They should play the bulls
You may be on to somethingI think having a road game against a P5 opponent is a must. Need to get them ready to play on the road against a tougher opponent before conference matchups. Neutral sites help, but not nearly to the same extent.
I think a Chicago game between Xmas and NYE would make a lot of sense. Any students from the Chicago area are home and then you've got alumni that grew up in the Chicago area that moved away potentially visiting their parents for a few days over the holidays. Could draw a good crowd as opposed to having no one on campus for a cupcake game during that period.
I do like the idea of keeping the money we pay teams we should beat in state instead of paying out of state cup cakes.My ideal once in a lifetime never to be done again Non-con schedule. I just want to see it happen once in my life.
Eastern Illinois
Western Illinois
Northern Illinois
Southern Illinois - Carbondale
Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
University of Illinois Chicago
Illinois State
I think that takes care of all Division 1 Universities in the state with Illinois in their name. lol This will never happen but I think it would be cool just to see once. hehe
There are just too many home cupcake games!
As a season ticket holder for 10 years, most years I feel that I am really paying for 10 B1G home games. Typically the non-conference home schedule is terrible. With that in mind, this year I am going to drop my season tickets. I will donate $100 to the IFUND so I can buy single-game home basketball tickets the day before they go on sale to the general public. The only risk that I see is my seat(s) may not be as good as my season tickets but I will not have home non-conference tickets that are hard to get rid of and I will probably not spend as much money as I would for my 2 season tickets and their required IFUND donation.
Going back to 04-05 we played Wake Gonzaga @Arkansas Mizzou GTown Oregon and Cincy. Our team was ready for that schedule
Forgot the cupcakes play good teams and be rewarded for it. If you know your team is not good then try adding cupcakes
RE: The United Center game being difficult, I actually don't think it would be difficult to maintain, it would just take a lot of planning to get going. I think you would just have to outline multiple 4-year series lined up in advance like we had with Gonzaga a few years ago:
2009-10: Chicago, IL (Neutral Home)
2010-11: Seattle, WA (Neutral Away)
2011-12: Champaign, IL (Home)
2012-13: Spokane, WA (Away)
Once you found a couple of those, I think you could just stagger it appropriately and it would work out to benefit both parties involved. We are in the enviable position that we are not asking a team to come to Little Rock, AR (as we did for the Razorbacks) or Des Moines, IA (as Iowa or Iowa State would have to do); we are inviting them to play in Chicago in one of the nation's best areas for recruiting, and I think a lot of teams would jump at the opportunity if the logistics of the series were well thought out.
Imagine these series that I personally think would be fun, huge draws in both Champaign and Chicago and provide us an opportunity to play in some talent hotbeds and/or places with a significant number of alumni:
Kansas: Champaign, IL - Lawrence, KS - Chicago, IL - Kansas City, MO
Texas: Champaign, IL - Austin, TX - Chicago, IL - Dallas, TX
Syracuse: Champaign, IL - Syracuse, NY - Chicago, IL - New York, NY (MSG)
Virginia: Champaign, IL - Charlottesville, VA - Chicago, IL - Washington, DC
Texas A&M: Champaign, IL - College Station, TX - Chicago, IL - Houston, TX
Somebody else could probably make this more efficient, but you could stagger the schedules something like this:
2023-24: Kansas in Lawrence, Texas in Chicago
2024-25: Kansas in Champaign, Texas in Dallas, Syracuse in Chicago
2025-26: Kansas in Chicago, Texas in Champaign, Syracuse at MSG
--- Add Virginia to make sure we have a Chicago game ---
2026-27: Kansas in Kansas City, Texas in Austin, Syracuse in Champaign, Virginia in Chicago
--- Kansas and Texas series done; add Texas A&M to replace Texas ---
2027-28: Syracuse at Syracuse, Virginia in DC, Texas A&M in Chicago
--- Syracuse series done; add UConn to replace Syracuse as an opponent that gets us in NYC)
2028-29: Virginia in Champaign, Texas A&M in Houston, UConn in Chicago
--- Find a replacement for Virginia to start as the United Center game the next year, etc. ---
Again, someone whose brain hurts less than mine does could maybe make it work more smoothly, but I think you'd have to do something like that. And I think a lot of big-time programs would be interested, and it would provide us with the dual benefit of (A) getting us playing at a packed United Center against good opponents again, (B) getting us exposure in other recruiting hotbeds and also (C) being a GREAT way to get high-profile opponents to come to Champaign and still feel like there is a lot for them to gain besides a demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Orange Krush.![]()
I would add Bradley Loyola and DePaul to that list, but schedule ONLY ONE of all those a year. Like the addition of the Tennesse series and would like the same with Kentucky and Kansas, maybe Iowa State. Start with Western before Geoff becomes a head coach. Hope it isn't too long before Valpo becomes a must add.My ideal once in a lifetime never to be done again Non-con schedule. I just want to see it happen once in my life.
Eastern Illinois
Western Illinois
Northern Illinois
Southern Illinois - Carbondale
Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
University of Illinois Chicago
Illinois State
I think that takes care of all Division 1 Universities in the state with Illinois in their name. lol This will never happen but I think it would be cool just to see once. hehe
My question is which side would OA be on?Kentucky: Champaign, Lexington, Chicago, Indianapolis ... how frickin' funny would the Hoosier outrage be if Illinois and Kentucky played in Indy and both packed the house with our fans.![]()
Think you could simplify by only having the neutral games. Also as you pointed out a lot of bigger teams would have no issue playing in Chicago because of recruiting.RE: My last post about the United Center game setup, these are some more that might work in the same mold as the examples I gave for series with Kansas, Texas, Syracuse, Virginia, Texas A&M and UConn:
Arizona: Champaign, Tucson, Chicago, Phoenix ... no-brainer, we have so much history with them!
Florida: Champaign, Gainesville, Chicago, Orlando/Tampa/Miami ... not sure where UF would want their neutral game or where it would benefit us the most?
Tennessee: Champaign, Knoxville, Chicago, Nashville ... though maybe it'd be too soon after the home-and-home we have with them starting next year.
North Carolina: Champaign, Chapel Hill, Chicago, Greensboro/Charlotte/Raleigh
Georgia: Champaign, Athens, Chicago, Atlanta ... UGA basketball is nothing now, but look what happened with 'Bama. I don't think they'll suck forever, too many resources. Only worry is if it is enough of a draw for OUR fans in Chicago.
And lastly ... the absolute homerun:
Kentucky: Champaign, Lexington, Chicago, Indianapolis ... how frickin' funny would the Hoosier outrage be if Illinois and Kentucky played in Indy and both packed the house with our fans.![]()