randyfensfanclub1
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2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
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03-11-2018 10:35 PM |
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HuskieJoe
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
Wow, NIU is fourth lowest in all of FBS, only Balls Tate, UMass, and LA Monroe are lower. This puts us at a financial disadvantage with all of FBS. 5 home games, large payouts for one and dones with P5 teams, and the Carey haters can forget about NIU attracting a coach who can get us back to the MACC / winning bowl games. We are a slowly sinking ship and our best days are behind us.
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03-12-2018 07:01 AM |
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Dog Fan
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
We on this board are a microcosm of the that attitudes of Huskie fandom out there. Just as we have expressed, fans are not happy with the weeknight games, only 5 home games, performance of the teams, etc. Thus, they are not showing up. This is when intelligent marketing needs to take over and create some sizzle and excitement. But, we don't have marketing either.
At the last men's BB game, I was talking with a couple true blue (red?) diehard Huskie fans from way back. These guys go to many Huskie FB and BB games, including many away FB games. They both expressed disgust with the way things are going and will be attending fewer games. And these are rabid fans and donors. If they feel this way, is it a wonder that the casual fan reacts the way they do?
Yes, attendance is down all over. But not many teams have experienced such a rapid attendance decline as we have. The reasons are many, as has been discussed on this board. As a whole, the MAC is way down in attendance. Anyone wonder why?
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03-12-2018 07:41 AM |
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thehappyhuskie
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 07:41 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: We on this board are a microcosm of the that attitudes of Huskie fandom out there. Just as we have expressed, fans are not happy with the weeknight games, only 5 home games, performance of the teams, etc. Thus, they are not showing up. This is when intelligent marketing needs to take over and create some sizzle and excitement. But, we don't have marketing either.
At the last men's BB game, I was talking with a couple true blue (red?) diehard Huskie fans from way back. These guys go to many Huskie FB and BB games, including many away FB games. They both expressed disgust with the way things are going and will be attending fewer games. And these are rabid fans and donors. If they feel this way, is it a wonder that the casual fan reacts the way they do?
Yes, attendance is down all over. But not many teams have experienced such a rapid attendance decline as we have. The reasons are many, as has been discussed on this board. As a whole, the MAC is way down in attendance. Anyone wonder why?
I can forgive "poor" team performance. We would kill for this kind of record in the 90s. We've come to think 6-2 in the MAC is a "poor" product.
The real killer is the weeknight games. This is unforgivable. You want fans in the stands? Ditch the terrible weeknight games. You want a better TV presence and have sold your soul for it, then keep your weeknight games but don't complain when 1500 students show up and another 6K fans show up for a 6p start time on a Thursday.
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03-12-2018 09:36 AM |
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Lord Stanley
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
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03-12-2018 09:46 AM |
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NIU75
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
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03-12-2018 10:08 AM |
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Dog Fan
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
Maybe not, but when 21 FCS schools (including ISU) draw more than NIU, that's a bit embarrassing. And it's not like there are a ton of things to do in DeKalb/Sycamore that would compete with football.
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03-12-2018 10:10 AM |
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huskiealum03
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:08 AM)NIU75 Wrote: (03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
The answer is no. If the ratings get so low, eventually you have no TV deal AND no fans.
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03-12-2018 10:15 AM |
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Dog Fan
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
The effect of fewer fans in attendance is understated. It's not just reduced ticket revenue. Many of those fans are also donors. Donations in general and donations tied to seats may dry up as well as revenue from ticket sales. I doubt that the TV revenue makes up for lost seat and donation revenues.
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03-12-2018 10:24 AM |
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NIU75
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
It is bad enough that ISU is attracting more and better students than NIU, now they are beating us in attendance on football games. This is absolutely crazy. We should hire some administrators from ISU.
The weeknight games have/will hurt us in so many ways. We are losing a younger generation of fans(donors) that we will never get back. The older generation is moving on. The future does not look good. So much for the Orange Bowl bounce and all that free advertising.
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03-12-2018 10:41 AM |
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RitzHuskie
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
Not to bring to understate the above posting, but I will say the rain we got right before the Homecoming game was to start, absolutely killed what would have been the biggest crowd of the year.
That being said, if you were to look at a potential homecoming crowd, the game was not a sellout as it should be at this point. A major opportunity was lost after the Orange Bowl that we may never get again. We all know the factors for the attendance drops so I won't point them out here.
Bottom line is we need to get rear ends in the seats. Otherwise stadium renovations mean nothing. How do we do that? Getting name players, enthusiasm and pride back on campus, etc.
Here's hoping the crowds come back at some point.
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03-12-2018 10:43 AM |
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chihuskie
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:15 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:08 AM)NIU75 Wrote: (03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
The answer is no. If the ratings get so low, eventually you have no TV deal AND no fans.
It would be nice if at a top flight business school someone would do an actual real analysis, or even a seat of the pants analysis, or even just give a superficial thought to what is best for the program on a longer term basis. I highly suspect that we have NOT done so for decades now! Or at least since say about 2003. That is now 15 years ago. IMHO it has been that long since a concerted and coordinated effort was made around building excitement for athletics, football in particular. Since then there has been A LOT of apparent reliance on "good fans show up" as if, if fans don't show up, it's that we have bad fans.
Over time you reap what you sow.
Some folks just want to reap.
(This post was last modified: 03-12-2018 10:48 AM by chihuskie.)
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03-12-2018 10:47 AM |
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NIUfilmmaker
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
I would question the attendance accounting of numerous FCS and FBS teams who claim to have better numbers than us currently. EMU and many others bloat their numbers, where NIU always seems to report same or less than the eyeball test reveals on game day.
Not saying we're not hurting, just that we would be be a little higher up on the list if all schools used the same accounting methods.
(This post was last modified: 03-12-2018 12:49 PM by NIUfilmmaker.)
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03-12-2018 10:50 AM |
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Dog Fan
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:47 AM)chihuskie Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:15 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:08 AM)NIU75 Wrote: (03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
The answer is no. If the ratings get so low, eventually you have no TV deal AND no fans.
It would be nice if at a top flight business school someone would do an actual real analysis, or even a seat of the pants analysis, or even just give a superficial thought to what is best for the program on a longer term basis. I highly suspect that we have NOT done so for decades now! Or at least since say about 2003. That is now 15 years ago. IMHO it has been that long since a concerted and coordinated effort was made around building excitement for athletics, football in particular. Since then there has been A LOT of apparent reliance on "good fans show up" as if, if fans don't show up, it's that we have bad fans.
Over time you reap what you sow.
Some folks just want to reap.
Exactly. And as I have done for years, this is where I beat the drum of marketing. They need to be in people's faces in various forms to tell them about the "Huskie Experience", the fun and low cost, and how they can be a part of it. Have sponsors pay for give-aways that they can give to the first 5,000 or 10,000 fans. Keep the NIU Huskies in front of the fans and potential fans. It takes some work and some money, but it CAN be done!
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03-12-2018 10:54 AM |
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huskiealum03
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:54 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:47 AM)chihuskie Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:15 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote: (03-12-2018 10:08 AM)NIU75 Wrote: (03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
The answer is no. If the ratings get so low, eventually you have no TV deal AND no fans.
It would be nice if at a top flight business school someone would do an actual real analysis, or even a seat of the pants analysis, or even just give a superficial thought to what is best for the program on a longer term basis. I highly suspect that we have NOT done so for decades now! Or at least since say about 2003. That is now 15 years ago. IMHO it has been that long since a concerted and coordinated effort was made around building excitement for athletics, football in particular. Since then there has been A LOT of apparent reliance on "good fans show up" as if, if fans don't show up, it's that we have bad fans.
Over time you reap what you sow.
Some folks just want to reap.
Exactly. And as I have done for years, this is where I beat the drum of marketing. They need to be in people's faces in various forms to tell them about the "Huskie Experience", the fun and low cost, and how they can be a part of it. Have sponsors pay for give-aways that they can give to the first 5,000 or 10,000 fans. Keep the NIU Huskies in front of the fans and potential fans. It takes some work and some money, but it CAN be done!
AGREED. I feel like we've been having this discussion over the last 12 years.
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03-12-2018 11:12 AM |
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HuskieFootball Addict
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 09:36 AM)thehappyhuskie Wrote: (03-12-2018 07:41 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: We on this board are a microcosm of the that attitudes of Huskie fandom out there. Just as we have expressed, fans are not happy with the weeknight games, only 5 home games, performance of the teams, etc. Thus, they are not showing up. This is when intelligent marketing needs to take over and create some sizzle and excitement. But, we don't have marketing either.
At the last men's BB game, I was talking with a couple true blue (red?) diehard Huskie fans from way back. These guys go to many Huskie FB and BB games, including many away FB games. They both expressed disgust with the way things are going and will be attending fewer games. And these are rabid fans and donors. If they feel this way, is it a wonder that the casual fan reacts the way they do?
Yes, attendance is down all over. But not many teams have experienced such a rapid attendance decline as we have. The reasons are many, as has been discussed on this board. As a whole, the MAC is way down in attendance. Anyone wonder why?
I can forgive "poor" team performance. We would kill for this kind of record in the 90s. We've come to think 6-2 in the MAC is a "poor" product.
The real killer is the weeknight games. This is unforgivable. You want fans in the stands? Ditch the terrible weeknight games. You want a better TV presence and have sold your soul for it, then keep your weeknight games but don't complain when 1500 students show up and another 6K fans show up for a 6p start time on a Thursday.
...or less than 1500 students & 6,000 fans.
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03-12-2018 11:34 AM |
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thehappyhuskie
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:08 AM)NIU75 Wrote: (03-12-2018 09:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote: Is butts in seats really the marker of a successful G5 program anymore? I'm not so sure it is.......
You are right. The new model is total revenue per game. NIU makes more money selling rights to a weeknight game than a Saturday game.
The number of fans attending a Saturday game does not makeup for lost revenue of a weeknight game. Is this the best practice for long term?
I'd don't think it is. Its very short-sighted IMHO. The other MAC schools are getting money from a deal being paid for on ours and other successful program's backs. The real impact won't be felt until 15-20 years down the road when the current undergrads start to hit a point where they could be valued season ticket holder and donors... long after ESPN has gone
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03-12-2018 12:03 PM |
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NIUfrank
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
(03-12-2018 10:43 AM)RitzHuskie Wrote: Not to bring to understate the above posting, but I will say the rain we got right before the Homecoming game was to start, absolutely killed what would have been the biggest crowd of the year.
That being said, if you were to look at a potential homecoming crowd, the game was not a sellout as it should be at this point. A major opportunity was lost after the Orange Bowl that we may never get again. We all know the factors for the attendance drops so I won't point them out here.
Bottom line is we need to get rear ends in the seats. Otherwise stadium renovations mean nothing. How do we do that? Getting name players, enthusiasm and pride back on campus, etc.
Here's hoping the crowds come back at some point.
Just win again. This schedulapoolaza whatever the **** you call it. That doesn't matter to the mainstream fan. You guys are hardcore on here and don't realize the 12-0 seasons, with a low end big ten win, excite the fan base. Not playing Utah at home and going 6-6.
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03-13-2018 07:27 PM |
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bikechuck
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
It could be that NIU would be better off as a dominant FCS program with instate rivalries and an opportunity to play for a national championship instead of clinging by our fingertips to one of the bottom rungs in FBS. What we are doing now is not working and it is sad for those of us who have followed the program for decades through thick and thin.
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03-13-2018 07:54 PM |
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NIUfrank
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RE: 2017 Football Attendance: ISU > NIU
If we continue downward spiral with Carey then I'd agree FCS is the route.
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03-13-2018 08:27 PM |
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