(02-18-2020 09:32 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(02-18-2020 09:19 AM)Illini60940 Wrote:  

(02-18-2020 08:16 AM)HuskieJ Wrote:  

(02-17-2020 08:17 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-17-2020 08:08 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  If the turn out is bad for SeatGeek they may just do that. And at that point it may just be a few seasons until NIU drops to FCS. Just can't survive on 10-12k of local support a game. I know the Bridgeview game won't solve that. But neither will BYU in Huskie stadium. Kind of on life-support unless something shakes out soon. 2nd poorest. 5th worst in attendance. I don't know….scares me.

This hurts...

I am not saying things are rosy, but those attendance stats are suspect by a lot of schools. It is a bad situation ,but there are many that are much worse off that paint a different picture.

I have been reading this thread with passing interest, I am currently doing some subcontract work for two Illinois universities(EIU and ISU) as they explore ways to improve image/enrollment in these down times within the state.

I see a lot of bashing of the NIU athletic department and I am not sure that is fair, these schools are having their hands tied by the budgets, and as a result are being forced to gamble a little bit with their approach. With enrollment so severely depressed, the marketing of the school needs to be creative.

So maybe lets have a more wait and see approach.

Does anyone know how much NIU is getting now versus during the middle of the budget fiasco? Or compared to what they were getting before the budget fiasco?

So far we're doing a lot of waiting and not a whole lot of seeing.

Last time I checked the budget "fiasco" has never been solved. The State of Illinois finances still suck. The hope was they would generate new revenue from legalizing marijuana and gambling. To my knowledge neither of these two revenue solutions have produced what was expected although its still early. As of today, you still can't bet on sports in Illinois, and buying marijuana through the state is more expensive than from your local dealer. In the meantime, people and businesses are still leaving the state, and the folks in Springfield don't seem to want to address the reasons why everyone is leaving. Not sure how all the state schools survive without some consolidation.