NIU does a GREAT job with this. The $20 student package includes:

- Coach bus travel to/from Ford Field
- Dinner Friday night
- One NIU Student ticket

The student better sell out those buses!!!

Student Package

Heard athletics sent an email to students...may not even fill up one bus. Sad.

(11-30-2015 03:07 PM)Mark26pt2 Wrote:  NIU does a GREAT job with this. The $20 student package includes:

- Coach bus travel to/from Ford Field
- Dinner Friday night
- One NIU Student ticket

The student better sell out those buses!!!

Student Package

Sadly it will take allot of direct marketing.
Despite the most magnificent performance by NIU Football, student interest seems to have dropped dramatically.
I think that the NIU College of Business should do a case study on how to improve student participation in football.
Clearly the athletic department needs the help of the NIU C.O.B. .

They should promote to and market to all the colleges...

It sickens me how terrible our fan base has become. 20 dollars? for a ride, a meal, and a ticket and we can't sell that deal out? effing embarrassing.

(11-30-2015 10:27 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It sickens me how terrible our fan base has become. 20 dollars? for a ride, a meal, and a ticket and we can't sell that deal out? effing embarrassing.

This is a case study on how, the NIU athletic department has taken NIU student support for granted. Maybe it has incorrectly assumed that a great football performance on the field would automatically translate into student interest?
Whatever the athletic department is doing, it is fair to say that it is not working.

You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

I think this is going to be our worst crowd showing in Detroit.

(11-30-2015 10:38 PM)sterling1man Wrote:  

(11-30-2015 10:27 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  It sickens me how terrible our fan base has become. 20 dollars? for a ride, a meal, and a ticket and we can't sell that deal out? effing embarrassing.

This is a case study on how, the NIU athletic department has taken NIU student support for granted. Maybe it has incorrectly assumed that a great football performance on the field would automatically translate into student interest?
Whatever the athletic department is doing, it is fair to say that it is not working.

Short of paying them to go to the game, stay and give them a free beer or post game Taco Bell burrito not sure what you can do. $20 sounds like a deal.

(11-30-2015 11:07 PM)HuskieWXman Wrote:  You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

Meh i dont buy it. In 2010 when we played Miami OH we sold out all the student bus seats (12 buses if I recall but someone may want to fact check), and that did not include dinner and the game was an hour earlier. Are current NIU students taking the Detroit trip for granted since we have gone there every year for as long as the upper classmen have been in school?

I'm using the student package to go, and I'm trying to get a couple other guys to go too. They might go, but I get the sense that they will not come along. Yes it is very true how the students can care less about any athletics. I don't see any excitement on gameday. It seems when games are on weeknights, many students have no clue we are even playing. I don't know if niu needs to market better or not. In the end I feel it comes down to the students to have some school spirit, and take the initiative to find out when things are happening and support your school. As for the email, I have yet to receive one from the school about this student package, so I don't know if they sent one out or not. I found out about the package by searching myself.

(11-30-2015 11:07 PM)HuskieWXman Wrote:  You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

You have a point when comes to finals and class on Friday.

(11-30-2015 11:13 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  I think this is going to be our worst crowd showing in Detroit.

I have the same feeling unfortunately.

(11-30-2015 11:07 PM)HuskieWXman Wrote:  You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

Lol....please

With our student body, you're telling me we can't fill some damn busses? what a joke.

(11-30-2015 11:40 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(11-30-2015 11:07 PM)HuskieWXman Wrote:  You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

Lol....please

With our student body, you're telling me we can't fill some damn busses? what a joke.

I have to agree.
We have been to Detroit 5 straight times.
Is this the first time that "all" the students have had exams the following week?

When has going to detroit ever been a thing for students? serious question. Sometimes you just have to accept not everyone is really that into watching college sports especially in detroit, championship or not. I see this in my closest NIU fraternity brothers and friends today and not just NIU, my Chicagoland raised UofI, Wisco friends as well. They will go all out to watch a hawk/bulls/bears/cubs game before they think even think to Physically GO to a NIU game. And these folks have alot of love for NIU and watch games on TV too. I can relate, I was not raised to care about college sports either, but because of my connection to games I became a huge fan.

$20 is a damn good deal though!

(11-30-2015 11:19 PM)NIUSox10 Wrote:  

(11-30-2015 11:07 PM)HuskieWXman Wrote:  You guys seem to be missing the fact that it's the end of the semester, the kids have class on Friday, and finals the following week. Many of them will be in a position where they can't afford to not go to class.

Some of you are a bit out of touch with reality...

Meh i dont buy it. In 2010 when we played Miami OH we sold out all the student bus seats (12 buses if I recall but someone may want to fact check), and that did not include dinner and the game was an hour earlier. Are current NIU students taking the Detroit trip for granted since we have gone there every year for as long as the upper classmen have been in school?

I agree with you. Something does not smell right?
This is a record tie-ing sixth straight trip to Detroit.
Interest should have increased not decreased.
These are the supposed next generation of NIU FB fans.

Maybe athletics has been focused on the High school FB tournament and lost touch with how the NIU student feels.

I think the students proved they'll travel when we showed how many came for the 20 hour bus ride to Miami.

(11-30-2015 11:50 PM)HuskieAlumnus03 Wrote:  When has going to detroit ever been a thing for students? serious question. Sometimes you just have to accept not everyone is really that into watching college sports especially in detroit, championship or not. I see this in my closest NIU fraternity brothers and friends today and not just NIU, my Chicagoland raised UofI, Wisco friends as well. They will go all out to watch a hawk/bulls/bears/cubs game before they think even think to Physically GO to a NIU game. And these folks have alot of love for NIU and watch games on TV too. I can relate, I was not raised to care about college sports either, but because of my connection to games I became a huge fan.

$20 is a damn good deal though!

Sometimes you have to realize that "not anyone" at NIU (not enough to fill a Bus)
is interested in college FB.
Is it not the NIU athletic department's job to market the game to students?

I think I get it! A Maddawgz conspiracy!

In order to keep our very successful FB coach and pay him the minimum salary for a MAC coach, we need to have the lowest number of NIU students interested in FB.
That way other schools will look at the number of NIU fans in Detroit and blame it on Coach Carey.
This will cause other schools to ignore Coach Carey's record, due to the low NIU fan turnout.

(11-30-2015 11:53 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  I think the students proved they'll travel when we showed how many came for the 20 hour bus ride to Miami.

agree!