Schedule issues are changing though, thankfully!!!

Pretty ugly, I agree that schedule is a hard sell for non diehards.

The fanbase has definitely grown over the years but attendance has spiraled downwards. Weird but true.

No. 1, our continued success; No. 2, standouts like LeShon Johnson, Garrett Wolfe, Michael Turner "the Burner", (although a bust) first-round draft pick Larry English, Chandler Harnish, and Jordan Lynch; and No. 3, Orange Bowl appearance -- all helped improve our "fan base," but that is not the same as attendance or season ticket-holders. As I've said before, initially the exposure was a huge help, but it has run its course. Being locked into those weeknight games by the MAC and ESPN is a negative when it comes to actual attendance. Move the NIU-UT or NIU-WMU (i.e., a game of significance even if it's a MAC foe) to a Saturday and the attendance will be better. The "exposure" value on ESPN is reaching a point of diminishing returns if we do not win. How many non-Huskies watching us lose to Ohio probably believe NIU's fortunes have peaked?

(11-26-2015 08:11 PM)NIUSox10 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 08:02 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Here is something mind numbing to look at


Thursday early season/Saturday home games the past 3 years


2013-14

Eastern Illinois
Akron
Eastern Michigan


2014-15

Presbyterian
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami-OH

2015-16

UNLV
Murray State
Ball State
Eastern Michigan


I mean just look at that, the best game to see on a Saturday in 3 years was either Ball State or CMU. Without the non-conf schedule being strong AND the ESPN weekday deal, can you honestly be all that critical of fans for not coming out? For us diehards it seems unreasonable, but if I take my diehard hat off, I completely understand it.

Schedule issues are changing though, thankfully!!!

Pretty ugly, I agree that schedule is a hard sell for non diehards.

I think the best attendance was EIU. We had Lynch and great promise coming off Orange Bowl, they were good and had Garropfolo at QB, beautiful weather, instate opponent who brought fans, 6:00 game time start. If we can't get big names to come into HS, at least get some in state teams like SIU, ISU, etc. i still can't understand why Northwestern doesn't ever play here.

(11-27-2015 12:59 PM)NIU17 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 08:11 PM)NIUSox10 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 08:02 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Here is something mind numbing to look at


Thursday early season/Saturday home games the past 3 years


2013-14

Eastern Illinois
Akron
Eastern Michigan


2014-15

Presbyterian
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami-OH

2015-16

UNLV
Murray State
Ball State
Eastern Michigan


I mean just look at that, the best game to see on a Saturday in 3 years was either Ball State or CMU. Without the non-conf schedule being strong AND the ESPN weekday deal, can you honestly be all that critical of fans for not coming out? For us diehards it seems unreasonable, but if I take my diehard hat off, I completely understand it.

Schedule issues are changing though, thankfully!!!

Pretty ugly, I agree that schedule is a hard sell for non diehards.

I think the best attendance was EIU. We had Lynch and great promise coming off Orange Bowl, they were good and had Garropfolo at QB, beautiful weather, instate opponent who brought fans, 6:00 game time start. If we can't get big names to come into HS, at least get some in state teams like SIU, ISU, etc. i still can't understand why Northwestern doesn't ever play here.

Iowa State isn't in state, but they are quite close. I could see a regular series with them or Iowa marketed as a midwest rivalry game. Battle for the corn.

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if you work 30 minutes east of the fox valley, getting to dekalb is a major pain in the rear short of taking vacation/personal time. heck, it takes me 1hr 15 mins just to get to elgin from chicago....then add another 30-40 minute drive to dekalb? thanks, but no thanks.

(11-27-2015 01:34 PM)huskiealum03 Wrote:  if you work 30 minutes east of the fox valley, getting to dekalb is a major pain in the rear short of taking vacation/personal time. heck, it takes me 1hr 15 mins just to get to elgin from chicago....then add another 30-40 minute drive to dekalb? thanks, but no thanks.

What roads are YOU taking?!?!?! or are you driving a scooter?

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(11-27-2015 02:17 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(11-27-2015 01:34 PM)huskiealum03 Wrote:  if you work 30 minutes east of the fox valley, getting to dekalb is a major pain in the rear short of taking vacation/personal time. heck, it takes me 1hr 15 mins just to get to elgin from chicago....then add another 30-40 minute drive to dekalb? thanks, but no thanks.

What roads are YOU taking?!?!?! or are you driving a scooter?

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Metra from city. Its a long ride, but a longer drive during weekdays. This is talking in weekday terms. Obviously times reduce drastically during weekends

Weeknight games do not help but are not the only problems. The attendance on Saturdays has been terrible as well. Last year I thought the awful weather was the culprit. This year the weather was pretty decent and attendance was even wors. I don't think the issue is even the number of fans. The problem is many of them are casual fans, at best.

I think the main issue is there isn't a whole lot to do in DeKalb other than go to the game. Most people want to party (drink a lot) when they go to the game. This requires them to stay the night, and they will want some place decent to stay and a few options for fun places to eat and drink after the game. The hotel options that do not require a drive are mediocre (really, they are dumps), and there are only a couple of bars and only a few restaurants - none of which are hip/trendy enough to draw people out of the city or even the burbs. Even if they are not looking to stay and party, it would be nice to have more than 2 or 3 options to grab a meal after the game.