(04-28-2022 10:01 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  With Meta putting in a billion dollars into DeKalb, and having influx of professionals earning some nice change, would it be wise to to start marketing to these employees as "premium" fand? If they are young adults with young families, an NIU sporting event would be an easy sell instead of going to Chicago or Rockford.

The billion sounds like a nice number but it's only 200 employees.

I’ll bet Athletics has a list of big donors that they invited to donate for the Yordon Center. This must be a donation campaign for only a few donors who were told about this. For all we know, they may already have the funds they need.

(04-29-2022 12:05 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(04-28-2022 10:01 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  With Meta putting in a billion dollars into DeKalb, and having influx of professionals earning some nice change, would it be wise to to start marketing to these employees as "premium" fand? If they are young adults with young families, an NIU sporting event would be an easy sell instead of going to Chicago or Rockford.

The billion sounds like a nice number but it's only 200 employees.

Is that all they are employing with that massive undertaking? Dang! Talking about keeping direct costs at a minimum.

(04-29-2022 01:04 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  

(04-29-2022 12:05 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(04-28-2022 10:01 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  With Meta putting in a billion dollars into DeKalb, and having influx of professionals earning some nice change, would it be wise to to start marketing to these employees as "premium" fand? If they are young adults with young families, an NIU sporting event would be an easy sell instead of going to Chicago or Rockford.

The billion sounds like a nice number but it's only 200 employees.

Is that all they are employing with that massive undertaking? Dang! Talking about keeping direct costs at a minimum.

It doesn't take a lot of people to run a data center.

(04-29-2022 01:04 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  

(04-29-2022 12:05 AM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(04-28-2022 10:01 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  With Meta putting in a billion dollars into DeKalb, and having influx of professionals earning some nice change, would it be wise to to start marketing to these employees as "premium" fand? If they are young adults with young families, an NIU sporting event would be an easy sell instead of going to Chicago or Rockford.

The billion sounds like a nice number but it's only 200 employees.

Is that all they are employing with that massive undertaking? Dang! Talking about keeping direct costs at a minimum.

It doesn't take a lot of people to run a data center.

Nope. Basically, warehouses filled with racks of computers.

(04-29-2022 02:36 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  Nope. Basically, warehouses filled with racks of computers.

Hopefully there's at least one custodian sweeping up who knows better than to touch things he shouldn't. Made me remember covering Huskie basketball when NIU first moved the media courtside at Evans Field House. Before power was trenched into the floor, Sports Information had a series of quad boxes on a massive extension cord plugged in by the wrestling room. Some janitor thought it was in the way of his sweeping up after a game and like a synchronized act, every sportswriter's head jerked up as their laptop computers suddenly went dark while they were hurrying to make deadline. Korcek and Nemo often talked about what they had to put up with, something the current media operation wouldn't understand since no one covers NIU anymore.

(04-29-2022 04:14 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(04-29-2022 02:36 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  Nope. Basically, warehouses filled with racks of computers.

Hopefully there's at least one custodian sweeping up who knows better than to touch things he shouldn't. Made me remember covering Huskie basketball when NIU first moved the media courtside at Evans Field House. Before power was trenched into the floor, Sports Information had a series of quad boxes on a massive extension cord plugged in by the wrestling room. Some janitor thought it was in the way of his sweeping up after a game and like a synchronized act, every sportswriter's head jerked up as their laptop computers suddenly went dark while they were hurrying to make deadline. Korcek and Nemo often talked about what they had to put up with, something the current media operation wouldn't understand since no one covers NIU anymore.

Reminds me of Johnny unplugging the runway lights in Airplane.
Also, no custodians, just a bunch of roombas.

Memphis to spend at least $150 million renovating Liberty Bowl
https://es.pn/3l5MfzQ

We desperately need better leadership. We can't even get $5 million for a proper baseball stadium or any fundraising plan for some upgrades to Huskies Stadium.

(05-13-2022 06:23 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Memphis to spend at least $150 million renovating Liberty Bowl
https://es.pn/3l5MfzQ

We desperately need better leadership. We can't even get $5 million for a proper baseball stadium or any fundraising plan for some upgrades to Huskies Stadium.

We have a ****** alumni base. Very little school spirit beyond this board. You need to cultivate with current students, older alumni are not going to come back.

(05-13-2022 09:52 AM)klake87 Wrote:  

(05-13-2022 06:23 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Memphis to spend at least $150 million renovating Liberty Bowl
https://es.pn/3l5MfzQ

We desperately need better leadership. We can't even get $5 million for a proper baseball stadium or any fundraising plan for some upgrades to Huskies Stadium.

We have a ****** alumni base. Very little school spirit beyond this board. You need to cultivate with current students, older alumni are not going to come back.

Yep. I (and I am sure you and many others) have been saying exactly that for years and years now. Yet, really since Jim Phillips left, I see little attempt to really engage the students. I repeat for the umpteenth time-- students are your future alumni and future donors. Ignore them at your own peril. And yet, here we are. They just want to harvest without doing the hard work of planting and tending and weeding and watering and waiting. They just want to harvest. Well, without all the other work, the harvest just ain't that good!

(05-13-2022 11:53 AM)chihuskie Wrote:  

(05-13-2022 09:52 AM)klake87 Wrote:  

(05-13-2022 06:23 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Memphis to spend at least $150 million renovating Liberty Bowl
https://es.pn/3l5MfzQ

We desperately need better leadership. We can't even get $5 million for a proper baseball stadium or any fundraising plan for some upgrades to Huskies Stadium.

We have a ****** alumni base. Very little school spirit beyond this board. You need to cultivate with current students, older alumni are not going to come back.

Yep. I (and I am sure you and many others) have been saying exactly that for years and years now. Yet, really since Jim Phillips left, I see little attempt to really engage the students. I repeat for the umpteenth time-- students are your future alumni and future donors. Ignore them at your own peril. And yet, here we are. They just want to harvest without doing the hard work of planting and tending and weeding and watering and waiting. They just want to harvest. Well, without all the other work, the harvest just ain't that good!

To me, the most egregious cardinal sin they committed was not taking advantage of the excitement generated by the Orange Bowl to cultivate new fans and donors. It was like the entire Athletics department went on vacation for a few months after the OB. I have never seen anything like it. What a great opportunity that was not taken advantage of. It was like they were just sitting on a beach somewhere and waiting for the donations to flow in. That will happen with a P5 school, but not NIU. You need to run with the sizzle, which they did not do.

Then there is something I have always preached that they also fail to do. Recognize and acknowledge your current donors! Make every one of them feel important and a part of the team, which they also fail to do. Ignore your donors (which they are great at) and they will go away. I donate annually in the mid-4 figures (and sometimes more plus the capital campaigns), and under the current administration, I have never received a thank you acknowledgment letter from Athletics (just the usual letter from the Foundation). They do not know me and have never made the attempt to know me. How do you cultivate donors by ignoring them that way? This is NOT the way to do business - not the way to treat your donors. Again.....ignore them, and they will go away.

Chihuskie & DF are absolute correct. I too was hoping that the Orange Bowl excitement and the games before and after the OB where we were averaging 20-25k/game. If we kept that up, I felt we had a good chance of building up an alumni base, but that hope fizzled fast.

Once again, another chance for NIU to grab a brass ring and we blow it.

The above is oft-repeated by a number of fans posting here, self included. Nothing much appears to change despite our complaints. Sometimes any changes seem only to benefit the A.Dept. and its internal operations. Or special promotions to people who can drop $2,000 on a memento in exchange for premium seats.

So add this question ... anyone heard if anything "special" is being planned for the EIU and Vanderbilt games? Anything to increase the potential draw? (I have not seen minutes from the Athletic Board's April meeting anywhere yet.)

(05-14-2022 07:49 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  The above is oft-repeated by a number of fans posting here, self included. Nothing much appears to change despite our complaints. Sometimes any changes seem only to benefit the A.Dept. and its internal operations. Or special promotions to people who can drop $2,000 on a memento in exchange for premium seats.

So add this question ... anyone heard if anything "special" is being planned for the EIU and Vanderbilt games? Anything to increase the potential draw? (I have not seen minutes from the Athletic Board's April meeting anywhere yet.)

I am sure what will be done for those games is they will unlock the stadium gates, put up the “out of hot dogs” sign, and let people in - with the ticket scanners not working.

(05-14-2022 07:49 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  The above is oft-repeated by a number of fans posting here, self included. Nothing much appears to change despite our complaints. Sometimes any changes seem only to benefit the A.Dept. and its internal operations. Or special promotions to people who can drop $2,000 on a memento in exchange for premium seats.

So add this question ... anyone heard if anything "special" is being planned for the EIU and Vanderbilt games? Anything to increase the potential draw? (I have not seen minutes from the Athletic Board's April meeting anywhere yet.)

Maybe they will have a halftime reunion of a team and have only 5 teammates show up .

New Field Turf going in at the Olympic sports/soccer complex.

(05-13-2022 02:17 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  Chihuskie & DF are absolute correct. I too was hoping that the Orange Bowl excitement and the games before and after the OB where we were averaging 20-25k/game. If we kept that up, I felt we had a good chance of building up an alumni base, but that hope fizzled fast.

Once again, another chance for NIU to grab a brass ring and we blow it.

We had the excitement and the base was building and THEN-----the Bowling Green debacle in the championship game the next year---completely blown out--and the tight end for BG is STILL open deep down the middle of the field.

I will argue until my dying day that that 3.5 hour span of Huskie football completely changed the trajectory of the program beyond repair.

It would have been back to back BCS seasons (without ANY objection from anyone anywhere) and would have kept us in the spotlight as that next "TCU or Boise" much longer.

Instead of risking our undefeated head to head record against Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl we trot out to San Diego and lose to Utah State in yet another meaningless college bowl game.

(08-18-2022 09:27 AM)Milwaukee Pilot Wrote:  

(05-13-2022 02:17 PM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  Chihuskie & DF are absolute correct. I too was hoping that the Orange Bowl excitement and the games before and after the OB where we were averaging 20-25k/game. If we kept that up, I felt we had a good chance of building up an alumni base, but that hope fizzled fast.

Once again, another chance for NIU to grab a brass ring and we blow it.

We had the excitement and the base was building and THEN-----the Bowling Green debacle in the championship game the next year---completely blown out--and the tight end for BG is STILL open deep down the middle of the field.

I will argue until my dying day that that 3.5 hour span of Huskie football completely changed the trajectory of the program beyond repair.

It would have been back to back BCS seasons (without ANY objection from anyone anywhere) and would have kept us in the spotlight as that next "TCU or Boise" much longer.

Instead of risking our undefeated head to head record against Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl we trot out to San Diego and lose to Utah State in yet another meaningless college bowl game.

I agree, if you want to pinpoint a pivotal moment of the downward spiral, that would be it. It wasn't that we lost the game to BG, it was that we got beat by a drum. And then to lose to Utah State in the Bowl game sealed out fate.
Utah State was a decent team that year, but they weren't a household name( I didn't want to phrase it in a way that was condescending. I am sure their fans were saying Northern Who?).

(08-18-2022 08:48 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  New Field Turf going in at the Olympic sports/soccer complex.

Now it makes sense why both soccer programs were scheduled to be on the road for the first few games.