Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Nick Hill unveils 'First & 5,000' season-ticket drive
04/01/2016 | 12:00:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki football head coach Nick Hill unveiled an ambitious season-ticket drive today -- a campaign he called "First & 5,000" -- an effort to embrace the community, and a long-term plan to more than double the school's season-ticket base to 5,000 tickets.
The 30-year-old Hill was promoted to head coach at his alma mater last December and has been sharing his vision for the program in speeches and community visits throughout the region ever since.
"My goal for our program is to have our players and coaches reach out and become part of the fabric of southern Illinois," he explained. "As Coach (Jerry) Kill used to say, this is a hard-hat, lunch pail region. Every day, our coaching staff preaches to our team what it means to be a southern Illinoisan. You are seeing our players out in the community doing community service, serving and getting to the know the people, and asking for their support."
A Du Quoin native and the star quarterback at Du Quoin High School and later at Southern Illinois, Hill said he knows firsthand how much football means to the region, and he plans to spend the spring and summer months visiting communities throughout the area to rally support for the program.
Hill said part of the outreach effort will include tonight's first-ever "Friday Night Lights" scrimmage at Du Quoin High School at 6 p.m. The event is free to the public.
"Saluki Football doesn't just belong to Carbondale," he said. "We're going to scrimmage in my hometown tonight, and I hope to make it an annual event where we take our program on the road to a community in southern Illinois, so fans can see us up close and get to know us."
Since joining SIU's coaching staff in 2014, Hill has installed an exciting, up-tempo, spread offense that has ranked among the nation's best in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense. Last year, quarterback Mark Iannotti led the nation in total offense per game and was ninth in national Offensive Player of the Year voting.
"Under Coach Hill's leadership, we're going to play an exciting, fast-paced brand of football that people are going to love coming to see," said SIU Director of Athletics Tommy Bell. "On top of that, we're going to create a festive and family atmosphere in and around Saluki Stadium, making it the destination place to be on Saturdays in the fall."
Season-ticket prices start at just $85 and can be purchased by calling the ticket office at 877-SALUKIS. Existing season-ticket holders have until April 15 to renew their seats. New season-ticket buyers will have the ability to pick their seats beginning April 23 at the team's annual Spring Game.
