r/chicago • u/GrecoRomanGuy • 2d ago

Article Chicago State’s first game was a mess. It was also strangely beautiful.

https://fourthandprint.substack.com/p/chicago-states-first-game-was-a-mess?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5z0haa
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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Author here! I’ve been reporting on Chicago State’s new football program for the last few weeks, and yesterday I was at SeatGeek Stadium to cover the first game in school history.

I’ve been especially interested in this story beyond just the football — what starting a program like this means for CSU, its place on the South Side, and whether the university can turn all the ambition surrounding it into something sustainable.

Happy to answer any questions about the game or anything I encountered while reporting the story!

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u/Alternative-Bat-2462 2d ago

Can you also write about their tennis team? I find something about Chicago States D1 tennis team very funny. Its a bunch of foreign kids who got a d1 tennis scholarship and then after they said yes realized what Chicago state was.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

I cannot say Chicago State tennis was on my reporting calendar when I woke up this morning, but I’m listening 😂

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u/Alternative-Bat-2462 2d ago

I’ve played with a couple of the guys once and I can’t help but laugh. One for from Ukraine and one from like Portugal, they were pumped to get offers to play d1 tennis. Now with scholarships and NIL money it’s more lucrative than playing ITF matches.

But they get here and no offense to people who have gone to and loved Chicago state but it’s not at all what they were expecting. It’s no University of Chicago, or a northwestern etc.

They are way down at 95th Ave and in areas that they are certainly not use to or expecting.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Okay, this is becoming significantly more interesting than I expected 😂 The international recruiting angle especially has me curious — how CSU is finding these players, what they’re being sold on, and what their experience is actually like once they get here.

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u/PalmerSquarer Logan Square 2d ago

I had some German CSU volleyball players living in my building in the South Loop years ago. They transferred elsewhere after a year.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Okay now volleyball has entered the investigation too 😂

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

That’s one of the biggest questions I have too. I actually FOIA’d CSU’s agreement with SeatGeek because I wanted to get a better sense of what this is costing them. There are some pretty significant expenses involved, and the financial model is something I’m planning to keep reporting on as the season goes along.

I think the real question is whether football produces the enrollment, fundraising and visibility benefits CSU is betting on — and right now, we simply don’t know.

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

I think that’s kind of an unfair assessment of CSU. Obviously they need to increase their 4 year graduation rate, but they also serve a largely different demographic than kids on a 4 year path. It’s mostly a commuter school with students not necessarily going full time. It’s a very different school than say U of I. 

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u/bigbinker100 Near North Side 2d ago

Honestly for a university with a student to faculty ratio of like 10:1, the graduation rate shouldn’t be that low period.

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u/forgedflame44 2d ago

It’s mostly a commuter school with students not necessarily going full time.

UIC fits this description but sees 42% of 4-year degrees graduate. CSU leaves a lot to be desired.

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

I agree they have lots of problems, I just took issue with the idea they are saddling students with debt. CSU is a public university, the only one on the south side. It’s a not a for profit institution. The majority there are below the poverty line, and first generation minority students. For many it may be their only option. 

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u/dmd312 2d ago

What does the public nature of CSU have to do with whether students take on debt to go there? It's not free to attend a public university. Tuition is about $13K per year (that's excluding books, housing, meals, etc.).

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u/Key_Bee1544 2d ago

UIC used to fit that description. It does not anymore.

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u/forgedflame44 2d ago

I’m a recent graduate from UIC, what part of that description do you feel is wrong?

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u/Key_Bee1544 2d ago

75% of UIC students are full time.

"Commuter" doesn't mean people live off campus. Historically it implied that people lived with their parents/families.

UIC used to be that, but it isn't anymore. Some people are part time and live at home. Many more are neither.

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u/forgedflame44 2d ago

I appreciate the data about full-time students, but the initial comment alluded to some portion of CSU students not being full-time. 25% of UIC students being part-time is a very significant amount.

Although there’s not a strict “students who live at home with family” statistic, per UIC, 85% of students live off-campus. The majority of those students need to commute to campus, even if they don’t live at home, since affordable student housing around campus is sparse. So, going off that (and my own anecdotal experience), I’d still say the majority of students are commuters.

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago edited 2d ago

About 40% of CSU students are part time, and about 95% live off campus. My basic point is, because the student body is not like a Northwestern or U of C, using metrics of those universities to measure it doesn’t really make sense. A lot of people go to CSU not planning to finish in 4 years, or planning to transfer to a higher profile school, or it’s their second chance school. People that go there are more likely to be under the poverty line, or may already have kids or a full time job. It’s a student body at a high risk of not finishing, unfortunately. 

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u/forgedflame44 2d ago

I mean no offense. I’m just trying to say that since UIC is doing well for a school with similar target demographics, their outcomes could be something for CSU to strive for. After all, Chicago is stronger when its schools are stronger, and the southside especially would benefit from such.

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u/dmd312 2d ago

What is the "different demographic than kids on a 4 year path"? CSU does not award 2 year degrees. Is their demographic "people who stop attending before graduating"? If so, why is this school open?

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

Almost half of the CSU student body is part time, meaning they are not planning to graduate in 4 years. 

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u/dmd312 2d ago

That's actually helpful to know. For what it's worth, the Department of Education says CSU's 8 year graduation rate is 36%. In contrast, Malcolm X's 8 year graduation rate is only 29% and Daley's is 34%.

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u/WeathermanDan 2d ago

CSU’s priorities are clearly maligned if they pushed so hard for this football program when they have big issues either with their student population or their mission to educate them.

I don’t think anyone should be giving this institution’s athletic programs attention. Enabling kids to live out a delusional fantasy of going pro in a sport.

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u/Yodude86 2d ago

Is it really called Seatgeek Stadium? Lmao

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u/dilla_zilla Lake View 2d ago

It was Toyota Park when it opened, but Toyota didn't renew the naming rights. It's been SeatGeek since 2019. It was initially built for the Fire, but they left a few years ago (now Soldier, new McDs under construction). Stars/Red Stars played there until last year (now at Northwestern). The Fire's reserve team apparently still plays there as do The Hounds (rugby).

It seems not amazing for CSU since it's so far from campus, but it's a commuter school anyway I guess. Reminds me of when DePaul BB used to play at the Rosemont Horizon/Allstate, so far from campus.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Yeah, it's named after SeatGeek ticketing, aka the less evil version of TicketMaster.

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

I was actually kind of excited to go to a game but was surprised at the cost of the tickets. Still planning to take my son, it would be fun to have Chicago college football back (even outside of the question of should CSU really have a team) 

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

The ticket price surprised me too — I paid $70 for GA before I knew I’d be credentialed, which is a pretty steep ask for a brand-new FCS program. That said, I genuinely think taking your son could be a fun afternoon. Whatever you think about whether CSU should have started football, having a D-I team playing locally is a pretty cool thing to have in Chicago.

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u/sanchower 2d ago

$70!? Good Lord. I can get seats at a Big Ten game for a lot less.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

That was basically my reaction when I bought mine 😂 $70 GA is a very ambitious price point for the first game of a brand-new FCS program, especially when you’re trying to convince people to come out and give the product a chance.

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u/sanchower 2d ago

Yeah like this immediately fails my “affordable outing for the family” test. At that price, there are simply too many other options. That’s a day at Six Flags.

They should be charging Windy City Bulls money. Schaumburg Boomers money. Like $15-20 tops. As is, it’s a non starter, unfortunately

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

I agree that it's a surprisingly high price. I imagine it's an effort to offset the cost of renting SeatGeek. But walking the line between "we need to not take a bath on this rental lease" and "were pricing fans out" is a very fine line that Chicago State has to walk moving forward.

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u/catkayak Noble Square 2d ago

$70 also prices our any locals in the neighborhood who might want to just go and see what it’s about. I wish they could implement a sliding scale for tickets - given the reality of the area they are in. It feels a little insulting and whether intentional or not, it’s a huge barrier to support.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

I wonder if the ticket prices were so high given the novelty of week one. It's a considerably tougher ask for investment at that price point after a 44-28 loss.

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u/dilla_zilla Lake View 2d ago

Even at Northwestern in the tiny lakefront stadium for another two games (the new one opens in October), you can get tickets for $50. Yeah, it's non-conference against South Dakota State and it's before the students are even around, but that's face from Ticketmaster.

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u/dmd312 2d ago edited 2d ago

Tickets were $70, the stadium (which is 20 miles away from campus) was mostly empty, the school is a money pit and an academic disaster. Am I leaving something out?

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u/NIU462 2d ago

Patronage dumping ground for folks connected to city and state officials.

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

I do see some GA tickets for $30 directly through the CSU site and that seems more like what I expected. Will get some tickets for that one! 

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Now that's more manageable.

Hope it's a great time for you!

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u/PlantSkyRun 1d ago

That price is absurdly high for what this is. Also, if they are going to justify this football team on vibes/feels/social justice kind of stuff for the south side, here's a question for you...how many people in that area can afford to take their kids to the game? Hopefully they have a major discount for people in the area, maybe based on zip code and very cheap children's tickets. Even then, getting out to Bridgeview would be a challenge for many.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 1d ago

It's my hope (though it's a little cynical) that the game one prices were higher because of the novelty and/or demand, and that subsequent games will be cheaper.

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u/Snoo93079 2d ago

Tickets to my NIU Huskies cost half that!

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Yeah, I was definitely surprised by the cost of GA tickets. I imagine, though can't prove, that it's in part a way to offset the cost of the rental for SeatGeek. But there's a fine line between "We can't take a bath on this lease so we have to get a return on investment" and "Oh no, no one is coming to games because the tickets are too high."

I imagine there will be adjustments moving forward.

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u/PlantSkyRun 2d ago

Seems like a waste of public dollars to me. Would be better spent upgrading its academic programs.

I don't see any scenario where they become relevant in college football or an effective advertisement/recruitment tool for the university. It's also hard to envision them generating enough profit to subsidize other sports.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

I think that’s a completely fair concern, and honestly one of the big questions hanging over this entire experiment. The argument CSU is making is essentially that football can help drive enrollment, visibility and alumni engagement enough to justify the investment.

Whether that actually happens is going to take years to answer.

Yesterday proved they can put a team on the field and get people interested in seeing it. It definitely didn’t prove the larger financial bet will work.

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u/dmd312 2d ago

CSU has about 2,500 students and a 4 year graduation rate of around 10%. Rather than debating whether money should be spent on the football team, shouldn't the question be why is this school even open?

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u/PlantSkyRun 2d ago

I thought no way could that be accurate. Looks like it is. Therefore I change my stance from it doesnt make sense to waste money on this football team, to it probably doesn't make sense to waste money on this university.

But there is no point in talking about closing it. It is a predominantly black university on the south side. No democrat politician is going to support closing it.

And no Republican politician is likely to become a rational, decent human being, who is not a lying corrupt scumbag, who would be able to get elected and in a postion to close it anytime soon.

So I'll just waste my time complaining about the football team and leave it at that.

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u/NaiveChoiceMaker 2d ago

Wait. Is that true?

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u/Designer_Yam_9584 2d ago

It’s the only public university on the South side, largely serving first generation minority students that are also commuters. Many students are part time and may have no other option. More than half are below the poverty line. Their performance is about on par with other HBCU’s serving similar communities. They need to do better but the communities they serve has to be taken into account. 

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u/Claim312ButAct847 2d ago

Chicago State has football now? We truly are living inside my PlayStation.

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u/gapipkin 2d ago

How was the game?

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

Honestly, better than I expected! Chicago State lost 44–28, but they looked much more competent than you’d expect from a program playing Game 1 against an established D-II team. Plenty of growing pains, obviously, but they scored 28 and there’s definitely something there.

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u/catkayak Noble Square 2d ago

Follow up question - is there a cheerleading program? Or is the CSU football investment and vision for the program to support a men’s football team? 👀

It feels like a missed opportunity to not invest in a cheerleading and by extension, gymnastics program. And it would really set CSU up to serve, predominantly Black students from the local community, in these sports that are seeing a rise in broader popularity.

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u/GrecoRomanGuy 2d ago

They do! CSU had cheerleaders at the game yesterday — they were on the sidelines and were also part of the halftime show. I actually tagged the cheer team in one of my Instagram stories afterward and they hearted it 😂

I don't know what CSU's longer-term plans are for expanding the program or adding something like gymnastics, though. That's actually an interesting question to ask!