(10-03-2014 01:21 PM)17Huskies Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 01:17 PM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  For anyone who was at the WMU game last year, tomorrow will feel absolutely balmy.

Sean Frazier must be wondering what he did to the weather Gods that he can't get one nice day for football attendance.

Agree...I really feel bad for SF with all the work he's done. The last 3 weekends have been perfect.

Maybe more folks will visit The Yard rather than tailgate with the wind/cold.

The weather is always beyond anyone's control. Future schedules are being upgraded and that will help.
There was no reason -- especially with this year's games -- to increase the price of tickets. Any increase in ticket prices would have been easier for people to accept in conjunction with the upgraded opponents. How much and how often are the ticket prices going up in the years to come?
The Pup Club decisions made were also a misake. The unwillingness to market single-game sales was also a mistake -- especially with this schedule. As others have noted, walk-up sales thanks to an interesting opponent or better weather can be a financial boost.
The fact that NIU has done so much to elevate the MAC's profile in the last few years, but has not been rewarded by the league office in terms of scheduling is a travesty.
Again, let's deal first with the things we can control. There is a risk, but scheduling an Illinois FCS foe for a first home game would always be preferable to a Presbyterian. Let's not spend the entire month of September on the road. Again, the league should work to make certain NIU and everyone else in the conference does not play more than two consecutive home games. Put three home games in a row (and even the P5s are finding this), attendance will be noticeably less at one of the three. Family commitments, other opportunities mean people will choose which two games are the best and forego one of the three. In our case, the home game after Homecoming is most likely going to be the least attended of the three. Technically, it's been four weeks without a home game. We're going to play three at home, then we're gone again for three weeks returning home for a Tuesday night. Think about Saturdays as prime time for college football weekends on a campus. We didn't have one weekend at home in September. AND we don't have one weekend at home in November.
The MAC office has to grow a pair and make a demand or two of ESPN instead of just letting ESPN dicatate all the terms. Tell ESPN they want weeknight games late in the year from the MAC, then give the MAC one or two Thursday or Friday night slots in September when everyone is excited about the return of college football.

Did anyone who was not a season ticket holder but a previous one receive a cold call from Athletics? I thought it was mentioned by SF that this was going to happen over the summer but I didnt hear anyone other than for people for renewals.

What about previous HASF donors? I think Brad had said that he stopped donating just to see if athletics would call him to ask to donate again. Did anyone get a call like that?

I know the database is limited from only 2005 or so but really this is some low hanging fruit to at least reach out to and tell them that they are missed.

(10-03-2014 01:56 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  The weather is always beyond anyone's control. Future schedules are being upgraded and that will help.
There was no reason -- especially with this year's games -- to increase the price of tickets. Any increase in ticket prices would have been easier for people to accept in conjunction with the upgraded opponents. How much and how often are the ticket prices going up in the years to come?
The Pup Club decisions made were also a misake. The unwillingness to market single-game sales was also a mistake -- especially with this schedule. As others have noted, walk-up sales thanks to an interesting opponent or better weather can be a financial boost.
The fact that NIU has done so much to elevate the MAC's profile in the last few years, but has not been rewarded by the league office in terms of scheduling is a travesty.
Again, let's deal first with the things we can control. There is a risk, but scheduling an Illinois FCS foe for a first home game would always be preferable to a Presbyterian. Let's not spend the entire month of September on the road. Again, the league should work to make certain NIU and everyone else in the conference does not play more than two consecutive home games. Put three home games in a row (and even the P5s are finding this), attendance will be noticeably less at one of the three. Family commitments, other opportunities mean people will choose which two games are the best and forego one of the three. In our case, the home game after Homecoming is most likely going to be the least attended of the three. Technically, it's been four weeks without a home game. We're going to play three at home, then we're gone again for three weeks returning home for a Tuesday night. Think about Saturdays as prime time for college football weekends on a campus. We didn't have one weekend at home in September. AND we don't have one weekend at home in November.
The MAC office has to grow a pair and make a demand or two of ESPN instead of just letting ESPN dicatate all the terms. Tell ESPN they want weeknight games late in the year from the MAC, then give the MAC one or two Thursday or Friday night slots in September when everyone is excited about the return of college football.

It's not like season tickets are that overpriced...school was trying to capitalize on previous season success with a price increase.


Sent from my iPhone.

I expect a big marketing campaign to go outside dekalb/sycamore for season tickets preceding next football season.

(10-03-2014 02:14 PM)JCCNIU31 Wrote:  It's not like season tickets are that overpriced...school was trying to capitalize on previous season success with a price increase.


Sent from my iPhone.

Season tickets for adults went up what $10ea...that is totally fair for us wanting a bigger program.

Season tickets for kids went up $70ea ($60ea with the Alum Association discount)...and $10 more if you still wanted to be in the pup club.

Again I am fine with the removal of the pup club season ticket for the sake of wanting a bigger program but it would have stung less if athletics would have included the pup club membership (aka the free shirt and free entry to all the basketball games for that member) with the parents now having to pay for a full priced ticket.

(10-03-2014 02:22 PM)GCD70 Wrote:  I expect a big marketing campaign to go outside dekalb/sycamore for season tickets preceding next football season.

No reason to market NIU outside DeKalb/Sycamore further than Rockford, Aurora & Dixon/Stirling. NIU paid advertisements in Chicago is just lost in all the other sports news.

(10-03-2014 02:40 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 02:22 PM)GCD70 Wrote:  I expect a big marketing campaign to go outside dekalb/sycamore for season tickets preceding next football season.

No reason to market NIU outside DeKalb/Sycamore further than Rockford, Aurora & Dixon/Stirling. NIU paid advertisements in Chicago is just lost in all the other sports news.

trust me there will be a big marketing effort

(10-03-2014 02:40 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 02:22 PM)GCD70 Wrote:  I expect a big marketing campaign to go outside dekalb/sycamore for season tickets preceding next football season.

No reason to market NIU outside DeKalb/Sycamore further than Rockford, Aurora & Dixon/Stirling. NIU paid advertisements in Chicago is just lost in all the other sports news.

That's where people are wrong. I agree with GCD, there will be a marketing push outside of "normal" boundaries next year. It needs to happen and I believe it will. Paid advertisements in Chicago go further than you think. People know who we are, and for the most part enjoy hearing about us when we do well. The buzz during the Orange was for real. Marketing will only keep it on that former high. This will not change the season tickets dramatically, but we need the single game attendance first.

(10-02-2014 07:44 PM)jjprender Wrote:  

(10-02-2014 04:38 PM)Monty Python Wrote:  Not much else to do in Athens, Oh. They don't have the third largest city in the US less than 90 minutes away. There are the 36 bars in downtown Athens, but that at least keeps the students in town.

36?!?!?!? I need to get to Athens for the game this year!

A trip to Athens should be on every Huskie FB fan's "bucket list." CheerDad, Red Black, Diesel and I made the trip in 2009. It's a long drive, but well worth it if you have the time.

Peden is a very nice stadium, the campus is beautiful and the downtown and the bars are by far the best of any MAC campus town. Just too bad our November game there is on a weeknight.

(10-03-2014 03:38 PM)ChiTownNIU Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 02:40 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(10-03-2014 02:22 PM)GCD70 Wrote:  I expect a big marketing campaign to go outside dekalb/sycamore for season tickets preceding next football season.

No reason to market NIU outside DeKalb/Sycamore further than Rockford, Aurora & Dixon/Stirling. NIU paid advertisements in Chicago is just lost in all the other sports news.

That's where people are wrong. I agree with GCD, there will be a marketing push outside of "normal" boundaries next year. It needs to happen and I believe it will. Paid advertisements in Chicago go further than you think. People know who we are, and for the most part enjoy hearing about us when we do well. The buzz during the Orange was for real. Marketing will only keep it on that former high. This will not change the season tickets dramatically, but we need the single game attendance first.

Maybe people are not wrong in maintaining that we need to recapture our immediate backyard first. The locals once provided a base for football, men's and women's basketball, and they've been turned off. There are folks just as convinced as you that Chicago is a pro sports market first, second, third and maybe down to sixth.
Do agree with you that we need single-game attendance to be increased, but one way to do that is pushing single-game ticket sales and they no longer are willing to do that.

(10-03-2014 07:34 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  Maybe people are not wrong in maintaining that we need to recapture our immediate backyard first. The locals once provided a base for football, men's and women's basketball, and they've been turned off. There are folks just as convinced as you that Chicago is a pro sports market first, second, third and maybe down to sixth.
Do agree with you that we need single-game attendance to be increased, but one way to do that is pushing single-game ticket sales and they no longer are willing to do that.

Totally agree with this. In addition to recapturing fans in the immediate backyard, there are a lot of football fans in the DeKalb/Sycamore area that have not experienced Huskie football. They follow the NFL and/or H.S. football, but have never gone to Huskie Stadium for a game.

NIU must reach out to those fans.

I think the definition of the back yard should be extended east to at least Aurora and Naperville including Batavia, Geneva, St Charles and N Aurora. There are a lot of NIU alums in the Fox River Valley and it is a short trip from there to DeKalb. I used to take my wife and daughters to NIU games often when we lived in Batavia however I never saw the games promoted while living there.

Not sure what the tollway is called today (used to be 88 if my memory is correct) but NIU should brand it with billboards and signs as well as promoting the athletic programs in the communities. I know it takes money but it is worth a try to see what might come from the effort.

I think NIU should try targeting McHenry County. Living here nobody talks about NIU even though its only an hour away. There isn't a huge town but Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, Huntley are all decent size.

The single biggest reason why I do not have season tickets every year (and I'm not alone):

Weeknight games



That's a deal breaker for most people that have jobs, kids, or don't live in the Dekalb/Sycamore area....so pretty much everybody. I get it, it's a necessary evil for TV $$$, but I'm not taking off multiple days from work every year to go see a game at HS. I'll just pick/choose the Saturday games I can make it to. I'd rather take a day off to go to a road game (especially in Las Vegas or similar, but even in Kalamazoo or someplace closer) than be inconvenienced to drive to HS on a weeknight and then drive back late at night.
Add in the ridiculous Presbyterian game and no other OOC draw this year....I'm good. So is everybody else.


Talking about the weather in a thread about season ticket sales is kinda pointless.

(10-02-2014 08:43 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  

(10-02-2014 08:13 PM)Field Turf Wrote:  But they definitely need to expand Huskie Stadium. We need more seats to not sell.

You wouldn't happen to be a part time General for the Iraqi army units would you? You sure know how to rally the enthusiasm hah

haha... I found this reply very humorous, nice 1 !

I think people are just bad at math.. If you are going to 4 games it is just cheaper to buy a season ticket..

NIU should continue to raise game day prices until people get the clue they need to buy season tickets.

Part of the problem will always be location.. no one goes to Dekalb on purpose..

If the college was in naperville, aurora corridor, they would sell out every game. North Central College a small div III school, sells out most of their games just because they are in naperville. People with money + location = sell out... dekalb lacks both..

(10-03-2014 10:18 PM)spanky Wrote:  The single biggest reason why I do not have season tickets every year (and I'm not alone):

Weeknight games

That's a deal breaker for most people that have jobs, kids, or don't live in the Dekalb/Sycamore area....so pretty much everybody. I get it, it's a necessary evil for TV $$$, but I'm not taking off multiple days from work every year to go see a game at HS. I'll just pick/choose the Saturday games I can make it to. I'd rather take a day off to go to a road game (especially in Las Vegas or similar, but even in Kalamazoo or someplace closer) than be inconvenienced to drive to HS on a weeknight and then drive back late at night.
Add in the ridiculous Presbyterian game and no other OOC draw this year....I'm good. So is everybody else.


Talking about the weather in a thread about season ticket sales is kinda pointless.

1. That is a valid excuse...and part of my point..logistics.. If the stadium was located in a more central area(to where most fans live) then you wouldn't have to take a day off work..

2. I don't mind the first game being on thursday over labor day weekend, because most people go out of town for labor day weekend, so no one would have been there on saturday anyways.

3. Still though if you are going to attend 3 games @$35/each...why not just kick in the extra $5 so you can say you are a season ticket holder...Better seat selection, same seats every game, pride...

(10-04-2014 09:51 AM)cartershaw Wrote:  Part of the problem will always be location.. no one goes to Dekalb on purpose..

If the college was in naperville, aurora corridor, they would sell out every game. North Central College a small div III school, sells out most of their games just because they are in naperville. People with money + location = sell out... dekalb lacks both..

Unfortunately location is a big problem that can never be fixed. The fanbase has proved that they're willing to travel to see quality opponents (NU & FSU). But with the current home schedule, a trip to DeKalb just doesn't appease the casual fans who live downtown or the suburbs.