ISU Enrollment

ISUBU

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"ISU welcomed 3,983 freshmen for the 2022-2023 school year when the semester began in late August. This record number is up 18% from last year’s freshman enrollment, and the largest freshman class in 35 years.

Total enrollment at ISU is up 2% as well, at a total of 20,683 students this year. This includes 18,055 undergraduates and 2,628 graduate students."

This is excellent news, and is a tribute to the University and community. UIUC is also enjoying a large class. Will be interesting to see how the other state schools have done.

This from local tv: ISU freshman class largest in 35 years
 

NashvilleBirdFan

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NIU and SIU were both down again, think 4% and 2% respectively, which makes what ISU is doing even better. we have separated ourselves from the directionals by a mile.

ISU- 20683

NIU- 15649 (relying on remote campuses for grad students to even prop up that number, only about 12K students in Dekalb)
SIU- 11107
EIU- 8626
WIU - 6068

Which is why I think we need to bump up to FBS football, when it comes to public universities in this state its Illinois and Illinois St, the rest are just struggling to stay alive. the idea that one of our little brother schools has FBS football and we don't is just crazy..
 
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Total Red

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Which is why I think we need to bump up to FBS football, when it comes to public universities in this state its Illinois and Illinois St, the rest are just struggling to stay alive. the idea that one of our little brother schools has FBS football and we don't is just crazy..
Two different schools with very different athletic priorities and interests. If you don't already know what the priority is at NIU then watch this video. A picture tells a thousand words, but I'll add a few more to underscore the point.



1 - Opening scene - Indoor Practice Facility, a permanent structure at NIU.
2 - Overhead view of the football stadium turf with the huskie at midfield. This is the only place we will see the huskie.
3 - Long look at Huskie stadium with shots showing that the IPF is adjacent to the football stadium in case we want to know why the IPF was built.
4 - Weight room and academic center - also adjacent to Huskie football stadium, the center of all NIU athletics.
5 - Inside the IPF. This is "multisport" facility, but we can see that it is rectangular and just the right size for a 100-yard football field.
6 - Soccer and track complex
7 - Finally a look at the Convocation Center home to NIU basketball and other sports. The building is a colorless, nondescrip short cylinder. They don't even bother to take us inside. There is nothing to see here.
8 - Softball field
9 - Baseball field
10 - A wide shot of NIU athletic facilities with a good view of the football stadium and IPF. The Convocation center is not in sight. "This is NIU Athletics" - yes it is.
11 - Closing shot takes us back to an overhead view of the football field.

You should already know what the priority is at Illinois State. If you don't then look at this message board. This is football season, but even in-season the football forum does not generate the most views. Basketball has always been the priority. Redbird Arena was built in 1989. Hancock Stadium had to wait another 24 years for a renovation. Move forward on both fronts - football and basketball? Fine, I'm all for it. Show me the money.
 

NashvilleBirdFan

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Two different schools with very different athletic priorities and interests. If you don't already know what the priority is at NIU then watch this video. A picture tells a thousand words, but I'll add a few more to underscore the point.



1 - Opening scene - Indoor Practice Facility, a permanent structure at NIU.
2 - Overhead view of the football stadium turf with the huskie at midfield. This is the only place we will see the huskie.
3 - Long look at Huskie stadium with shots showing that the IPF is adjacent to the football stadium in case we want to know why the IPF was built.
4 - Weight room and academic center - also adjacent to Huskie football stadium, the center of all NIU athletics.
5 - Inside the IPF. This is "multisport" facility, but we can see that it is rectangular and just the right size for a 100-yard football field.
6 - Soccer and track complex
7 - Finally a look at the Convocation Center home to NIU basketball and other sports. The building is a colorless, nondescrip short cylinder. They don't even bother to take us inside. There is nothing to see here.
8 - Softball field
9 - Baseball field
10 - A wide shot of NIU athletic facilities with a good view of the football stadium and IPF. The Convocation center is not in sight. "This is NIU Athletics" - yes it is.
11 - Closing shot takes us back to an overhead view of the football field.

You should already know what the priority is at Illinois State. If you don't then look at this message board. This is football season, but even in-season the football forum does not generate the most views. Basketball has always been the priority. Redbird Arena was built in 1989. Hancock Stadium had to wait another 24 years for a renovation. Move forward on both fronts - football and basketball? Fine, I'm all for it. Show me the money.


Then we get the football program to that level..
 

ChiRedbirdfan

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1 in 3 students have a 4.0 GPA coming out of high school.

Yeah, I don't think I could get into ISU as a freshman now.
do you really believe the student body is that much academically stronger than in the past just because average student gpa is higher?

High School Grade Inflation Is A Problem. Getting Rid Of The SAT Would Make It Worse.

hopefully isu's average act/sat scores are increasing
 

CaliRdBrd

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Two different schools with very different athletic priorities and interests. If you don't already know what the priority is at NIU then watch this video. A picture tells a thousand words, but I'll add a few more to underscore the point.



1 - Opening scene - Indoor Practice Facility, a permanent structure at NIU.
2 - Overhead view of the football stadium turf with the huskie at midfield. This is the only place we will see the huskie.
3 - Long look at Huskie stadium with shots showing that the IPF is adjacent to the football stadium in case we want to know why the IPF was built.
4 - Weight room and academic center - also adjacent to Huskie football stadium, the center of all NIU athletics.
5 - Inside the IPF. This is "multisport" facility, but we can see that it is rectangular and just the right size for a 100-yard football field.
6 - Soccer and track complex
7 - Finally a look at the Convocation Center home to NIU basketball and other sports. The building is a colorless, nondescrip short cylinder. They don't even bother to take us inside. There is nothing to see here.
8 - Softball field
9 - Baseball field
10 - A wide shot of NIU athletic facilities with a good view of the football stadium and IPF. The Convocation center is not in sight. "This is NIU Athletics" - yes it is.
11 - Closing shot takes us back to an overhead view of the football field.

You should already know what the priority is at Illinois State. If you don't then look at this message board. This is football season, but even in-season the football forum does not generate the most views. Basketball has always been the priority. Redbird Arena was built in 1989. Hancock Stadium had to wait another 24 years for a renovation. Move forward on both fronts - football and basketball? Fine, I'm all for it. Show me the money.

All I think about when I hear the name NIU is how badly they missed capitalizing on their Orange Bowl appearance.
 

NashvilleBirdFan

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All I think about when I hear the name NIU is how badly they missed capitalizing on their Orange Bowl appearance.
But have you been to the NIU campus?? Nobody wants to go to school there because Dekalb offers nothing and is in the middle of nowhere, the campus sucks and is surrounded by housing projects. Tanking enrollment has impacted athletics because student fees are way down. Right now football is all they do well, the rest of the university and city are a dumpster fire.
 

isuquinndog

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do you really believe the student body is that much academically stronger than in the past just because average student gpa is higher?

High School Grade Inflation Is A Problem. Getting Rid Of The SAT Would Make It Worse.

hopefully isu's average act/sat scores are increasing
I'm not getting into the american education system here and the "in my day it was so much harder" argument.
 

Humdinger

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All I think about when I hear the name NIU is how badly they missed capitalizing on their Orange Bowl appearance
All I think about when I hear the name NIU is...they were ranked 16th in the country and MADE the freakin' Orange Bowl...and didn't get annihilated. Dekalb. Sheesh. No Huskies fan here but that's hard to criticize.
 

DBird

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All I think about when I hear the name NIU is...they were ranked 16th in the country and MADE the freakin' Orange Bowl...and didn't get annihilated. Dekalb. Sheesh. No Huskies fan here but that's hard to criticize.
Cant criticize!!
 

Watson

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NIU and SIU were both down again, think 4% and 2% respectively, which makes what ISU is doing even better. we have separated ourselves from the directionals by a mile.

ISU- 20683

NIU- 15649 (relying on remote campuses for grad students to even prop up that number, only about 12K students in Dekalb)
SIU- 11107
EIU- 8626
WIU - 6068

Which is why I think we need to bump up to FBS football, when it comes to public universities in this state its Illinois and Illinois St, the rest are just struggling to stay alive. the idea that one of our little brother schools has FBS football and we don't is just crazy..
Where are you getting your enrollment numbers NashvilleBirdFan? *source*
 

Virginia Redbird

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Two different schools with very different athletic priorities and interests. If you don't already know what the priority is at NIU then watch this video. A picture tells a thousand words, but I'll add a few more to underscore the point.



1 - Opening scene - Indoor Practice Facility, a permanent structure at NIU.
2 - Overhead view of the football stadium turf with the huskie at midfield. This is the only place we will see the huskie.
3 - Long look at Huskie stadium with shots showing that the IPF is adjacent to the football stadium in case we want to know why the IPF was built.
4 - Weight room and academic center - also adjacent to Huskie football stadium, the center of all NIU athletics.
5 - Inside the IPF. This is "multisport" facility, but we can see that it is rectangular and just the right size for a 100-yard football field.
6 - Soccer and track complex
7 - Finally a look at the Convocation Center home to NIU basketball and other sports. The building is a colorless, nondescrip short cylinder. They don't even bother to take us inside. There is nothing to see here.
8 - Softball field
9 - Baseball field
10 - A wide shot of NIU athletic facilities with a good view of the football stadium and IPF. The Convocation center is not in sight. "This is NIU Athletics" - yes it is.
11 - Closing shot takes us back to an overhead view of the football field.

You should already know what the priority is at Illinois State. If you don't then look at this message board. This is football season, but even in-season the football forum does not generate the most views. Basketball has always been the priority. Redbird Arena was built in 1989. Hancock Stadium had to wait another 24 years for a renovation. Move forward on both fronts - football and basketball? Fine, I'm all for it. Show me the money.

My son and I visited the NIU campus in 2014. He was on a recruiting visit for men's soccer. Watching the video they have made some improvements to the soccer facility since then but it was apparent during our visit that football was the only thing that mattered to the athletic program. The money was all centered around the football field and the adjacent buildings. Granted the day we visited was a rainy, cold, absolutely miserable winter day but the NIU campus was dismal. I had taken my boys to visit the ISU campus a couple of years before and my son made comments about how much nicer the ISU campus and surrounding area were than Huskieville. In the end, my son chose to go to college and play soccer in North Carolina. If ISU had a men's soccer team I think he would have been very interested in going to Normal though.
 

fourthandshort

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our financial stability, while frustratingly conservative towards football, is why all our sports are well funded and successful for most part. I think we have gotten the MVC All Sports performance award at least 2 years straight now. All things considered, I'm glad they take care of all sports .. even while also wishing they would throw more to football .. for the good of football and the entire school/campus.

But there's a reason NIU, WIU, EIU, and SIU all struggle and we don't ... hard to be overly critical. And I don't agree this infers we should be FBS .. that is whole other argument with lot of historical reasons/headwinds. And I don't think the "Fieldof Dreams" argument .. if you build it, they will come .. will prove to be a valid justification. And I think some smart and savy conservative financial people have consideredthat carefully and decided against.

In the meantime, we play in the SEC of the FCS .. and we usually compete fairly well, as maddening as Spack's pass game makes me more often than not. But I love our defense nearly every year, and run game most years. And all that makes Redbird football very interesting to me.

p.s. but Spack won't last forever. He needs another good season soon .. 2 more subpar years, and eh .. I'll have to have a sit down with Spack to talk about his future. ;)
 

Virginia Redbird

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our financial stability, while frustratingly conservative towards football, is why all our sports are well funded and successful for most part. I think we have gotten the MVC All Sports performance award at least 2 years straight now. All things considered, I'm glad they take care of all sports .. even while also wishing they would throw more to football .. for the good of football and the entire school/campus.

But there's a reason NIU, WIU, EIU, and SIU all struggle and we don't ... hard to be overly critical. And I don't agree this infers we should be FBS .. that is whole other argument with lot of historical reasons/headwinds. And I don't think the "Fieldof Dreams" argument .. if you build it, they will come .. will prove to be a valid justification. And I think some smart and savy conservative financial people have consideredthat carefully and decided against.

In the meantime, we play in the SEC of the FCS .. and we usually compete fairly well, as maddening as Spack's pass game makes me more often than not. But I love our defense nearly every year, and run game most years. And all that makes Redbird football very interesting to me.

p.s. but Spack won't last forever. He needs another good season soon .. 2 more subpar years, and eh .. I'll have to have a sit down with Spack to talk about his future. ;)
Quite a few comments about Spack's tenure, keeping him or dumping him. By football coaching terms, Spack has been at ISU a very long time and he is the most successful coach in ISU history. I do not think he is in jeopardy of being replaced any time soon. You have to wonder or at least consider that he may become too comfortable. Does the fire burn as hot as it did when he first arrived in Normal? Probably not. At ISU, a definite basketball school, if he keeps turning out seasons with more wins than losses and makes the playoffs most years he is as safe as a newborn baby in his/her Mother's arms. I think every school and program has a philosophy and self-imposed standards. Football has never been THE sport at ISU. If Spack turns out mostly winning seasons (winning is defined as one game over .500) then I think the ISU athletic department is happy. A playoff game or two every couple of years...great. It appears to be more of a mediocre approach.
 

Total Red

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Quite a few comments about Spack's tenure, keeping him or dumping him. By football coaching terms, Spack has been at ISU a very long time and he is the most successful coach in ISU history. I do not think he is in jeopardy of being replaced any time soon. You have to wonder or at least consider that he may become too comfortable. Does the fire burn as hot as it did when he first arrived in Normal? Probably not. At ISU, a definite basketball school, if he keeps turning out seasons with more wins than losses and makes the playoffs most years he is as safe as a newborn baby in his/her Mother's arms. I think every school and program has a philosophy and self-imposed standards. Football has never been THE sport at ISU. If Spack turns out mostly winning seasons (winning is defined as one game over .500) then I think the ISU athletic department is happy. A playoff game or two every couple of years...great. It appears to be more of a mediocre approach.
There are things I might question about Coach Spack but competitive fire and pursuit of excellence are not among them.
 
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