(02-13-2020 11:26 AM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  Am I correct no game Time announced?

It had best be in the 1-2:30 range that time of year.

Yes, I agree. It can be no later.

(02-13-2020 11:30 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 11:25 AM)$NIU$ Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 11:12 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  Let's see how many people this game draws. It's on a Saturday, which is a plus. But it will rain, and that's not a plus. I don't see this game being a draw in the Chicago area, but I hope I'm wrong. Athletics will need to do something it is not good at - and that is called marketing. And not just a 1/16 page ad in the Daily Chronicle. They need ads and articles in the major newspapers and commercials and interviews on radio and TV. They need to make this game sound important, exciting, and the place to be on October 24. Will they do it? I seriously doubt it.

Am I confused or did you really predict it’s gonna rain? Let me know how you’re feeling about this weeks lottery numbers while you’re at it.

I have to ask..how many peeps do you think will attend?

Yes, it will rain that day. Get your money into Vegas now. It will rain heavily in Chicago and near-southwest suburbs that day. Ironically - and unusually - it will be sunny in DeKalb that day. It will, however, rain for all 3 Saturday games in DeKalb.

Attendance? Here's the official Dog Fan prediction: 4,472 (due to the rain).

I’m sure it rains a lot in your neck of the woods but try not to rain on our parade. I predict 18.5K for attendance.

(02-13-2020 11:26 AM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  Am I correct no game Time announced?

It had best be in the 1-2:30 range that time of year.

If I am not mistaken it will be on the BYU network, unless ESPN picks it up, which I doubt. Since Utah is mountain time I would guess a 2:30
central start time.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(02-13-2020 12:10 PM)$NIU$ Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 11:30 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 11:25 AM)$NIU$ Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 11:12 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  Let's see how many people this game draws. It's on a Saturday, which is a plus. But it will rain, and that's not a plus. I don't see this game being a draw in the Chicago area, but I hope I'm wrong. Athletics will need to do something it is not good at - and that is called marketing. And not just a 1/16 page ad in the Daily Chronicle. They need ads and articles in the major newspapers and commercials and interviews on radio and TV. They need to make this game sound important, exciting, and the place to be on October 24. Will they do it? I seriously doubt it.

Am I confused or did you really predict it’s gonna rain? Let me know how you’re feeling about this weeks lottery numbers while you’re at it.

I have to ask..how many peeps do you think will attend?

Yes, it will rain that day. Get your money into Vegas now. It will rain heavily in Chicago and near-southwest suburbs that day. Ironically - and unusually - it will be sunny in DeKalb that day. It will, however, rain for all 3 Saturday games in DeKalb.

Attendance? Here's the official Dog Fan prediction: 4,472 (due to the rain).

I’m sure it rains a lot in your neck of the woods but try not to rain on our parade. I predict 18.5K for attendance.

It also rains in DeKalb.

(02-13-2020 09:30 AM)chihuskie Wrote:  So... I guess I am on an island here but ... when I first heard of this, I thought it was great! One of the best things I have heard out of STF. That stadium is awesome-- and just the right size for a regular Huskie game. I am sure if you attend the game, you will agree. I understood this to be a Saturday game, and that the parking lots would be open for tailgaiting. So, all things considered, this looked great to me!

Now I see I may be wrong!

:-(

But, look. The bottom line is STF apparently does not want to put much more effort into building up attendance in DeKalb. He wants a game played in Chicago. If that is a given, if that is a must, set in stone, then this stadium is a MUCH better fit than Soldier Field or Guaranteed Rate - at least for this opponent - or any opponent other than Iowa or Wisconsin. I assume, from a financial side, the athletic department has a much higher likelihood to actually make money on the game at this site than elsewhere. We shall see.

I would LOVE to see real effort made into raising attendance (fan experience) at Huskie Stadium. But, if the decision is cast in stone that we SHALL play a game in Chicago, then this is the best possible, IMHO.

This is kinda how I end up landing. I was more for it at first but there's just things about it that seem clunky. Not including it as a standard game in the ticket packages, having it be a Saturday game they move. If you're gonna experiment- do it with the midweek games.

I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

I don't mind them trying something new and I don't mind an occasional game in Chicago. However, this location and this venue makes no sense to me. If you are going to play an occasional game in the Chicago area pick a great venue in the city , make it a September game on a Saturday afternoon and stay with that venue and try your best to make it the first or second weekend in September year-in and year-out. I hope that I am mistaken but their approach seems more impulsive than strategic.

I love the notion that the STH’ers who go to every game and several road games aren’t diehards because they don’t have blind deference to the athletic department.

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

To me it all goes back to marketing. The thing is.... you have a product. That product is NCAA division 1 football. Who is your customer for that product?

After that question is answered--- then there are many more questions as to how to market to those customers--- how to sell to those identified customers. Or, better yet, once you know who the customers are, don't "sell" them. Rather FIND OUT WHAT THEY WANT, and then GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT.

so ... with that in mind, I ask: Who is the customer for Huskie Football?

(BTW_ this assumes we have that product (NCAA Division 1 Football) to provide. And that is a different story. NCAA Division 1 football is not just 22 guys running around hitting each other. It is a fall afternoon. Cheerleaders, bands, music, old friends, traditions, rivalries, beers, burgers and brats, etc. You can provide a product until you have that product to provide.)

I have ALWAYS said -- pay attention to your students. THEY are your future alums, donors, and fans. And I feel that has never been done to the extent necessary (post Jim Phillips). So.... if you don't build a product..... and you don't know your customer... you will NEVER be able to grow your customer base. (You may not even be able to maintain it.)

And that is the major fail in this matter. Is moving the BYU game to Seat Geek a good idea? STF thinks so. You may think no. I may think, maybe, depending. But all that is irrelevant. The question is what does the customer want? Does STF know? Has he attempted to find out?

I feel that he has not. I feel that little attention has been paid to the product and even less to the customer.

BTW- here is an idea: Schedule a double header. Talk to Jim Phillips at NW. I bet they play a MAC team this year. Schedule an NIU game back to back with an NU game. THAT would get media attention.

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

Thanks for your calm, rational comments TX. As a season ticket holder, while I'm not wild about being charged an extra $25 for the game (simply because it doesn't make sense, not because $25 is any big deal), I've been to the venue for a Fire game and it's a nice atmosphere. It's near the city, which could attract fans who don't venture out to DeKalb. There's a ton of parking to set up a tailgate. I don't know about bars in the area because I don't know the area, but last time I looked the variety and number of quality bars in DeKalb basically sucks (other than Fatty's, of course!). And who knows, maybe BYU did say "move the game or we're outta here." Visiting teams and their fans often stay outside DeKalb. Anyway, I have no problem with NIU trying something new. Soldier Field was a great time, the Cell was a great time, and U of I/NW at Wrigley was a great time. Why can't this be a great time, too? Looking forward to seeing a quality opponent in an interesting venue.

(02-13-2020 01:04 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

I don't mind them trying something new and I don't mind an occasional game in Chicago. However, this location and this venue makes no sense to me. If you are going to play an occasional game in the Chicago area pick a great venue in the city , make it a September game on a Saturday afternoon and stay with that venue and try your best to make it the first or second weekend in September year-in and year-out. I hope that I am mistaken but their approach seems more impulsive than strategic.

The strategy is to play in or as close to Chicago as possible in a place that A) Doesn't break the bank and B) won't look and sound like a ghost town during the game because it seats 65k and therefore is 3/4 empty. If you watched the opening game of the XFL last weekend the venue makes a lot of sense. The DC team plays at Audi Field, which is an extremely similar soccer venue that also seats 20K. With 17k in that stadium the atmosphere was electric and you could tell that the offenses were having a hard time hearing their play calls. That's what you want out of a game experience, not a half empty venue where you can hear a pin drop out on the field. If NIU fans get on board and show up this could be an excellent "home field" advantage for a big game.

The time of year for the game simply came down to the opponent, BYU is the best chance of drawing attention.

(02-13-2020 01:15 PM)chihuskie Wrote:  BTW- here is an idea: Schedule a double header. Talk to Jim Phillips at NW. I bet they play a MAC team this year. Schedule an NIU game back to back with an NU game. THAT would get media attention.

There's no way you're convincing Northwestern to play a football game in Bridgeview in a 20,000 seat stadium.

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

We have 5k diehard fans because of the long history of neglecting fans, not just by this AD, but the previous 2. No doubt the ESPN deal has been probably the primary driver in destroying MAC fanbases, but moves like this are nails in the coffin. We get what we deserve with this, 15 years of incompetence at the top leads to a decline in the fanbase, and STF might be the worst of the whole bunch. The only way NIU Football is going to become relevant again is if he leaves, and the fact no one is hiring him kind of tells me he is going to continue to milk a paycheck from NIU for doing nothing until he retires. I do not blame season ticket holders ONE BIT for not renewing tickets. There is no product left to sell anyway

Maybe the venue isn't blockbuster but I live down the block from from the stadium and I'm pretty ecstatic about the closeness to my house. I'll definitely be buying multiple tickets for family and friends. Also, since Toyota Park doesn't have a big name tenant anymore I'm sure NIU got a good discounted price.

(02-13-2020 01:24 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 01:04 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

I don't mind them trying something new and I don't mind an occasional game in Chicago. However, this location and this venue makes no sense to me. If you are going to play an occasional game in the Chicago area pick a great venue in the city , make it a September game on a Saturday afternoon and stay with that venue and try your best to make it the first or second weekend in September year-in and year-out. I hope that I am mistaken but their approach seems more impulsive than strategic.

The strategy is to play in or as close to Chicago as possible in a place that A) Doesn't break the bank and B) won't look and sound like a ghost town during the game because it seats 65k and therefore is 3/4 empty. If you watched the opening game of the XFL last weekend the venue makes a lot of sense. The DC team plays at Audi Field, which is an extremely similar soccer venue that also seats 20K. With 17k in that stadium the atmosphere was electric and you could tell that the offenses were having a hard time hearing their play calls. That's what you want out of a game experience, not a half empty venue where you can hear a pin drop out on the field. If NIU fans get on board and show up this could be an excellent "home field" advantage for a big game.

The time of year for the game simply came down to the opponent, BYU is the best chance of drawing attention.

We have nobody in the athletic department who will even admit that the E$PN deal is a problem for NIU fans who actually go to the games (or use to, now). They have their heads in the sand. If games in Soldier Field or Sox park (whatever that is now) made no difference in adding fans, how is this going to?

(02-13-2020 09:30 AM)chihuskie Wrote:  So... I guess I am on an island here but ... when I first heard of this, I thought it was great! One of the best things I have heard out of STF. That stadium is awesome-- and just the right size for a regular Huskie game. I am sure if you attend the game, you will agree. I understood this to be a Saturday game, and that the parking lots would be open for tailgaiting. So, all things considered, this looked great to me!

Now I see I may be wrong!

:-(

But, look. The bottom line is STF apparently does not want to put much more effort into building up attendance in DeKalb. He wants a game played in Chicago. If that is a given, if that is a must, set in stone, then this stadium is a MUCH better fit than Soldier Field or Guaranteed Rate - at least for this opponent - or any opponent other than Iowa or Wisconsin. I assume, from a financial side, the athletic department has a much higher likelihood to actually make money on the game at this site than elsewhere. We shall see.

I would LOVE to see real effort made into raising attendance (fan experience) at Huskie Stadium. But, if the decision is cast in stone that we SHALL play a game in Chicago, then this is the best possible, IMHO.

If it's not going to be in Husky Stadium, then yes, I agree that this particular stadium is a great fit. However, the location of the stadium is 100% terrible. There is literally no attraction or draw for any other team to want to come to Bridgeview to play a football game. And why would they? If this stadium was in Gary, IN, it would be no different. A great stadium in a terrible location = don't do it.

Had this been pitched initially to BYU as the original location of the game, there's no way in hell BYU agrees to it. Hell, I'm surprised they didn't back out of the game when the location was changed. I'm sure they weren't stoked about coming to DeKalb, but if its gonna be changed, moving it to Brideview would be a "no deal" for me if I'm the AD at BYU. Wanna move it? Fine, put it somewhere in Chicago not in some collar community surrounded by train tracks. Just think how stoked the BYU players will be on that commute out to Brideview.

Talk about an experience they'll never forget.

(02-13-2020 01:41 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 01:24 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 01:04 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

I don't mind them trying something new and I don't mind an occasional game in Chicago. However, this location and this venue makes no sense to me. If you are going to play an occasional game in the Chicago area pick a great venue in the city , make it a September game on a Saturday afternoon and stay with that venue and try your best to make it the first or second weekend in September year-in and year-out. I hope that I am mistaken but their approach seems more impulsive than strategic.

The strategy is to play in or as close to Chicago as possible in a place that A) Doesn't break the bank and B) won't look and sound like a ghost town during the game because it seats 65k and therefore is 3/4 empty. If you watched the opening game of the XFL last weekend the venue makes a lot of sense. The DC team plays at Audi Field, which is an extremely similar soccer venue that also seats 20K. With 17k in that stadium the atmosphere was electric and you could tell that the offenses were having a hard time hearing their play calls. That's what you want out of a game experience, not a half empty venue where you can hear a pin drop out on the field. If NIU fans get on board and show up this could be an excellent "home field" advantage for a big game.

The time of year for the game simply came down to the opponent, BYU is the best chance of drawing attention.

We have nobody in the athletic department who will even admit that the E$PN deal is a problem for NIU fans who actually go to the games (or use to, now). They have their heads in the sand. If games in Soldier Field or Sox park (whatever that is now) made no difference in adding fans, how is this going to?

I was thinking how we have systematically seen a decline in AD's ever since early 2000s, each AD has been worse than the previous. Unfortunately, word is out on the fraud Frazier is before he was able to leave NIU and suck someone's else wallet. We are stuck with him because nobody is evaluating his job performance. I use the term "job" lightly, if you call what he is doing a job

Maybe we need to look at this differently. Let's set aside the Frazier-bashing for a moment.

Consider that ...

... There is no more local market to tap, even with better marketing. Commuter students have boosted the "suitcase school" crowd to the point that majority attention is focused away from campus. The die-hard fan base is aging, dying off and staying home to watch on TV. And DeKalb/Sycamore is not suddenly going to grow by 200,000 to expand the local population base.

... Frazier went after big bucks, and it didn't show up. The Convo naming rights offer has been on the table for, what 2-3 years? No takers. Who wants to hang a sign out for the Route 38 traffic? The "old" estimate for the master plan rehab/expansion of Huskie Stadium is $60 million; where is that going to come from? And the West Grandstand is 55 years old. The Chessick, Rich, Yordan, Barsema dedication is terrific, but who else is there with really big bucks?

... Nobody can do a thing about the weather (see last season for reference). Don't even mention a domed stadium or a stadium rooftop. No money, and the site is not configured for that kind of structure (I know some pros who took a look and said 'you're outa your mind').

... The ESPN TV deal runs through 2027, so weekday night games are not going away for a long time. Evening kickoffs and length of game are too tight for people who work. Add travel time/distance and weather, and a ton of luck will give a game a max around 8,000. (Capacity is 23,595). Remember that this is not Frazier's doing. NIU is 1/12 of the MAC.

Add all that up, and what else is there but those 160,000 Chicagoland alumni? If a game at SeatGeek can draw just 10%, that's 16,000. All by itself that's almost as much as total attendance for Utah. Yes, just one game, but the attention of a big name like BYU might do it.

I concede the odds are not great, with a long list of reasons I'll omit (getting too long already). One I should mention, though, is that Northwestern and Illinois have tried to break into the pro-sports-plus-Notre Dame market there, and not done well.

But NIU has to try. Or like some have said, in 5 years kiss it all good-bye. IMO, it is important to ask ... People here have complained about lack of marketing, but what is the "retention" effort going to be afterward?

(02-13-2020 12:49 PM)TXHuskieJA26 Wrote:  I don't think this makes as little sense as many of you seem to. We all know that attendance in Dekalb has not been good in recent years. The athletic dept has done things to try and improve that experience. The Yard, adding alcohol sales into the stadium, etc... It hasn't mattered. So when you are doing things that aren't working, you have to try something else. As has been mentioned, the 5k "die hard" fans are not going to sustain this program. They need to bring in new fans. So with a new coach and a young (and hopefully exciting) team, playing a game against a name brand opponent somewhere closer to the city as a way to potentially draw people who wouldn't normally go to a game is not a bad idea. Then the hope would be that those people would enjoy the experience and decide to make attending games in Dekalb a regular, or at least more frequent, occurance. So I'm sorry that so many of you are so upset and offended by this change, but if you are the "die hard" fans and supporters that you claim then I have a simple question for you. What is more important: your one game in Dekalb vs. one game in SeatGeek (which if you got on board could be a fun experience) OR a chance (successful or not is to be seen) to grow the fanbase and therefore sustain the program that you love for the future so that many others can have the same lifelong memories of Huskie football that you have enjoyed??

If the goal of playing a game in the Chicago area is to engage an untapped fanbase and increase future involvement/season ticket sales, why have the previous Soldier Field games and the Toledo/Cell game not achieved that very same thing?

Part of the reason we have athletics is to draw attention to the academic side of the institution. Branding is not just for athletics, but also for the "U." A game played off campus misses that opportunity -- to draw people to campus and to sell the school.

And, every home game played elsewhere makes a revamping of Huskie Stadium harder and harder. Why should we pay millions of dollars for five games, of which are two (?) weekends a year?

Give me some measurables on how this can be evaluated after the fact for its success.