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On Friday, October 31st, NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier answered your questions about Northern Illinois University Athletics from 10-11 a.m.
There were plenty of questions about the Athletics Facilities Master Plan announced Thursday, as well as overall attendance, basketball and more. See all of them below.
Thanks to those fans that sent in questions (sorry we couldn't get to all 50) and we'll look forward to putting together another chat for an upcoming Frazier's Corner.
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| Downers Grove (Jim): How is the breakup of the NCAA into the Big 5 conferences and the rest, along with the payment of salaries to athletes going to affect the MAC and specifically NIU. How are you planning for the upcoming changes? Thanks. |
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Sean T. Frazier: That's a good question Jim. We have a series of internal working groups made up of administration and campus personnel, we feel comfortable that we will be able to support cost of attendance, multi-year scholarships and unlimited meals. We are awaiting final confirmation from the NCAA that these will go into effect. We're excited about providing a quality experience to our student-athletes and agree with the direction of where this legislation is going. |
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| Mark/genoa: Has your job been easier or harder than you thought it would be? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Mark, it's totally what I expected. The faculty, staff and students at NIU are passionate, great to work with and want the best quality experience that's out there. |
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| Ed (Downers Grove): Congratulations on the announcement. I am wondering why the decision was made to build the Skyboxes,Suites, etc. on the East Side? Won't they be looking directly into the sun on game days? I would have thought that the West Side would have seen those improvements and the building would have been done on that side. |
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Sean T. Frazier: Great question Ed. Based on architectural engineering recommendations, the East Side being the newer location within Huskie Stadium, the ability for us to construct and develop premium areas supports our overall plan for construction. The West Side has significant challenges because of its age and structural integrity, like size of concessions, restrooms. In terms of the sun aspect, there are engineering solutions that we will employ to help mitigate that issue. |
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| Greg (Naperville @gjlNIU): Are any of our future scheduled game contingent upon upgrades announced in the master plan? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Thanks for your question Greg. Absolutely not. We were able to secure these contests because of our past and present football body of work. |
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| Karen Bretz (Glen Ellyn): Will the new football stadium include retail shops and a walk-up retail counter to buy clothing and gifts? Will the main retail shop include an ADA fitting room? Will a coffee vendor have an opportunity to sell coffee (Starbucks)? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Hi Karen... you've touched on something that's close to my heart - coffee! The answer is absolutely yes. We will have retail space, concessions space, there will be options for outside vendors from national chains. In short, it's wide open to be able to supply necessary amenities to all of our patrons. |
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| Prospect Heights: Great to see the facilities plan. Any time line for when this can begin? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Another great question. We are finalizing the process of trying to pick the next big project. In our plan, we have many worthy opportunities to help our program. We are reviewing what makes the most sense to be able to support our student-athletes. It will be important to work with the campus at large to prioritize. At best, we will have a project identified next year and hopefully before the summer begins, but understand me and my staff will be working hard to build the necessary resources to support anything we do. |
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| Mike (Geneva): Love the work you have done for the university Mr. Frazier. You have done a great job with scheduling quality opponents to come to DeKalb, but what else can be done to increase attendance on game days? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Mike, I appreciate your question. The bottom line is, we need to make it a priority for all of us who support the Huskies to show up and be counted. This is an important time for Huskie Athletics and Huskie Football and that means that we have to start doing things that tradition-based programs do, which basically means come to games, come to our sporting events and wear your red and black. |
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| Pat (Geneva): It's a great time to be a Huskie alum! I know there is still A LOT of work ahead, but what type of time frame do you think is realistic for the East/South football renovations to begin and be completed? Looking forward to financially contributing to this.... |
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Sean T. Frazier: Pat, your response is exactly what I am looking for and the good news is, I have received many of the same type of feedback. The time is now, our silent campaign has officially started and we will need each and everyone of our supporters to contribute and see themselves in our overall program. All of us at NIU are extremely excited about this and this will happen with your support. |
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| Chet: Not sure I understand the proposed changes to the Convocation Center. How will the expansion of the concourse help and can any of these changes be funded via naming rights, sponsorships, or exclusive contracts? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Great question. The Convo expansion would help the overall flow around the building proper. Right now, it is tough to from one side of the Convo to the other without walking through the main bowl. The proposed changes will allow a traditional walk around the building which would support a more fan-friendly atmosphere. Naming rights are definitely an option as well as increased concessions and merchandising, that I am excited to start to work on. There is lots of opportunity at the Convocation Center. |
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| Fernando (Joliet): With IMG Learfield's partnership with NIU for ticketing solutions. And their main goal to sell open inventory and increase attendence. How does this affect your vision of protecting the season ticket holders by not having "fire sales"? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Great question Fernando. I repeat, there will be no fire sales. My goal is to support and cultivate season ticket holders. We will not devalue the experience and the pricing for those who step up to become season ticketholders. Also, in the future, we will look at specific games and place an increased value on them to support the process of variable or dynamic pricing. This means, that as our schedule has improved, there will be a price increase for those who buy single game tickets for those contests. I highly recommend that folks invest in season tickets. The value will be significant. |
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| Tim (Elk Grove): I'm a sophomore here NIU and I love the plan! How can the facilities master plan help in enhancing the campus experience for the everyday student? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Our mission for the Athletics Master Plan is to be student-centered. This means that all of our facilities will have a focus on student engagement. There will be specific programs, offerings and events that promote interaction, education and fun. I'm excited that we had students who played a major part in the development of this plan. Stay tuned! |
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| Bob(Lake Zurich): As to contributions, will they be project specific? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Hello Bob. Yes, they can be, but there will be a specific campaign to advance all of our project goals. It is important for donors and supporters to make sure their money is going to where they want it to be and we will protect that. |
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| Larry Ponsi (Wheeling, IL): Hello Director Frazier, I love the south end zone plan at Huskie Stadium. When viewed facing north, Huskie Stadium looks big time, when facing south, it doesn't. Speaking of how Huskie Stadium appears, especially to Chicago area viewers of NIU football on TV, is there a way to squeeze in a "food deck" for a few hundred fans - and visible food prep, like grills that can be seen by TV cameras? I ask because the Cubs and Sox and WGN TV are very smart about scanning the crowd showing fans having fun. WGN frequently zooms in on fans eating in their pitcher's eye picnic areas. And, NIU has a new contract for food service, is it too late to approach Portillo's? Talk about a Chicago icon. Have you had their Italian beef? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Larry, YES, I have had the Italian beef and I would agree with you, outstanding! As part of our master plan, many of the visuals that you see are conceptual designs. There are a number of assumptions, as well as recommendations that we will follow. But this is a work in progress and we will pick and choose what is best for the culture of NIU which will mean upgraded food options at the premium level and at the general seating level. We're excited to continue to review food options and will continue to do so now and in the future. |
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| Jason (Bartlett): I am a proud NIU alum and I have noticed the student support at football games to be very strong. How does the facility master plan help recruit more students and retain the great ones we have? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Jason you are the man! Great question! Our plan was assembled and developed with the student in mind. Recruiting and retaining students is a main focus of what I've been looking for as well as our president. I'm excited that our facilities and specifically Huskie Stadium will serve as a major recruitment and retention facility for our campus. The stadium itself will not only be used 6 or 7 times a year; it will be utilized on a daily basis. There will be areas within Huskie Stadium that will serve the general student population ... things like merchandising, food service, recreational areas and instruction areas. Huskie Stadium will also be a center for engagement. |
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| Dave(DeKalb): Do you feel with the new additions to the Men's team, that basketball will have a fighting chance in the MAC this year? And what are you doing about the low student attendance at games? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Hi Dave. I would say both of our basketball programs will be more than competitive. We're excited about the direction and look forward to the upcoming season. As far as student attendance, we've done an aggressive outreach to both the general student population and the Greek life population on campus. We like the positive feedback thus far. Come out and join them! |
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| Greg (Naperville @gjlNIU): What is most important to you, in regards to building a sustaining revenue stream to support the new infrastructure in the facilities master plan? |
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Sean T. Frazier: Greg, this is a very good strategic question. The plan, easy to articulate, difficult to execute, will be: increase season ticket holders both in football, volleyball and men's and women's basketball, increasing the amount of money with our multimedia rights partner (Learfield Sports), increasing concessions and merchandising licensing fees, increasing our TV revenues from the conference and increasing our annual fund and major gift dollars. These are just a sample of things that have increased but we need to continue to grow in these areas. I feel confident that we have taken the right steps since my arrival and there is a lot more potential that is out there. I'm excited about the opportunity to grow these revenue streams as that is the reason I came to NIU. |
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| Brad (Chicago): In 2013, season tickets were $50 and came with free parking or $10 meal ticket per game. Like this season there was only 3 Saturday games but unlike this season, they were more spaced out instead of 3 weekends back to back. So the odds of someone being able to attend all 3 was very unlikely this year. Do you think it was a good idea to raise the ticket price to $120, with no free parking or meal ticket option and where people can get a ticket for $20 - 40 per game, Or if you know a student $14!!!!! You lost me as a season ticket holder because of this, how do you plan to get me back in 2015? (hint, make season tickets at or below the Saturday home game single ticket price, oh and a east side season ticket option..) |
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Sean T. Frazier: Brad...as stated, we can't devalue our product in this way. We must protect the value of our season tickets. We did create an east side season ticket this year. The $50 ticket and vouchers resulted in a free ticket that was not sustainable in any financial pro forma. If we want to grow as a program and an overall athletic department, we must use existing revenue streams to develop the product. However, we will have increased ticket options moving forward to support those who want to come to the games but are looking for discounted options.... i.e. family ticket packs. All of these are being discussed and reviewed for 2015 and beyond. |
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| Jeff (DeKalb): With so many alumni in Chicago and the suburbs, what ideas are being discussed to bring them home for university events? I believe the university and the DeKalb community should very very hard to bring METRA. Fan and alumni access would be greatly improved. |
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Sean T. Frazier: Jeff, you're going to be our last question. That's a great idea, public transportation as well as connecting to our fanbase in Chicagoland is a significant priority for me. We started the engagement by creating our Huskie Summer Circuit that brings our coaches and administrators to the areas of Rockford, Aurora, Chicago and in 2015 - Schaumburg. Increased communication with our alums is what's going to move us to the next level. |
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Sean T. Frazier: Fan, thanks for taking the time out and chatting with me. I look forward to seeing each and every one of you in the near future. I am passionate about NIU and I look forward to advancing all of our goals for the Athletics Facilities Master Plan and our athletic and academic endeavors. Let's Go Huskies! |
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