Oct. 20, 2015

In my many interactions with our faculty, students, staff, and alumni, I continually get asked about the topic of athletic conference expansion and potential effects it may have on NIU. With this in mind, the scholarly side of me decided to do a deep dive on data and outcomes that have resulted from the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics as well as how institutions have shifted their strategic focus.

Upon completion of my review of three institutions, who have a consistent history of winning at a high level similar to NIU, I believe these institutions positioned themselves for academic and athletic success. I felt there were a number of outcomes that were noteworthy to share. The primary areas these institutions focused on that I will discuss are:

1. Financial Sustainability
2. Brand Exposure
3. Academic Institutional Alignment
4. Recruitment & Retention

My hopes from this analysis are to use our athletic department as a tool of education and a catalyst to support our institutional challenges! We have already gone to great length to organize ourselves by establishing our department Strategic Plan and Athletics Facility Master Plan and look forward to continued academic and athletic success.

I hope that you enjoy this month’s Frazier’s Corner and I look forward to seeing you soon at an upcoming event!

Go Huskies!

Sean T. Frazier
Associate Vice-President & Director of Athletics