Looking ahead to 2018
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Let's hope we test that hypothesis soon.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
I disagree. 7-5 next year would be like 8.0 on the Richter scale.
I'm not on campus, but I have two cousins enrolled and one likely starting next fall. My two cousins who are enrolled have legitimately no interest in football OR basketball. One of them doesn't care for sports at all, but the other is a die hard Bears, Bulls, Cubs, and Blackhawks fan. My brother's freshman year was my senior year and the differences between us were astounding. I missed a handful of games during my time in Champaign. My brother probably attended fewer games than I missed...
The students don't care. The 40% full NEZ (possibly generous estimation) makes that quite clear. Not to sound like a broken record, but the athletic department needs to look at giving the tickets away. I would drive down to Champaign for the games if the atmosphere was exciting, even if we were losing. I understand this is not an easy rebuild and it's going to take time, but it's hard to be supportive when there's no buzz around the program. The noise and tailgating is an experience. It puts a damper on the mood when you drive 2+ hours and the stadium is a ghost town.
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Free tickets don't work. Winning is the only solution. Once we start winning, the fans will come back... including the students.
Not to mention an extra month of practice for 2019...
ummm.. yes it would...
I don't think 7-5 in 2018 would lead to a sell out crowd vs Akron in 2019, but it would cast a ray of light on the otherwise gloom that has been Illini football. I don't think we'll see an awakening of our fan base until we're competing for the West.
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Deleted member 29907
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Geesh - the University is located in the center of cow / farmland - certainly we should know how to herd things to where we want them to go...
Deleted member 631370
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True.
But Joe Maddon took the Cubs to the NLCS in his first season in Chicago. Won the World Series in his second.
Dale Sveum was fired after two miserable seasons in Chicago. Then Rick Renteria was fired after one season. That made way for Joe Maddon.
Theo Epstein was definitely committed to a long term plan, but he wasn't shy about firing guys who couldn't win. He showed patience for the overall process, but no patience for individual managers who couldn't win.
(no, not saying we need to fire Lovie after 2, 3, or even 4 seasons necessarily)
I think free tickets would help some. The few games over the last 2 years where they have done free student tickets have had solid student turnout. The convenience of having a ticket to every game say, delivered to your phone the day before, would be more important than the cost. Plus you could get some kids to come that had decided against purchasing season tickets in August/September. I'd like to see tickets for fb and bb included in the cost of attendance like many other schools do, but it's probably unlikely. Winning will fix the student attendance issue to some extent.
Glory Days
- Palmetto, FL
I think free tickets are the way to go, but not just for current students, but for seniors and juniors in high school who have applied for admission to the University. Those are the kids who are yearning to connect with the University....
Let's bring 3000 of those kids and their families into the stadium, have some pre-game events with admissions and academic representatives, and put them into the stadium to connect with everyone.
You will still generate revenue as these families will buy concessions, swag, and pay for parking. Some will get hotel rooms, eat meals in town, etc....and many will then become students.
You help fill up the NEZ, you raise the volume and excitement level (which help to entice recruits who are looking at full stadiums at Wisconsin, Iowa, etc..., and you move the needle to changing the perception of this program.
I think you only will need to do this for a year or two and when the wins add up, fan support will follow.
Let's bring 3000 of those kids and their families into the stadium, have some pre-game events with admissions and academic representatives, and put them into the stadium to connect with everyone.
You will still generate revenue as these families will buy concessions, swag, and pay for parking. Some will get hotel rooms, eat meals in town, etc....and many will then become students.
You help fill up the NEZ, you raise the volume and excitement level (which help to entice recruits who are looking at full stadiums at Wisconsin, Iowa, etc..., and you move the needle to changing the perception of this program.
I think you only will need to do this for a year or two and when the wins add up, fan support will follow.
Not to stray further off topic, but I didn't realize that this is what became of the Mizzou guy...
http://www.nationalreview.com/artic...eo-himself-dancing-alone-song-about-one-night
I am VERY interested in seeing what you're referencing materialize here. Seems like the trend is to move away from anything even minimally related to Native American imagery due to the potential for it to be perceived as offensive. Would be great to see the University move in the other direction.
If we are trying to compare NCAA D1 Football to MLB, all I can say is, who are the illini drafting number 1 overall in next years draft?
Easy fix to this problem - Win, free student tickets, sell expensive beer at the games.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
If the goal is to up the atmosphere and get more students to the games, the answer is free beer.
I can get behind this movement. #FreetheBeer
This is my concern too. Sure, this team will get better as our young core gets older, but even then I'm not convinced we'll be all that good. Eventually we're gonna have to start getting higher ranked recruits. Three stars aren't gonna cut it if we really want to compete. Of course, the 4 and 5 stars won't start coming until we start winning, which is what makes rebuilding so difficult.
And as for students caring about football (and even basketball/other sports)...I feel like they really don't, aside from the Illini Pride "clique." It was bad when I was a student a few years back, and from what I've seen/heard it's even worse now.
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I am still shocked more places don't serve beer at the games. Especially local stuff. If I am AD I am getting 5-10 local establishments and offer them an area to sell their booze/beer in the stadium and I take a % from their sales for the school.
Or even let the local bars set up a tent/garden in the stadium
Neidermeyer
- Faber College
Did anyone ever hear what Dudek's injury was? Will he be playing next year?
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