Could promotional NU put U of I in dust?

I doubt that this thread will generate any interest, especially with the White Sox in the WS, but I'll give it a try. Northwestern is the Chicago area's only BCS football school. In the last ten years, NU has been by far the more succesful Big Ten program in-state, far exceeding the U of I. For a presigious, highly selective private university, Northwestern football has done very well for itself, a fact that isn't always recongnized. But has NU done that well off the field? Has Northwestern promoted itself in the Chicago area the way that it should? Sure, it is a private school, but that never stopped LA from supporting USC (even with UCLA in town) or the Bay Area in supporting Stanford (even with Cal in the area). How about Miami? And even though Notre Dame is different (with its catholic affiliation), it's prviate and selective, too. Couldn't a strong promotion on the part of NU make Chicagoland more NU country (despite the stronge Illini Alumni base) than U of I; it's the local team and Illinois is some 160 miles away.>