The Northwestern campus is bleeding more purple.
In 2009, NU had an average football attendance of 24,190, barely more than half the capacity of Ryan Field.
The following summer, the Wildcats launched their “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” campaign to try to fill seats. The result was a 51 percent increase in average attendance to 36,449.
A lot of purple and white filled those seats.
“I can say that it feels like Northwestern students and young alumni are much more proud to wear Northwestern apparel than they might have been even 10 years ago when I started school,” wrote Stan Finch, president and founder of Willie’s Wildcat Depot, in an email. “When I was back at a couple of games last year, everyone was sporting Northwestern gear, and I don’t remember that completely being the case when I was in school.”
NU gear from campus stores have most of their apparel sales around football season and holidays. When NU is winning, sales are stronger. Michael Kochanny, store manager of the NU Bookstore in Chicago, said his biggest sales periods are the back-to-school time and holidays.
The Wildcats have now been to four straight bowl games, and coach Pat Fitzgerald is the first NU coach with a winning record since Ara Parseghian, who left in 1963.
“We definitely appreciate it,” Beck’s Books manager Natalie Kasputis said. “It’s more fun for everybody.”
It’s especially fun for students like Max Moline, who will graduate next month. Moline said he has been to almost every football and basketball game in four years.
Even though Moline said he thought “the Northwestern faithful coming to the games are going to come regardless,” he said the recent success of the football program has increased student interest.
Free admission for NU students to all the school’s athletic events has also helped draw students down to Ryan Field and into apparel stores.
The marketing kept coming when NU launched the “PersaStrong” campaign last summer, after quarterback Dan Persa. The latest push came this month when the University hired former Chicago Blackhawks media relations coordinator Paul Kennedy as its sports information department head. The Wildcats continue to compete for attention in the Chicago area.
Because NU is up against the five major Chicago professional sports teams, Finch said he acknowledges there’s still work to be done.
Of all Big Ten schools, NU has the second-fewest alumni in the Chicago area. “That makes Chicago a tough battleground to win,” Finch said.
The NU football team hasn’t won a bowl game since 1949, and the basketball team still has never made the NCAA Tournament.
“Until we take the next step in both our football and basketball programs, I’m not sure we’re going to win the battle of Chicago over Notre Dame, Michigan, Illinois (and others).”
In the meantime, NU marketing is drawing Wildcats into apparel stores to support “Chicago’s Big Ten Team.”
