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NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
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toddjnsn Offline
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Post: #21
RE: NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
Quote:Now we just need to hire an obnoxious coach and major conference offers will come rolling in.

Well that Boat has sailed... err, rowed past. :)

Quote:Maybe it needs to enter their heads that with HALF of our home games being played on weeknights in Nov. that makes a big impact on season tickets sales.

That combined with WatchESPN access from anywhere, one would expect a hit on attendance. However, with that said, I don't think it's so much the cold. There really haven't been blistering cold games that'd keep people at home. I think it's a combination of solidly sub-par attendance for "the Ohio State of the MAC" + being on too many weeknights that keep it so low.
12-19-2015 01:45 PM
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NIU007 Online
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Post: #22
RE: NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
(12-19-2015 01:45 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  
Quote:Now we just need to hire an obnoxious coach and major conference offers will come rolling in.

Well that Boat has sailed... err, rowed past. :)

Quote:Maybe it needs to enter their heads that with HALF of our home games being played on weeknights in Nov. that makes a big impact on season tickets sales.

That combined with WatchESPN access from anywhere, one would expect a hit on attendance. However, with that said, I don't think it's so much the cold. There really haven't been blistering cold games that'd keep people at home. I think it's a combination of solidly sub-par attendance for "the Ohio State of the MAC" + being on too many weeknights that keep it so low.

There have been some pretty cold games. I was at the WMU game a few years ago and that's the coldest I've ever been at a game. And they're all probably colder than a Saturday afternoon game would have been. I think it's a combination of the cold and that people can't get there in time, after work. And people that live some distance away sure won't go.
(This post was last modified: 12-19-2015 01:53 PM by NIU007.)
12-19-2015 01:52 PM
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uiniu57 Offline
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RE: NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
(12-19-2015 11:22 AM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  Stupid trib won't let me read the article without signing up. 01-lauramac2

For you HuskieFootballAddict:

Northern Illinois benefits in name recognition from 8th straight bowl trip

By Jack McCarthy
Tribune Freelance Writer

Athletic director Sean Frazier doesn't need to make introductions for Northern Illinois football these days.

The program has transcended its mid-major roots and cultivated a national presence entering Wednesday's Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, the Huskies' eighth consecutive postseason appearance.

"When I put the NIU tag out there, people know where we're from, know what we do and what games we've played in," Frazier said this week. "It's pretty phenomenal to be in a small part of Alabama — where my people are from — and for somebody to say in the Piggly Wiggly: 'Oh, NIU, you guys played in the Orange Bowl. You guys are big time.'

"The brand has grown into a national brand, and we're proud of it."

NIU faces a Boise State program that has smashed similar barriers to college football prominence. The Broncos have played in, and won, three Fiesta Bowls in the last 10 seasons — including a 38-30 victory over Arizona last year — while the Huskies made a landmark Orange Bowl appearance against Florida State in January 2013.

With increased attention has come an expanded recruiting base that reaches into Florida — home to 10 current Huskies, including All-America cornerback Shawun Lurry — and other southern and western states.

Coach Rod Carey said national exposure, consistent winning and strong academics — NIU tops the Mid-American Conference with an 86 percent graduation rate, according to NCAA data — have resulted in positive receptions from recruits.

"That's been a really good response, not just with the recruits but with the coaches and parents," Carey said. "The position we've been in the last five years, not only with making the MAC championship but with the 'MACtion' (midweek ESPN games), really gives us a leg up in getting our brand out there. Five years later, you are really seeing a comfort and a good response to that."

The Huskies have gone 65-18 since 2010, easily outperforming the state's other two FBS programs, Northwestern (43-32) and Illinois (31-44).

NIU has also upgraded facilities, including the Yordon training center adjacent to Huskie Stadium that opened in 2007 and the spacious Chessick indoor practice field that debuted in 2011.

The national exposure has come from aggressive scheduling that included games this season at then-No. 1 Ohio State and Boston College, plus exclusive attention via the MAC's November midweek games on ESPN networks.

Future schedules include Boston College, Nebraska, Iowa, BYU, San Diego State, Maryland, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. And an expanded Huskie Stadium is on the drawing board as part of a privately funded facilities upgrade plan.

But first officials have to figure out how to draw notoriously fickle students and fans to fill the existing 23,595-seat stadium, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2015. NIU averaged just under 14,000 fans for six home dates.

"At the end of the day, it's time to show up," Frazier said. "It's not because we're not winning. If you want the Boises of the world to come to Huskie Stadium, the BYUs, you've got to show up."

The Poinsettia Bowl has a reported payout of less than $1 million that is shared with the conference. NIU's traveling party to San Diego will number between 250 and 260, and the school typically doesn't break even on bowl trips.

But even as a loss leader, any postseason appearance has significant value.

"To have that publicity is huge," Frazier said. "You have an institutional infomercial about everything that is special about NIU for a three- or 3 1/2-hour time block. That TV time on a national broadcast is pretty significant."

Jack McCarthy is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
12-20-2015 06:48 PM
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HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Offline
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Post: #24
RE: NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
(12-18-2015 05:34 PM)NIUTrekker Wrote:  
(12-18-2015 04:24 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  
(12-17-2015 11:21 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  Athletic director Sean Frazier doesn't need to make introductions for Northern Illinois football these days.

The program has transcended its mid-major roots and cultivated a national presence entering Wednesday's Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, the Huskies' eighth consecutive postseason appearance.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/col...ed-content

We're better known nationally than we are by the Chicago media. The Tribune has an article occasionally, when it's convenient for them.

Living in DC area, I talk football to people who attended colleges across the country. It's a rarity that someone is unfamiliar with NIU. Most of whom have high regard for our school and football program. It's baffling to me why people from Illinois don't give NIU the respect it deserves.

It is amazing how national perception seems to be far better than local perception. Was talking with an Ole Miss grad while in Nashville about bowls. Mentioned NIU and he definitely knew about the and even mentioned Jordan Lynch.
12-20-2015 06:59 PM
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HuskieFootball Addict Offline
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Post: #25
RE: NIU Benefits in Name Recognition from 8th Straight Bowl Trip: Tribune
(12-20-2015 06:48 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  
(12-19-2015 11:22 AM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  Stupid trib won't let me read the article without signing up. 01-lauramac2

For you HuskieFootballAddict:

Northern Illinois benefits in name recognition from 8th straight bowl trip

By Jack McCarthy
Tribune Freelance Writer

Athletic director Sean Frazier doesn't need to make introductions for Northern Illinois football these days.

The program has transcended its mid-major roots and cultivated a national presence entering Wednesday's Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, the Huskies' eighth consecutive postseason appearance.

"When I put the NIU tag out there, people know where we're from, know what we do and what games we've played in," Frazier said this week. "It's pretty phenomenal to be in a small part of Alabama — where my people are from — and for somebody to say in the Piggly Wiggly: 'Oh, NIU, you guys played in the Orange Bowl. You guys are big time.'

"The brand has grown into a national brand, and we're proud of it."

NIU faces a Boise State program that has smashed similar barriers to college football prominence. The Broncos have played in, and won, three Fiesta Bowls in the last 10 seasons — including a 38-30 victory over Arizona last year — while the Huskies made a landmark Orange Bowl appearance against Florida State in January 2013.

With increased attention has come an expanded recruiting base that reaches into Florida — home to 10 current Huskies, including All-America cornerback Shawun Lurry — and other southern and western states.

Coach Rod Carey said national exposure, consistent winning and strong academics — NIU tops the Mid-American Conference with an 86 percent graduation rate, according to NCAA data — have resulted in positive receptions from recruits.

"That's been a really good response, not just with the recruits but with the coaches and parents," Carey said. "The position we've been in the last five years, not only with making the MAC championship but with the 'MACtion' (midweek ESPN games), really gives us a leg up in getting our brand out there. Five years later, you are really seeing a comfort and a good response to that."

The Huskies have gone 65-18 since 2010, easily outperforming the state's other two FBS programs, Northwestern (43-32) and Illinois (31-44).

NIU has also upgraded facilities, including the Yordon training center adjacent to Huskie Stadium that opened in 2007 and the spacious Chessick indoor practice field that debuted in 2011.

The national exposure has come from aggressive scheduling that included games this season at then-No. 1 Ohio State and Boston College, plus exclusive attention via the MAC's November midweek games on ESPN networks.

Future schedules include Boston College, Nebraska, Iowa, BYU, San Diego State, Maryland, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. And an expanded Huskie Stadium is on the drawing board as part of a privately funded facilities upgrade plan.

But first officials have to figure out how to draw notoriously fickle students and fans to fill the existing 23,595-seat stadium, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2015. NIU averaged just under 14,000 fans for six home dates.

"At the end of the day, it's time to show up," Frazier said. "It's not because we're not winning. If you want the Boises of the world to come to Huskie Stadium, the BYUs, you've got to show up."

The Poinsettia Bowl has a reported payout of less than $1 million that is shared with the conference. NIU's traveling party to San Diego will number between 250 and 260, and the school typically doesn't break even on bowl trips.

But even as a loss leader, any postseason appearance has significant value.

"To have that publicity is huge," Frazier said. "You have an institutional infomercial about everything that is special about NIU for a three- or 3 1/2-hour time block. That TV time on a national broadcast is pretty significant."

Jack McCarthy is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

uiniu, Thank you for sharing it for me. Appreciate it much! 04-cheers
12-21-2015 12:36 PM
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