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Totally different. Northern Illinois is in a desolate wasteland for recruiting and attendance. Playing in a Cotton Bowl would put our recruiting through the roof and draw the casual fans we so desperately need. Second tier kids in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas will put you in Access Bowls more years than not. Just ask TCU, Houston, Ole Miss and Miss State. It would give us the recognition across the state as the solid second in state choice for football.Originally Posted by olddog75
As Howard Cosell once said.........”DOWN GOES FRAZIER!”
That is a pretty solid point. NIU currently sits at 11 out of 12 In their lowly MAC conference.
So, am I to suppose that Leedawg and olddog75 advocate for us to turn down a Cotton Bowl bid, should it ever come, because nothing good will come of it? Why...we will end up 11th in the lowly MAC...egad! Nah, that's not what you mean.
I agree with KSDAWG, getting a Cotton Bowl, or any such major bowl, bid will open doors for us. Now, whether we blow it afterwards, well...you all know how that rooster crows in Ruston. Still, I'd rather be given that chance!
A big difference here is that NIU has absolutely no room for upward mobility. There is the MAC and then there is the Big-10, nothing in the middle. We have three Conferences in the South below the SEC and ACC. If we stayed in the 40s and 50s annually in the recruiting rankings it would be a tough sled for the rest of CUSA because we have been competing with recruiting in the 70s and 80s. This would be the proverbial breaking of the glass ceiling for us. The biggest part of this equation is that the negativity surrounding our much maligned fan base would dissipate and we would become far more motivated as a group.
Follow the Boise model. That said, I don't know that Boise is any closer to a Pac-10 invite than they were when we shared a conference with them. The gap between the P-5 and the G-5 is expanding quickly...
The AAC doesn't want small markets. The Big 12 has their pick of the best of the AAC or the MWC. 75 and Lee are right...no one year is going to do much to change our position.
That's why the 5 years of bowling is a huge step forward for where we were in the mid-2000's. Yep, gotta keep improving, but this is a LONG TERM SLOG.
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
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Are you new here????
I suspect rejecting a Cotton Bowl invite would be foolish for us in the vast majority of cases. I do not believe a Cotton Bowl (or other major bowl) appearance would necessarily be a guarantee for a future decade of success (as NIU’s success was short-lived and keenly pointed out by OD75). Boise figured out something right to garner some staying power within the Top 30 for a long time. Challenge would be not to falter as NIU an others have after getting a little taste of some glory. I too would like the opportunity to give it a try.
Fair enough. So how would Boise be different than NIU? They reside on the outskirts of the PAC12 and that is it I believe. I would like us to get the staying power they have had this decade.
Well I guess i should say PAC12 and Mountain West Conf is all that is out there.
Boise is different in that it doesn't have any in state competition for either eye balls or recruits, but it does have to recruit outside of Idaho to stay competitive. Its the only game in town which makes its success vital to the people of Idaho. We won't make the Big12 or SEC any sooner than they would the Pac12, but we could be at the level of the AAC. A Cotton Bowl would bump our revenues and our recruiting status up enough to get over the hump we have been sitting on the past 5 years. It would also give us the needed pedigree especially in the South over rival CUSA/Sunbelt/AAC schools. The staying power for us right now is that we are a bowl level team year in and out. This would elevate us above that and hopefully we could sustain similar success to what Boise has been doing.
The recipe is
- beat P5 teams (they do not need to be in the top 25). It increases name brand when casual fans recognize the other team and puts us on their level.
- go to bowl games every year
- play exciting football, so fans enjoy the game. Don't just win ugly.
- try to play P5 teams in the South, so the casual fans start equating your program and other programs in P5
- keep academics high - that is pat of Boise's problem
- win conference championships - be the best or close to it consistently in conference
- ATTENDANCE ATTENDANCE ATTENDANCE - THAT is a huge key to a P5 conference having some interest in us
We are situated in a great location. We aren't in a metro area, but are the only viable program in G5 in Louisiana most years. We have to be the alternative to lsu. We need to be like Virgina Tech eventually. Develop our name (which is already bigger than local people realize) and continue to grow our crowd by winning and becoming a team that can grow fans outside of North Louisiana. Only winners can do that.
I agree about following the "Boise" model. It's the quality of the product, not the metro area they play in.
Big markets is a fallacy. In this day and age of Internet TV, live video streaming and declining college football attendance, I still don't understand SOME of college football's infatuation with "big markets". Big markets have already proven themselves to be fallible. UTSA, UTEP, Charlotte, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, USF, FAU and FIU are just a few examples. None of these schools (and many others I could name) are experiencing increased attendance at the gate, or bloated TV ratings simply because they are located in big metropolitan areas. UCF/Orlando is pretty much the lone exception. And it helps immensely when the school wins 25 of their last 26 games (or whatever the streak was), like UCF did.
The point is, with technology, you no longer need to be in a big market to build a successful brand and draw fans to your product. I'd much rather watch a good Boise State game than one with big city schools like the one's mentioned above involved.
I cringe anytime I see a reference to the Boise model. Tech had an opportunity to implement the Boise model before Boise after the 1990 Indy Bowl. Could’ve been a charter member of the Metro Conference (later became CUSA). LSU was in the tank during the 90’s. But unfortunately Tech was being led by a blind man.
Dykes still can’t manage the clock.
Rough time tonight.
Holgerson refuses to be outdone. Spiking the ball when the clock was already stopped!
Power 6 my foot
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