Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

(10-27-2017 01:08 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

They wouldn't be there because it was weeknight against Akron, or they wouldn't be there even on a Saturday if it was Akron?

(10-27-2017 01:19 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 01:08 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

They wouldn't be there because it was weeknight against Akron, or they wouldn't be there even on a Saturday if it was Akron?

When NIU played Akron, at home on saturday in 2004 the place was packed. 26,266 fans to be exact. Which was more than against a much better Bowling Green team the weeknight before.

Everybody has PTO at work. Instead of taking off Nov. 24 or Dec. 26, take off a night when NIU is playing at home and get your ass to Huskie Stadium.
It’s not that difficult.

(10-27-2017 12:05 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  don't you feel a charismatic coach would be better positioned to galvanize our student body and our local fanbase?

Sure. But can you guarantee the W-L success that Carey has?

(10-27-2017 12:05 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  What about P.J. Fleck?

PJs trajectory took him beyond NIU many years ago. There's no longer an arguement to be made on PJ coming to NIU.

(10-27-2017 12:05 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  Do you think he would stand idly by as attendance dwindled to anemic numbers? I doubt it - in fact I know he wouldn't. He would be out drumming up excitement and interest on campus. I don't want this to be a Fleck post, but I would like to illustrate a point when I speak of charismatic coaches. I know P.J. is widely disliked around these parts, but a coach such as he would be much better for our attendance and our culture.

Don't forget, I see a hell of a lot of PJ up here in MN. He's a hoot, a fraud, awesome, ridiculous, weird and great all at once.

(10-27-2017 12:05 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  Leadership. Culture. Generating interest and excitement. Not just Coach Carey, but our entire football program has fallen behind the times.

No, I challenge this vehemently.

The Athletic Department and the football program are running a clean ship. They are winning games. They do not lie, cheat or steal. The APR is high, the kids are graduating, and some are even going onto the highest levels of competition. There is a robust social media presence, the games are televised, streamed, (or my favorite) on Tunein radio.

NIU is running a program that many schools outside of a Stanford or Ohio State look to emulate on many levels. If your baby is getting rid of Carey, then a lot of other things can go out with that bathwater.

(10-27-2017 01:34 PM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  Everybody has PTO at work. Instead of taking off Nov. 24 or Dec. 26, take off a night when NIU is playing at home and get your ass to Huskie Stadium.
It’s not that difficult.

Haha I’m sure that message will resonate with the fanbase.

“Forget taking PTO to be with or to travel your family during the holidays, instead come to Huskie Stadium on a Wednesday.

(10-26-2017 11:20 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  

(10-26-2017 07:01 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(10-26-2017 06:48 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Again, weeknight games are trash

Yeah, this is a pathetic showing... out the game on at a bar and someone actually laughed out loud saying "even the guys at the game don't want to watch this! Put the bulls pregame on"

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

This is a good post, Stay Cool, because it is very telling to what the problem actually is. Huskie fans are quick to jump on the MAC, ESPN, and weekday games as the predominant reason attendance is eroding - while it plays into it, it isn't the determining factor.

Just this season NIU drew an identical 16K for both the BC game on a Friday night, and the EIU game on a Saturday afternoon. Yes, BC is a national program, however Eastern is an in state game drawing EIU fans, so why didn't the Saturday attendance blow the Friday night attendance out of the water? Furthermore, homecoming attendance, also on a Saturday afternoon, was a paltry 11K

Let us bear in mind that these weekday MAC games are not a new thing - they have been going on for quite a few years. The difference is, when NIU didn't have embarrassing attendance, no one griped about it.

It was a mere four seasons ago that NIU averaged more than 20K a game in home attendance. Today, we are drawing half of that for our homecoming game. With a competitive team.

All of college football has seen decreases in attendance over the past few seasons, however NIU is one of the leading schools in severity of that attendance drop. It's not the weekday games, gang.

The real issue, as illustrated by Stay Cool's guys in a bar, is the Huskie football product has caused the attrition in our fanbase. NIU had the football world by the throat coming off the Orange Bowl appearance, yet we made the fateful choice of promoting Coach Carey to the helm.

During his tenure, Coach Carey has proven to be stand-offish to our fans, loathed by the media, and is as uncharismatic as any coach could possibly be.

Sure, the hardcore fans who frequent this message board will argue, "I don't care about any of that - I just want him to win!" Okay, that's great, but hardcore fans don't fill stadiums, casual fans do. Casual fans do not like Coach Carey, they are bored by the way the Huskies play football, and NIU does not get the press and coverage that they would if they had a media friendly coach.

For those of you who immediately want to hang me out to dry because you are so locked into blaming ESPN and the MAC, ask yourself this; do you really think attendance would have plummeted this far if Novak, Doeren, or Kill were running the show?

While I appreciate your passion and fandom I don't agree with your premise. I've never once gone to a game because of a coach nor have I ever declined attending due to a coach. Carey can be blamed for bad timeouts (not this game, yeah) but not attendance.

The student body doesn't care. This has been happening for a decade and a BCS type of team comes along once in a lifetime.

Blame espn and the tv deal for lousy November games sure but we would have only gotten to 11k.

Key point: If you dont keep the students invested in NIU then your product will dwindle.

Take a look at the student section last nite. How many of those students come back to support the team after they graduate? If all of them do it would barely move the attendance figures up.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

The idea that a coach brings people to a football game is hilarious

(10-27-2017 01:08 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

Okay, so why has Saturday attendance fallen so dramatically? Some season ticket holder attrition, assuredly, however I would think those who loathe the weekday games would rush at the opportunity to watch their Huskies during these Saturday games that are so majestic. 11K for homecoming. I don't care if there was a tornado, that is sad for a good team. That has nothing to do with the ESPN deal. That is a symptom of a serious problem with the football program.

To say the coach has zero affect on attendance is shortsighted, DogPound. While no one skips games because they don't like Coach Carey, NIU football is a product. The coach is the face of this product and the athletic department has not marketed this product properly. It's not Coach Carey's fault, he's just not charismatic. He is the wrong leader if you are trying to energize and galvanize a fan base.

If you ran a restaurant and watched covers decrease year after year, would you find it acceptable to have a chef and manager that were sullen and inaccessible even if they ran a tight shop and prepared excellent food? Probably not. At least you wouldn't if you wanted the restaurant to turn around.

Maybe the analogy is stupid, but the attendance issue is WAY more involved and problematic than making a blanket statement that the MAC and weeknight games are the death knoll. NIU has to look at everything.

Yes, fans are protesting the games because they don't like Carey's demeanor/attitude...even though 95% of them have probably never heard him speak or are indifferent if they have. This is quickly ranking up there with the "NIU doesn't run RPO plays" argument.

(10-27-2017 01:43 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  If you ran a restaurant and watched covers decrease year after year, would you find it acceptable to have a chef and manager that were sullen and inaccessible even if they ran a tight shop and prepared excellent food? Probably not. At least you wouldn't if you wanted the restaurant to turn around.

This is actually a hilarious argument because I have absolutely zero concern about how approachable the chef or manager are at a restaurant. If they serve great food and provide a quality experience then I'll keep going back. Why the hell would I care how conversational the chef is? Attendance is down everywhere except for at top 20 programs. There are a million reasons for attendance declining...the head coach isn't even in the top 20 reasons

(10-27-2017 01:23 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 01:19 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 01:08 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

They wouldn't be there because it was weeknight against Akron, or they wouldn't be there even on a Saturday if it was Akron?

When NIU played Akron, at home on saturday in 2004 the place was packed. 26,266 fans to be exact. Which was more than against a much better Bowling Green team the weeknight before.

I'm not arguing your point, just wondering if they meant they would show up on Saturday against Akron but not if it was a weeknight.

I agree that the ESPN deal has seriously hurt NIU's fanbase at least. We've had a lot of weeknight games for a lot of years now.

(10-27-2017 01:43 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 01:08 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Who the coach is has ZERO, again I say ZERO effect on the attendance lol. The fact is, "MACtion" (god what a stupid name, I hate it with every fiber of my being) has been going on for over a decade and the results are in...It destroys the fanbase and the community around the football team. The MAC sold out it's schools for some extra cash, plain and simple. They had to know this was going to be the reaction, how could you not? I remember in 2004 playing Bowling Green on a weeknight, it was packed, but everyone in the student section was saying if we were playing Akron or someone else they wouldn't be there. And that was back when the MAC had more than one ranked team from time to time (I also think MACtion has weakened MAC football as a whole, but we can discuss that somewhere else). Anyway, as long as we are in the MAC we will play to empty stadiums on weeknights. It sucks and it's killing our football program, but i'm sure Jon Steinbrecher is enjoying his large pool and additional wing on his house.

Okay, so why has Saturday attendance fallen so dramatically? Some season ticket holder attrition, assuredly, however I would think those who loathe the weekday games would rush at the opportunity to watch their Huskies during these Saturday games that are so majestic. 11K for homecoming. I don't care if there was a tornado, that is sad for a good team. That has nothing to do with the ESPN deal. That is a symptom of a serious problem with the football program.

To say the coach has zero affect on attendance is shortsighted, DogPound. While no one skips games because they don't like Coach Carey, NIU football is a product. The coach is the face of this product and the athletic department has not marketed this product properly. It's not Coach Carey's fault, he's just not charismatic. He is the wrong leader if you are trying to energize and galvanize a fan base.

If you ran a restaurant and watched covers decrease year after year, would you find it acceptable to have a chef and manager that were sullen and inaccessible even if they ran a tight shop and prepared excellent food? Probably not. At least you wouldn't if you wanted the restaurant to turn around.

Maybe the analogy is stupid, but the attendance issue is WAY more involved and problematic than making a blanket statement that the MAC and weeknight games are the death knoll. NIU has to look at everything.

Were you at homecoming? Rainy and very windy for the entire first half, and part of the 2nd half. I wouldn't use this year's homecoming game to make points about attendance.

Certainly by now, I'm sure the esteemed Huskie Fan Advisory Board has all the answers. I wonder what they've come up with?

Everything ties into the next when it comes to Football, attendance, student recruitment and retention, etc.

I don't know about the folks on this board, but I went to NIU (freshman in 2004) because NIU had a good football team, was relatively inexpensive, and wasn't U of I. Like it or not, students who like football are going to go to schools that A. Are good at football or B. make football a focus for the community and university. You can't attract students in column B if you play your games on weekdays. Tailgating, going to the game, the environment, this was all a HUGE PART of NIU football prior to "MACtion." Now if you are a student who likes to tailgate and go to games, why would you go to NIU or even any MAC school? We get what, 2-3 saturday home games a year now? And of course it tends to rain on those days.

Anyway, not being a "football school" even though you have easily a top 30-40 program in the country SUCKS. And a huge problem is the fact that MACtion has set NIU back YEARS. If you think that tomorrow we started playing saturday games again, that people will just start showing up, you're wrong. When you dwindle the fanbase and the community for over a decade it is going to take a very long time to get people back. Like it or not, we went from 25K to 11K a game...and saturday games won't be a miracle cure. I think eventually people will return, but it will take a very long time.

The hard truth is though, we are stuck in the MAC, and given the fact that we have a run down stadium, we are not in a good position when the major and probably final realignment occurs in the next 3-5 years. What's done is done, as much as we all love NIU football, MACtion put us on a path that will end up with us being left in the dust, even though we have easily one of the best programs in the Nation, and that includes all of the P5. Now we just wait out our slow and painful death....fin.

(10-27-2017 01:59 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Everything ties into the next when it comes to Football, attendance, student recruitment and retention, etc.

I don't know about the folks on this board, but I went to NIU (freshman in 2004) because NIU had a good football team, was relatively inexpensive, and wasn't U of I. Like it or not, students who like football are going to go to schools that A. Are good at football or B. make football a focus for the community and university. You can't attract students in column B if you play your games on weekdays. Tailgating, going to the game, the environment, this was all a HUGE PART of NIU football prior to "MACtion." Now if you are a student who likes to tailgate and go to games, why would you go to NIU or even any MAC school? We get what, 2-3 saturday home games a year now? And of course it tends to rain on those days.

Anyway, not being a "football school" even though you have easily a top 30-40 program in the country SUCKS. And a huge problem is the fact that MACtion has set NIU back YEARS. If you think that tomorrow we started playing saturday games again, that people will just start showing up, you're wrong. When you dwindle the fanbase and the community for over a decade it is going to take a very long time to get people back. Like it or not, we went from 25K to 11K a game...and saturday games won't be a miracle cure. I think eventually people will return, but it will take a very long time.

The hard truth is though, we are stuck in the MAC, and given the fact that we have a run down stadium, we are not in a good position when the major and probably final realignment occurs in the next 3-5 years. What's done is done, as much as we all love NIU football, MACtion put us on a path that will end up with us being left in the dust, even though we have easily one of the best programs in the Nation, and that includes all of the P5. Now we just wait out our slow and painful death....fin.

Yea I think people get out of the habit of going to games if they can only go to 1 a year. Resulting in poorer attendance even on Saturdays.

(10-27-2017 02:06 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-27-2017 01:59 PM)DogPoundNorth Wrote:  Everything ties into the next when it comes to Football, attendance, student recruitment and retention, etc.

I don't know about the folks on this board, but I went to NIU (freshman in 2004) because NIU had a good football team, was relatively inexpensive, and wasn't U of I. Like it or not, students who like football are going to go to schools that A. Are good at football or B. make football a focus for the community and university. You can't attract students in column B if you play your games on weekdays. Tailgating, going to the game, the environment, this was all a HUGE PART of NIU football prior to "MACtion." Now if you are a student who likes to tailgate and go to games, why would you go to NIU or even any MAC school? We get what, 2-3 saturday home games a year now? And of course it tends to rain on those days.

Anyway, not being a "football school" even though you have easily a top 30-40 program in the country SUCKS. And a huge problem is the fact that MACtion has set NIU back YEARS. If you think that tomorrow we started playing saturday games again, that people will just start showing up, you're wrong. When you dwindle the fanbase and the community for over a decade it is going to take a very long time to get people back. Like it or not, we went from 25K to 11K a game...and saturday games won't be a miracle cure. I think eventually people will return, but it will take a very long time.

The hard truth is though, we are stuck in the MAC, and given the fact that we have a run down stadium, we are not in a good position when the major and probably final realignment occurs in the next 3-5 years. What's done is done, as much as we all love NIU football, MACtion put us on a path that will end up with us being left in the dust, even though we have easily one of the best programs in the Nation, and that includes all of the P5. Now we just wait out our slow and painful death....fin.

Yea I think people get out of the habit of going to games if they can only go to 1 a year. Resulting in poorer attendance even on Saturdays.

+1000

I had gone to Homecoming for the last 10 years, even had season tickets for awhile but with the terrible schedule this year I did not renew and was not excited about EIU.
I am really tired of watching the low level MAC teams. I expect us to win and would rather watch on (TV) the game and spend the 4 hours I saved on the commute to do things around the house.
I am glad they are on some form of TV and it has factored in my decision to drive to DeKalb.

P.S
I did go see BC and always will for Toledo.
WMU is 50/50.
Everybody else in the MAC, unless undefeated or ranked I will watch on TV.

(10-27-2017 02:20 PM)huskie1stdown Wrote:  I had gone to Homecoming for the last 10 years, even had season tickets for awhile but with the terrible schedule this year I did not renew and was not excited about EIU.
I am really tired of watching the low level MAC teams. I expect us to win and would rather watch on (TV) the game and spend the 4 hours I saved on the commute to do things around the house.
I am glad they are on some form of TV and it has factored in my decision to drive to DeKalb.

I am not insulting you, but this is the issue with NIU fans. I have never seen this with a fan base. Everyone talks about how they want to move to a bigger conference, play more meaningful games, and have a few more match ups on the weekend. Yet a majority don't support the cause in the best possible way they can; financially. Buy the season tickets, they're f****** cheap. Consider it a donation or whatever. You can't expect to move forward if you don't buy into the program. The amount of season ticket holders that did not renew after going 5-7 last year is pitiful.

If mid-week games are what holds you up, buy them anyway because the only way that changes is if NIU moves to the American and they won't with as little of a donor/season ticket holder base as they have (I'm speaking for all sports).