Just curious to see what everybody's view is. My question is, with the attendance as low as it has been and how cash strapped the Athletic Department is, would it be worthwhile to do the Kent State model of OOC games by scheduling 3 payday games and 1 FCS home game?

Don't get me wrong, I love having a P5 or a high profile G5 at Huskie Stadium, but it is not bringing in the crowds that were expected. Thoughts?

(10-28-2021 10:00 AM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  Just curious to see what everybody's view is. My question is, with the attendance as low as it has been and how cash strapped the Athletic Department is, would it be worthwhile to do the Kent State model of OOC games by scheduling 3 payday games and 1 FCS home game?

Don't get me wrong, I love having a P5 or a high profile G5 at Huskie Stadium, but it is not bringing in the crowds that were expected. Thoughts?

I have been saying this for years. Obviously, the negatives are probable loss and a higher risk for injury, but, as you stated, Athletics needs the money and fans obviously don't care enough to attend home games, so what the heck.

An alternative would be to schedule a game at SeatGeek just to test attendance, or maybe another game at Guaranteed Rate Field. However, if they try these local games, they need to publicize and market them like crazy - something they have been unable or unwilling to do.

So, bottom line is that they should schedule as many away games as possible at the big boys for the purse. It certainly worked well at Georgia Tech this year.

Hasn't any of you hit it big on bitcoin? 5 years ago likev$300 dollars now 65k.

I think the best solution is for NIU leadership to figure out how to increase student enrollment (increased enrollment = increased athletic fee revenue), to fundraise more money through HAF, and to find more corporate sponsors.

Selling out our football team is just an easy solution for leadership not to work harder at their jobs. We already seem to be playing a minimum of two money games per season anyway.

(10-28-2021 10:18 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  I think the best solution is for NIU leadership to figure out how to increase student enrollment (increased enrollment = increased athletic fee revenue), to fundraise more money through HAF, and to find more corporate sponsors.

Selling out our football team is just an easy solution for leadership not to work harder at their jobs. We already seem to be playing a minimum of two money games per season anyway.

How much did we get for the GT game, LOL.

(10-28-2021 10:21 AM)MiamiHuskie Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:18 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  I think the best solution is for NIU leadership to figure out how to increase student enrollment (increased enrollment = increased athletic fee revenue), to fundraise more money through HAF, and to find more corporate sponsors.

Selling out our football team is just an easy solution for leadership not to work harder at their jobs. We already seem to be playing a minimum of two money games per season anyway.

How much did we get for the GT game, LOL.

$1 million. Michigan was $1.5 million. Top programs like Bama and TA&M pay near $2 million but your odds of winning are much less than a GT or NW.

(10-28-2021 10:17 AM)klake87 Wrote:  Hasn't any of you hit it big on bitcoin? 5 years ago likev$300 dollars now 65k.

I bought last November at like $18K. If it goes parabolic you’ll see me riding around with STF.

(10-28-2021 10:13 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:00 AM)Schaefer Beer Wrote:  Just curious to see what everybody's view is. My question is, with the attendance as low as it has been and how cash strapped the Athletic Department is, would it be worthwhile to do the Kent State model of OOC games by scheduling 3 payday games and 1 FCS home game?

Don't get me wrong, I love having a P5 or a high profile G5 at Huskie Stadium, but it is not bringing in the crowds that were expected. Thoughts?

I have been saying this for years. Obviously, the negatives are probable loss and a higher risk for injury, but, as you stated, Athletics needs the money and fans obviously don't care enough to attend home games, so what the heck.

An alternative would be to schedule a game at SeatGeek just to test attendance, or maybe another game at Guaranteed Rate Field. However, if they try these local games, they need to publicize and market them like crazy - something they have been unable or unwilling to do.

So, bottom line is that they should schedule as many away games as possible at the big boys for the purse. It certainly worked well at Georgia Tech this year.

Suggested this when the BYU-Seatgeek move came up: put the two weekday night games there (or somewhere similar), since HS attendance has fallen to 3,000-4,500 for those. So no big loss. Do some actual promotion to those alleged 160,000 Chicago alumni ... big after-work, on-your-way-home thing.

If go 1-3 for the four o-o-c games, for that one homer keep signing those FCS in-staters. Easier to promote. On sked now: EIU (2022), SIU (2023), WIU (2024), IllSt (2026).

1) How much have we made at the Soldier Field Games?

2) Is it that easy to get 2 P5 OOC games year-in/year-out?

I like having a P5 (Iowa State etc.) in Dekalb every 2-3 years, nice to always have one on the horizon. Need to find a way to host lower-tier P5 in Dekalb regularly and get away payday games. Maybe FCS is the answer for the open games for the likely W, lean towards in-state for the extra few fans. (WIU, EIU, ISU at home every other year?) - Opposite of U of Illness who would never risk playing us at their house regularly...

Sked says homers with Vanderbilt (2022), Maryland (2025) and Missouri (2029). So there you go.

(10-28-2021 10:42 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Sked says homers with Vanderbilt (2022), Maryland (2025) and Missouri (2029). So there you go.

Every 3 years max would be nice, but what you posted = not too shabby :) Does Missouri feel like a buyout or a Sean Frazier stadium shuffle?

(10-28-2021 10:47 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:42 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Sked says homers with Vanderbilt (2022), Maryland (2025) and Missouri (2029). So there you go.

Every 3 years max would be nice, but what you posted = not too shabby :) Does Missouri feel like a buyout or a Sean Frazier stadium shuffle?

NIU plays Mo there in 2028 and 2032, so it's a 2-fer-1. Or 1-fer-2.

But ... on fbschedules.com, it also says -- and do we need?? -- future homers with Tulsa, UMass, Holy Cross and New Mexico State? Instead of payday games that help finance athletics? NIU paid Maine $400,000+ and drew 10,000?

(10-28-2021 10:39 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  1) How much have we made at the Soldier Field Games?

2) Is it that easy to get 2 P5 OOC games year-in/year-out?

I like having a P5 (Iowa State etc.) in Dekalb every 2-3 years, nice to always have one on the horizon. Need to find a way to host lower-tier P5 in Dekalb regularly and get away payday games. Maybe FCS is the answer for the open games for the likely W, lean towards in-state for the extra few fans. (WIU, EIU, ISU at home every other year?) - Opposite of U of Illness who would never risk playing us at their house regularly...

It probably will not be easy for NIU to schedule alot of P5 games because they don't want to risk a possible loss on a game that is meant to pad the wins for premium bowl destination.

(10-28-2021 10:47 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:42 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Sked says homers with Vanderbilt (2022), Maryland (2025) and Missouri (2029). So there you go.

Every 3 years max would be nice, but what you posted = not too shabby :) Does Missouri feel like a buyout or a Sean Frazier stadium shuffle?

This game is 100% going to be moved to SF or the bears stadium in AH. Mizzou has had such a strong marketing push throughout Chicago. I can recall numerous mizzou/SEC billboards I’ve seen on 88 on my way to dekalb, they even had train cars/stations at ohare painted black and gold a couple years ago. This will be a de facto home game for them and we just need to make some money off it.

I have no issues with scheduling. ND is a nice catch.

They have tried different things, gotten P5 to come over, gotten some good road games, our IL directionals.

I would prefer 2 P5 road, G5 h/a, small school (preferable not a Holy Cross). I wouldn't want 3 P5, 1 FB every year, but if needed to get someone to DeKalb another year, so be it. Especially is one is winnable, like past and this year.

I would also like to see more P12 and SEC, latter which we have tapped into for the next few years. MIZZOU 2032? The freshmen in that game are in like 1st grade.

I think having crap home schedules for a decade is part of the reason we have no fans left.

It’s a good upcoming schedule. Play the instate FCS’s who bring fans. Winnable paydays at Nebraska and Kentucky. A couple P5’s coming here. It can’t hurt telling recruits Notre Dame is on the schedule. Tulsa is decent but could do without UMass. Get rid of the H&H G5’s and there would be complaining about lack of home games. I don’t think Saturday home games should be sacrificed.

(10-28-2021 10:49 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:47 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  

(10-28-2021 10:42 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  Sked says homers with Vanderbilt (2022), Maryland (2025) and Missouri (2029). So there you go.

Every 3 years max would be nice, but what you posted = not too shabby :) Does Missouri feel like a buyout or a Sean Frazier stadium shuffle?

NIU plays Mo there in 2028 and 2032, so it's a 2-fer-1. Or 1-fer-2.

But ... on fbschedules.com, it also says -- and do we need?? -- future homers with Tulsa, UMass, Holy Cross and New Mexico State? Instead of payday games that help finance athletics? NIU paid Maine $400,000+ and drew 10,000?

Tulsa, UMASS and NMST are home and homes so there are basically no payout to host them.

None of the successful G5s like Cincinnati, Houston, SMU, Memphis, UCF, Toledo, WMU, Boise, etc are playing three P5s per season. Most of them are playing one, maybe two max (and they certainly aren't playing Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc.). If NIU ever wants to make it to a New Years bowl again, playing three P5s per season is not the way to do it.

I just read that WMU paid 500k to cancel a 2024 home game vs Cincinnati and play at Ohio State for 1.8 million instead, with trips to Wisconsin and Marshal already scheduled for that season. I don’t think they’re doing it to get back to a New Years bowl.

Also a quick glance at future MAC Schedules Toledo, EMU, and Buffalo are the only schools to not have more than 1 P5 game scheduled in the same season for the next few years. Good luck to Kent state next year playing Washington, Oklahoma and Georgia as well.