dekalb222 thanks for your time and effort in being part of the Fan Advisory Board. There are some good suggestions here and I am sure you will take the time and sort through them in order to present some.

Absolutely! I’m pretty sure there’s at least one more poster who also is on that committee. They also need your input into how to get students at basketball games. 500-1000 students would make a huge difference! Heck, I think probably 100 would

Having grown up in nearby Dixon, I always followed the Huskies but never attended any games until I went to school at NIU. There are alot of fans and potential fans in nearby communities who don't think to go to games because they didn't attend NIU. My point is to promote the Huskies football games as a family freindly, affordable event for those living in northern Illinois area. Highlight that you don't have to be affiliated to NIU to be a Huskies fan. Use local radio and TV stations to promote this concept.

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(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Love this thread 222. thanks for representing the Dog Pound and sharing our ideas at the meeting.

Here are a few more ideas. Some might be kind of goofy. I'm a big believer in "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks." Never know.

1) Bring back the cannon. I want my cannon back!
2) I like all of the ideas surrounding fraternities and sororities. How about the same for dorm floors or dorm buildings? Organize competitions between them--most students from a house or floor, best posters and signage, best outfits, best chants, etc. Winners get pizza dinner on their floor or something. Encourage "appropriate craziness!"
3) For students, how about a flag football tournament the morning before each weekend home game? A bags tournament? Prizes? Winners awarded at halftime?
4) For one Saturday away game during nonconference, would any students and locals come if they had a watch party in the stadium? Show the game on the scoreboard, let people hang out on the field, have a bags tournament or something on one end, serve game day food, etc. Crazy, I know. But if you get a few hundred people in the stadium, they might decide to come back. See if a local establishment would sponsor it.
5) Have athletes (not just football) meet with the freshman early their first year on their dorm floors, have pizza with them, get them fired up about attending sporting events/being Huskies. (Food = happy college students.)
6) For students attending the cold games of November, provide free hand/foot warmers, maybe have Huskies blankets available to borrow, provide other ways to make sitting there in the cold less miserable. Have warming stations under the stands. Told you some of these ideas might be kind of goofy...
7) For the November night games, set up a tent (like the alumni tent) on the East side and work with local restaurants to bring in food for the students. Have a separate tent with beer for students of age.
8) On the flip side, if we just can't students in the stands in November, is there a way to "close up" the East Side stands and move everyone to the West Side? Improve the West Side experience for all fans, have a student section, move the band over (putting them someplace where they won't blow people's ears out would be a challenge--maybe stick them behind the visitors section!), etc. Move some of the TV cameras to show the West Side--it always seems like the student sections are shown during MACtion and there's no one there! Finally, on the East Side, cover the entire stands, or the middle 3-4 sections, in a gigantic Huskies logo like they have on the truck. Include the school's website and phone number at the bottom for the benefit of people watching on TV. Sitting where I do on the West Side, I wouldn't mind looking at that during time outs. Beats all the empty metal bleachers!
Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

Mission is afraid of the cannon. Do you want Mission and his free T-shirt toss or the cannon?

(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

As I like to say about a dozen times a day to my teams, "Don't tell me why we can't do it, tell me what we need to get it done."

Don't tell me why seat warmers won't work, tell me what we would need to do to install seat warmers. We would need to ID which seats get warmers, check the fire code, get quotes, and do the install during the summer months.

Don't tell me why it's a bad idea to move all fans to West side, tell me what we would need to do to move all fans to the West side. We'd need a strong marketing plan including clear communication why we are making this move. We need to make sure that season ticket holders don't lose their seats. We need to make sure the concession and the toilets can handle the increased number of people.

Don't tell me why we don't market to the greater northern Illinois area, tell me what we would need to do to market to the greater northern Illinois area. We would need to ID an area of coverage we need to market. We would need to get stories to print and broadcast media. We would need to make coaches, administrators and athletes available to those media.

Etc etc.

It's much more fun to have a meeting about how we can get something done than it is to deal with the Eeyors that have a reason why nothing can change, or be done.

(11-27-2018 05:53 PM)dekalb222 Wrote:  I mentioned to Sean Frazier how about a throw back game at Chick Evans. He seemed receptive to the idea but somebody later told me it no longer has seats in it.

That would be freaking awesome. So many great times there during the McDougal era. I would definitely go to a game there.

(11-28-2018 09:31 AM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  

(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Love this thread 222. thanks for representing the Dog Pound and sharing our ideas at the meeting.

Here are a few more ideas. Some might be kind of goofy. I'm a big believer in "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks." Never know.

1) Bring back the cannon. I want my cannon back!
2) I like all of the ideas surrounding fraternities and sororities. How about the same for dorm floors or dorm buildings? Organize competitions between them--most students from a house or floor, best posters and signage, best outfits, best chants, etc. Winners get pizza dinner on their floor or something. Encourage "appropriate craziness!"
3) For students, how about a flag football tournament the morning before each weekend home game? A bags tournament? Prizes? Winners awarded at halftime?
4) For one Saturday away game during nonconference, would any students and locals come if they had a watch party in the stadium? Show the game on the scoreboard, let people hang out on the field, have a bags tournament or something on one end, serve game day food, etc. Crazy, I know. But if you get a few hundred people in the stadium, they might decide to come back. See if a local establishment would sponsor it.
5) Have athletes (not just football) meet with the freshman early their first year on their dorm floors, have pizza with them, get them fired up about attending sporting events/being Huskies. (Food = happy college students.)
6) For students attending the cold games of November, provide free hand/foot warmers, maybe have Huskies blankets available to borrow, provide other ways to make sitting there in the cold less miserable. Have warming stations under the stands. Told you some of these ideas might be kind of goofy...
7) For the November night games, set up a tent (like the alumni tent) on the East side and work with local restaurants to bring in food for the students. Have a separate tent with beer for students of age.
8) On the flip side, if we just can't students in the stands in November, is there a way to "close up" the East Side stands and move everyone to the West Side? Improve the West Side experience for all fans, have a student section, move the band over (putting them someplace where they won't blow people's ears out would be a challenge--maybe stick them behind the visitors section!), etc. Move some of the TV cameras to show the West Side--it always seems like the student sections are shown during MACtion and there's no one there! Finally, on the East Side, cover the entire stands, or the middle 3-4 sections, in a gigantic Huskies logo like they have on the truck. Include the school's website and phone number at the bottom for the benefit of people watching on TV. Sitting where I do on the West Side, I wouldn't mind looking at that during time outs. Beats all the empty metal bleachers!
Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

Mission is afraid of the cannon. Do you want Mission and his free T-shirt toss or the cannon?

What free T-shirt toss? That reminds me, I don't think they should announce to the entire crowd to get on their feet for a free t-shirt, and then have the ROTC or whomever walk over to one small section of the crowd on the west side of the stadium, shoot a few t-shirts, and then walk off.

Mission is afraid of the cannon but not the fireworks? That seems unlikely - some of the fireworks are quite loud, and are on the same end of the stadium that Mission usually is, where the cannon was on the other end.

(11-28-2018 10:17 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 09:31 AM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  

(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Love this thread 222. thanks for representing the Dog Pound and sharing our ideas at the meeting.

Here are a few more ideas. Some might be kind of goofy. I'm a big believer in "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks." Never know.

1) Bring back the cannon. I want my cannon back!
2) I like all of the ideas surrounding fraternities and sororities. How about the same for dorm floors or dorm buildings? Organize competitions between them--most students from a house or floor, best posters and signage, best outfits, best chants, etc. Winners get pizza dinner on their floor or something. Encourage "appropriate craziness!"
3) For students, how about a flag football tournament the morning before each weekend home game? A bags tournament? Prizes? Winners awarded at halftime?
4) For one Saturday away game during nonconference, would any students and locals come if they had a watch party in the stadium? Show the game on the scoreboard, let people hang out on the field, have a bags tournament or something on one end, serve game day food, etc. Crazy, I know. But if you get a few hundred people in the stadium, they might decide to come back. See if a local establishment would sponsor it.
5) Have athletes (not just football) meet with the freshman early their first year on their dorm floors, have pizza with them, get them fired up about attending sporting events/being Huskies. (Food = happy college students.)
6) For students attending the cold games of November, provide free hand/foot warmers, maybe have Huskies blankets available to borrow, provide other ways to make sitting there in the cold less miserable. Have warming stations under the stands. Told you some of these ideas might be kind of goofy...
7) For the November night games, set up a tent (like the alumni tent) on the East side and work with local restaurants to bring in food for the students. Have a separate tent with beer for students of age.
8) On the flip side, if we just can't students in the stands in November, is there a way to "close up" the East Side stands and move everyone to the West Side? Improve the West Side experience for all fans, have a student section, move the band over (putting them someplace where they won't blow people's ears out would be a challenge--maybe stick them behind the visitors section!), etc. Move some of the TV cameras to show the West Side--it always seems like the student sections are shown during MACtion and there's no one there! Finally, on the East Side, cover the entire stands, or the middle 3-4 sections, in a gigantic Huskies logo like they have on the truck. Include the school's website and phone number at the bottom for the benefit of people watching on TV. Sitting where I do on the West Side, I wouldn't mind looking at that during time outs. Beats all the empty metal bleachers!
Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

Mission is afraid of the cannon. Do you want Mission and his free T-shirt toss or the cannon?

What free T-shirt toss? That reminds me, I don't think they should announce to the entire crowd to get on their feet for a free t-shirt, and then have the ROTC or whomever walk over to one small section of the crowd on the west side of the stadium, shoot a few t-shirts, and then walk off.

Mission is afraid of the cannon but not the fireworks? That seems unlikely - some of the fireworks are quite loud, and are on the same end of the stadium that Mission usually is, where the cannon was on the other end.

There is a free T-shirt toss shortly after the start of the 3rd quarter. The shirts have the Mission logo on them. The ROTC students run around and toss them in the crowd.

(11-28-2018 12:03 PM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 10:17 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 09:31 AM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  

(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Love this thread 222. thanks for representing the Dog Pound and sharing our ideas at the meeting.

Here are a few more ideas. Some might be kind of goofy. I'm a big believer in "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks." Never know.

1) Bring back the cannon. I want my cannon back!
2) I like all of the ideas surrounding fraternities and sororities. How about the same for dorm floors or dorm buildings? Organize competitions between them--most students from a house or floor, best posters and signage, best outfits, best chants, etc. Winners get pizza dinner on their floor or something. Encourage "appropriate craziness!"
3) For students, how about a flag football tournament the morning before each weekend home game? A bags tournament? Prizes? Winners awarded at halftime?
4) For one Saturday away game during nonconference, would any students and locals come if they had a watch party in the stadium? Show the game on the scoreboard, let people hang out on the field, have a bags tournament or something on one end, serve game day food, etc. Crazy, I know. But if you get a few hundred people in the stadium, they might decide to come back. See if a local establishment would sponsor it.
5) Have athletes (not just football) meet with the freshman early their first year on their dorm floors, have pizza with them, get them fired up about attending sporting events/being Huskies. (Food = happy college students.)
6) For students attending the cold games of November, provide free hand/foot warmers, maybe have Huskies blankets available to borrow, provide other ways to make sitting there in the cold less miserable. Have warming stations under the stands. Told you some of these ideas might be kind of goofy...
7) For the November night games, set up a tent (like the alumni tent) on the East side and work with local restaurants to bring in food for the students. Have a separate tent with beer for students of age.
8) On the flip side, if we just can't students in the stands in November, is there a way to "close up" the East Side stands and move everyone to the West Side? Improve the West Side experience for all fans, have a student section, move the band over (putting them someplace where they won't blow people's ears out would be a challenge--maybe stick them behind the visitors section!), etc. Move some of the TV cameras to show the West Side--it always seems like the student sections are shown during MACtion and there's no one there! Finally, on the East Side, cover the entire stands, or the middle 3-4 sections, in a gigantic Huskies logo like they have on the truck. Include the school's website and phone number at the bottom for the benefit of people watching on TV. Sitting where I do on the West Side, I wouldn't mind looking at that during time outs. Beats all the empty metal bleachers!
Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

Mission is afraid of the cannon. Do you want Mission and his free T-shirt toss or the cannon?

What free T-shirt toss? That reminds me, I don't think they should announce to the entire crowd to get on their feet for a free t-shirt, and then have the ROTC or whomever walk over to one small section of the crowd on the west side of the stadium, shoot a few t-shirts, and then walk off.

Mission is afraid of the cannon but not the fireworks? That seems unlikely - some of the fireworks are quite loud, and are on the same end of the stadium that Mission usually is, where the cannon was on the other end.

There is a free T-shirt toss shortly after the start of the 3rd quarter. The shirts have the Mission logo on them. The ROTC students run around and toss them in the crowd.

Yea, I've seen them do that, from a distance. They never seem to make their way to the south end or even the middle of the West side. What they should do is get a gatling-gun type contraption like Ball State does, that shoots several t-shirts in a short period of time. That was cool.

(11-28-2018 09:31 AM)pjfleck82 Wrote:  

(11-27-2018 05:06 PM)HW58 Wrote:  Love this thread 222. thanks for representing the Dog Pound and sharing our ideas at the meeting.

Here are a few more ideas. Some might be kind of goofy. I'm a big believer in "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks." Never know.

1) Bring back the cannon. I want my cannon back!
2) I like all of the ideas surrounding fraternities and sororities. How about the same for dorm floors or dorm buildings? Organize competitions between them--most students from a house or floor, best posters and signage, best outfits, best chants, etc. Winners get pizza dinner on their floor or something. Encourage "appropriate craziness!"
3) For students, how about a flag football tournament the morning before each weekend home game? A bags tournament? Prizes? Winners awarded at halftime?
4) For one Saturday away game during nonconference, would any students and locals come if they had a watch party in the stadium? Show the game on the scoreboard, let people hang out on the field, have a bags tournament or something on one end, serve game day food, etc. Crazy, I know. But if you get a few hundred people in the stadium, they might decide to come back. See if a local establishment would sponsor it.
5) Have athletes (not just football) meet with the freshman early their first year on their dorm floors, have pizza with them, get them fired up about attending sporting events/being Huskies. (Food = happy college students.)
6) For students attending the cold games of November, provide free hand/foot warmers, maybe have Huskies blankets available to borrow, provide other ways to make sitting there in the cold less miserable. Have warming stations under the stands. Told you some of these ideas might be kind of goofy...
7) For the November night games, set up a tent (like the alumni tent) on the East side and work with local restaurants to bring in food for the students. Have a separate tent with beer for students of age.
8) On the flip side, if we just can't students in the stands in November, is there a way to "close up" the East Side stands and move everyone to the West Side? Improve the West Side experience for all fans, have a student section, move the band over (putting them someplace where they won't blow people's ears out would be a challenge--maybe stick them behind the visitors section!), etc. Move some of the TV cameras to show the West Side--it always seems like the student sections are shown during MACtion and there's no one there! Finally, on the East Side, cover the entire stands, or the middle 3-4 sections, in a gigantic Huskies logo like they have on the truck. Include the school's website and phone number at the bottom for the benefit of people watching on TV. Sitting where I do on the West Side, I wouldn't mind looking at that during time outs. Beats all the empty metal bleachers!
Thanks for letting me ramble. And dream.

Mission is afraid of the cannon. Do you want Mission and his free T-shirt toss or the cannon?

That's a tough one. I want it all! How 'bout include Mission during pregame and halftime, then bring him inside and blast the cannon during the game?

For maybe the 100th time:

TURN ON THE LIGHTS AT THE CONVO CENTER and get rid of the darkness. I know several fans who will NOT attend basketball games because of the poor, dreary lighting. Why go hurt your eyes for 3 hours?

What made Chick Evans a wonderful place was the bright lighting where you could see the players, courts, band, cheerleaders and fans.

Of course this will never happen.....the AD's have been told this for over 15 years........

Doesnt this lighting look clear, wonderful, and upbeat? https://www.google.com/search?q=chick+ev...pnZqI5hDM:

I wish they would paint the convo ceiling white as well.............

(11-26-2018 10:35 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  *Move all tailgating to the fields surrounding Huskie Stadium.

*Make I-88 the "Huskie Corridor" with marking supporting NIU Athletics with billboards, signs, sponsorships etc.

*Film top notch NIU commercials. Because right now they are not good.... do you see this awesome commercial from Utah State? Do more like this.





*The university should explore an Athletics-focused entrance at Annie Glidden and Lincoln Hwy or on Annie Glidden just north of IHOP. This is not for the students as much as it would be to impress visitors to DeKalb.

*Give out NIU Huskie Athletics stickers for free with every ticket purchased. Like one of these:


These stickers make their way onto cars, computers, lockers, work desks and all sorts of places. Put a bucket of them for free at every HS within 60 miles. Make sure every local business has as many stickers and flags and posters and whatever they want merchandise wise (within reason, of course) to promote NIU.

Good stuff. Nice work. As to the last comment, I always wanted to see the whole DeKalb community blanketed in red during football season. Go to Iowa City and see what that town looks like when the Hawkeyes play. Try to emulate that

Few things I would like to see is NIU on the helmets at all times. That's the brand they're trying to build, so it NEEDS to be on the helmet for EVERY game, be it the dog head, or a simple NIU, it's got to be there. No more numbers. Work with ESPN so that they put NIU in stead of N Illinois, Northern IL, N IL, or my personal favorite Nor Ill. Would like to see more with the Volleyball team, since they're usually pretty good and have been to the tournament several times, granted the last two years haven't been great, but still would be nice to see more with our successful teams get more attention. Like has already been said, Red Riot needs to be taken back by athletics and promoted to all students on move-in day by both AD and athletes from all sports.

(11-29-2018 08:35 AM)UnknownScout Wrote:  Few things I would like to see is NIU on the helmets at all times. That's the brand they're trying to build, so it NEEDS to be on the helmet for EVERY game, be it the dog head, or a simple NIU, it's got to be there. No more numbers. Work with ESPN so that they put NIU in stead of N Illinois, Northern IL, N IL, or my personal favorite Nor Ill. Would like to see more with the Volleyball team, since they're usually pretty good and have been to the tournament several times, granted the last two years haven't been great, but still would be nice to see more with our successful teams get more attention. Like has already been said, Red Riot needs to be taken back by athletics and promoted to all students on move-in day by both AD and athletes from all sports.

Or Northern Iowa? Lol