I was at the Buffalo game yesterday, and you would think NIU has an enrollment of 1,000 students. Besides the band, I bet there was less than 200 students at the game. A very pathetic showing.
Whether the team is performing up to expectations or not, the team deserves some support.
I totally agree. The student support has been very poor. What seems to be the reason? Any students on this board with any thoughts? Has Rob not been able to get student support?
I hope your kidding about the statement "what be the reason."
While it is unfortunate that 4,000 plus students aren't attending games, it is also not a mystery. When something good is built that is also sustainable, then students will be drawn to the program, much like in football.
Of those among the 25,000 students on campus who count themselves college hoops fans, I bet 95% of them follow and care more about Illinois or most of the Big 10 programs then they do NIU right now. And that's not a rip on them by the way. The same applies to 99% of alumni.
NIU has a golden opportunity to build something special for the long haul in men's basketball. Unfortunately the opportunity isn't being capitalized upon.
niu85alum Wrote:I hope your kidding about the statement "what be the reason."
While it is unfortunate that 4,000 plus students aren't attending games, it is also not a mystery. When something good is built that is also sustainable, then students will be drawn to the program, much like in football.
Of those among the 25,000 students on campus who count themselves college hoops fans, I bet 95% of them follow and care more about Illinois or most of the Big 10 programs then they do NIU right now. And that's not a rip on them by the way. The same applies to 99% of alumni.
NIU has a golden opportunity to build something special for the long haul in men's basketball. Unfortunately the opportunity isn't being capitalized upon.
I'd be happy with 1,000 or even 500 vocal ones. The biggest cheer was for the t shirts and balls thrown into the stands. And by the way,
what is with them wanting everyone to wear red to the Toledo game while they give away white t shirts every game????? Won't red t shirts make more sense??? Just an observation..
niu85alum Wrote:NIU has a golden opportunity to build something special for the long haul in men's basketball. Unfortunately the opportunity isn't being capitalized upon.
I happened to catch a bit of the Marquette/DePaul game on Saturday and the announcers were talking about how Crean has really gone out of his way to make the students part of the Marquette program, and how student attendance surged during his tenure even before the final four run last year.
I then watched a little bit of the Wisconsin/illeenee game. In all the Wisconsin games I've seen, the announcers and camera people go ga-ga for their Grateful Red student section. They seem to get more air time on Wisconsin games than the team does.....
While I recognize the poor student support has been a hallmark of NIU athletics, I couldn't help but wonder what sort of appeal Judson has made to the students, to "make them a major part of the program" the way Crean has at Marquette and Ryan has at Wisconsin.
Allowing for the differences between the schools and the level of success we're having now, I still think it's possible for us to get students out and involved. It begins with a coach who is committed to NIU athletics and NIU students who goes on record guaranteeing the NIU community that his team will play hard if nothing else, and give the kids something to be proud of, win or lose. It'll take a coach who can get his players psyched up for big home games, ready to defend the honor of their home floor and whose teams go out and give 110% every night, leaving everything on the floor.
Right now, our basketball team simply serves as a reminder of our second class status as a community, with a guy at the helm whose only goal is to get the hell out of DeKalb as quickly as possible. We need a guy who can fire up our fans and our players, and make them passionate about being Huskies. A guy who will demand the best effort from our players and elicit the strongest reponse possible from the crowd, whether 100 people show up or 9000.
We've got THAT guy in football. I leave it to you guys to decide whether that's the case in hoops...
Hell, I'm Huskie and I'll always be a Huskie. I'll be at the damn game on Saturday, and I'll cheer for my team regardless. I sure hope someone on the court decides to show up....
"And by the way, what is with them wanting everyone to wear red to the Toledo game while they give away white t shirts every game????? Won't red t-shirts make more sense???"
Of course. It's the little things, you know.
As for wearing red, it's very appropriate.... it's going to be a blood bath for the Huskies on Saturday.
DiehardHuskie Wrote:"And by the way, what is with them wanting everyone to wear red to the Toledo game while they give away white t shirts every game????? Won't red t-shirts make more sense???"
Of course. It's the little things, you know.
:mad: :mad:
Agreed. How hard is it to coordinate something SOOO simple, for crying out loud?!
One addendum to my little tirade; I mentioned the fact our football coach and his team seems to be drawing NIU fans together in a way our b-ball and coach seem incapable of doing.....
We've been wondering about the talent level of some of basketbll players and suggesting we've just got some lousy players who simply don't have the talent to compete on this level. While this may be true, I'd suggest we have an awful lot of players on our football team who have marginal talent, maybe not even div 1 talent, but who've maximized what they have through sheer effort and determination. Our football team is filled with over-acheivers like Duffy, Turner, Fleck, Sheldon, Haldi, Cooksey, Williams, the list goes on and on. I cna't name one guy on our current team who even seems to be working up to the level of their actual ability, to say nothing of working beyond it....
Bottom line-Coach Novak's teams always have and always will play hard. Maybe they fall short, but they don't fall short because of a lack of effort.
Maybe Joe could take over the basketball team in his spare time... :rolleyes:
Flying Corn Wrote:I couldn't help but wonder what sort of appeal Judson has made to the students, to "make them a major part of the program" the way Crean has at Marquette and Ryan has at Wisconsin.
I'm not sure what Judson has done, but I think the Athletic Dept has set up some good incentives to show up....ie that $1000 student giveaway and beat the landlord game is pretty nice.
I haven't seen much advertizement around campus for games. I know in the past they made those posters of the team with schedules on them...do they still do that?
On a positive note, my dad has gotten some positive feedback from co-workers who went to their first game at the convo...noted their kids had a great time and loved the facility.
Im an NIU student, and I goto all the basketball games. I try to get people to go but since its a long walk from the dorms and apartments and a lot of people say its to cold. Wow what a terrible reason not to goto a basketball games...its too cold outside. Also I just think its because were not winning, everyone rallies behind a winner. If we were having a good year like we did in football people would be there, and also if we played some big teams at home which we dont at all. Untill we start scheduling big homes dates and start winning I doubt students will show. Its sad but true.
I'm sure that there are some students who do like the guys on the hoop squad despite there record. How about a Spirit Group aka the IZZONE at MSU. If you can't support the coaches support the players and help create some atmosphere. I'm sure it would help some of the younger players and maybe help how they play. Some thoughts for names: JUD'S BUD'S..... CONVO CRAZIES... DOGHOUSE DWELLERS..
The DOG POUND... ROB'S ROWDIES... HUSKIE HOWLERS... get someone to donate some t-shirts, find a few students willing to organize, talk with Judson and give it a shot. With a tv game coming up it would be a chance to show people NIU spirit. Good Luck!!!
lil bro Wrote:I'm sure that there are some students who do like the guys on the hoop squad despite there record. How about a Spirit Group aka the IZZONE at MSU. If you can't support the coaches support the players and help create some atmosphere. I'm sure it would help some of the younger players and maybe help how they play. Some thoughts for names: JUD'S BUD'S..... CONVO CRAZIES... DOGHOUSE DWELLERS..
The DOG POUND... ROB'S ROWDIES... HUSKIE HOWLERS... get someone to donate some t-shirts, find a few students willing to organize, talk with Judson and give it a shot. With a tv game coming up it would be a chance to show people NIU spirit. Good Luck!!!
How about having the frats drive this. It was awful yesterday. I saw more student support at Chick Evans than the Buffalo game. I agree too about the coach needing to participate in marketing the team to the student body.
The hard cold truth of the matter is that apathy for NIU sports runs rampant among both students and alumni. I graduated in 1985 from undergraduate school. Back then John McDougle had some highly entertaining teams to include Tim Dillon and Carl Amato followed by the two years Kenny Battle graced us with his presence in DeKalb. Even back during those "heady days" for NIU basketball the vast majority of student hoops fans didn't bother going to games at the Fieldhouse. In fact I remember many games when, instead of heading over to Chick Evans to see the Huskies, basketball fans on campus would stay inside (dorms, apartments, frat house) or head out to the bars to watch the Big 10 or ACC matchups on TV.
Flash forward 20 years and very little has changed. In fact, given the dismal state of NIU basketball I'm frankly surprised that 3,000 students, alumni and local folks even bothered showing up for a contest versus lowly Buffalo on what was a bitter day outside.
Our hoops team is real bad...and going to a sunday game isn't really on many people's list of things to do.
Personally if maybe it were friday or saturday i would go for a late afternoon type deal.
Everyone knows NIU students have not been supportive of athletics, and everyone knows that's always been the case. :rolleyes:
The point is we need a coach willing to change the culture at NIU, who deems the lack of support unacceptable and who takes the steps necessary to give the students reason to come to the convo center.
Yes, winning is ultimately imperative, but to begin with, at least put a team on the floor that hustles, fights for loose balls, that encourages the crowd, that has some pride in their game, and gives the students reason to feel proud.
Beyond that, I think some efforts at ambassadorship on the part of the coach or coaches can help. Yes, reach out to the frats (those guys love any excuse to party; encourage pre-game parties and a raucous time at the convo), reach out to the sports reporters at the Star. Encourage anyone who will listen to come out and be creative and have fun at the convo center, win, lose or draw. Really encourage the kids to do what THEY think is necessary to make the damn games fun (hell, get em drunk, if we have to...
), but guarantee them that they'll see a team that'll, at the very least, play it's guts out....
NIUBro Wrote:lil bro Wrote:I'm sure that there are some students who do like the guys on the hoop squad despite there record. How about a Spirit Group aka the IZZONE at MSU. If you can't support the coaches support the players and help create some atmosphere. I'm sure it would help some of the younger players and maybe help how they play. Some thoughts for names: JUD'S BUD'S..... CONVO CRAZIES... DOGHOUSE DWELLERS..
The DOG POUND... ROB'S ROWDIES... HUSKIE HOWLERS... get someone to donate some t-shirts, find a few students willing to organize, talk with Judson and give it a shot. With a tv game coming up it would be a chance to show people NIU spirit. Good Luck!!!
How about having the frats drive this. It was awful yesterday. I saw more student support at Chick Evans than the Buffalo game. I agree too about the coach needing to participate in marketing the team to the student body.
We are supposed to have a Dog Pound but nobody shows up to do it. Frats? You want the frats to show up or set something up? :rofl: Only if there is
or if there is a trophy to show how they support the school. :rolleyes:
As for those that think it is to cold, take the freaking bus. It drops you off right at the Convo Center. It is also only a five to 7 minute walk from most dorms. Maybe we screwed up when building the Convo Center, we should have built it BETWEEN the dorms(central park area, who cares that we spent millions of dollars to "fix" that area up) with connecting tunnels to the dorms. That way they wouldn't have to walk outside for 5 minutes. :rolleyes:
i didnt make it to the game. the prospect of sleeping real late after a late night of drinking was more fun than watching an untalented couple of teams do battle. when i saw the score i almost ****** my pants. when i found out buffalo was on a 6 game skid i thought jud shoulda had the guys running wind sprints after the game. ive only made it out to a few games this year. this is the first one that was at home not during a break i missed and im glad. i hope the students dont show and support this team. its hard to watch them run up and down the court like chickens with their heads cut off sometimes and think to yourself that these are division 1 bball players. i cant stand rome sanders. he jogs around lookin like hes always hurt. he has size and doesnt use it. turns the ball over constantly. peterson cant do anything but shoot. alotta people can shoot in college, maybe in high school this set him above the rest but not in d-1. i still like anthony but hes just too small at this level to compete like a top pg. then again other pg's have dominated at his size so who knows. perry smith, bob knight woulda had his asss on the bench long ago. your preseason all mac selection is playing like a freshman. marcus is prob giving up. just an alltogether dissapointing program and it looks to stay the same.
im supporting the broncos from here on out to do damage in the big dance
I remember back in the late 80's when I was an undergrad, Jane Albright was great with the fans. She single handedly got the students to come out to a DePaul game and we sold out Chick Evans. In fact, I think that over 1,000 students were turned away from that game. There was another game that season where she had you sign your name and address and she promised to send each and every one of us a thank you in the mail. And yes, she followed through with that promise. It's coaches like her, that were committed to the university and student body, that get the student turnout. I really don't have any confidence in Jud's dedication to the university right now. It maybe time for a change!
lil bro Wrote:I'm sure that there are some students who do like the guys on the hoop squad despite there record. How about a Spirit Group aka the IZZONE at MSU. If you can't support the coaches support the players and help create some atmosphere. I'm sure it would help some of the younger players and maybe help how they play. Some thoughts for names: JUD'S BUD'S..... CONVO CRAZIES... DOGHOUSE DWELLERS..
The DOG POUND... ROB'S ROWDIES... HUSKIE HOWLERS... get someone to donate some t-shirts, find a few students willing to organize, talk with Judson and give it a shot. With a tv game coming up it would be a chance to show people NIU spirit. Good Luck!!!
This is exactly what they are doing in Buffalo. We got some sponsership from a local mexican chain (Mighty Taco) and they donated long-sleeve t-shirts and a CD-Burner for every game. Our shirts are blue, with the Bull logo and the Mighty Taco logo on them. They earned the students the nickname of the "Mighty Maniacs". This all came about from our men's and womens coaches, and I'd like to think that in the beggining stages of this promotion it seems to be working a little. I'm sure there is someone on your campus that would be in charge of something like this, and could make something like this happen.
Good N. Star Article on Lack of Student Support
<a href='http://www.star.niu.edu/sports/articles/012704-fair_weather.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.star.niu.edu/sports/articles/01...air_weather.asp</a>
NIURedBlack Wrote:Good N. Star Article on Lack of Student Support
<a href='http://www.star.niu.edu/sports/articles/012704-fair_weather.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.star.niu.edu/sports/articles/01...air_weather.asp</a>
I agree with what Brown says, EXCEPT when he pins part of the responsibility for the basketball team's demise on the fair-weather fans. It's the other way around, Mr. Brown. It's the team that is keeping fans away! :crying: