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I think one or two from this board would be fine because I'm sure a lot of our opinions would be repetitive

Yeah, I’m on a different page than many of you. I hate seeing the top talent from our conference get lured away. I want to win the MAC at its strongest.

Arkansas had a player who played 8 years overseas and they won the tournament. Northern Iowa was the only other mid-major their, so we are the Mid-Major Manager Champs

Jacob Thomas, one of our student managers, wins the Internet today. He posted this on his IG.

This could’ve been prevented if Zipsnation members were on the fan council.

I understand most spring games are going by the wayside, but this whole thing has seemed like an absolute **** show. Kent State is doing it right and now this is supposed to be the answer? Just a few years ago they opened up the suites and had free food for everyone. How far things have fallen. I’m incredibly disappointed as I can only get up there twice a year and the spring game is one of those times. This is exactly how not to resonate with your fanbase.

The NBA has been doing it for about a decade now. Personally, I'm hoping for the Goodyear Wingfoot for 2 reasons. First, because it's an iconic Akron brand. Secondly, I think it would compliment the jersey well without being a eyesore.

I once took a whiz on a picture of Rick Pitino at the bottom of a urinal in a college bar in Lexington KY.

Zips Nation Insider podcast posted on IG that they'll have an interview with Coach Ford, releasing tomorrow at 6 PM on their YouTube Channel.

They wanted to get it in before the Spring Game...oh...wait.

Or our athletic department just got around to organizing it

Oggie aka the Big Stank started playing more and more hero ball when he got his runs. There were more than a couple bad 1-on-3 takes or no look passes out of bounds that had Groce just staring at him in disbelief. Bad defense and not running the offense means take a seat kid. I would have liked him to stay b/c he does have a lot of upside but the portal will tell us a lot about his true value.

Idea: teams/players should have to sign two-year contracts. If this included the redshirt year this would still give the athlete an opportunity to transfer two times in his/her career if they would so choose. Sound fair?

Ask yourself this people- If you were able to put your resume out there to see if another employer would pay you more to do the same exact job, and it wouldn't impact your current position, would you do it? That's what these kids are doing.

Ignacio Alem distinguished himself on the left wing. He was consistently dangerous on the dribble. Freshman Leo Morana also impressed with some incisive passing through the midfield. I believe he had at least one assist, depending on how you score it. But the frosh I really have my eye on is Londen Sears. Here is a mountain of raw talent! Fairly good with his right, superb with his left. He played all four years of high school, the old-fashioned way. "... a two-time All-America honoree, he was named as the Ohio Player of the Year in each of his final two campaigns...led his squad to a state title as a senior after advancing to the title game as a sophomore." If Sears plays all four years of eligibility, he will very likely have an MLS career. I will lay that bet right now! His size/speed ratio is fantastic. He is quite rough around the edges and really needs some intensive and focused development. Akron is a great place to receive that sort of attention, the program that turns red chips into blues every damn year. But what is his position? Not sure at this point.

Josh Jones, assistant coach at North Dakota State is joining Dustin's staff. Hes been at NDSU 6 years and overall has been coaching in college since 2014.

I don't know how it's going to happen yet, but I have a feeling the Akron Zips will win the MAC again next season.

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the trite, sanctimonious messages athletes post when they go into the portal. They talk about God guiding them. They talk about the everlasting bonds of fellowship they have with their teammates. They thank their coaches for developing them into the men they are today. Then they leave. After great thought and consultation I'm offering this simple sample announcement: "I'm in the portal. I may come back. The most money determines what I'll do." This hits at the truth. Saves a lot of time. And eliminates hypocrisy. Please use for all future announcements as my gift to portal entrees. No charge.

Happy Easter everyone!!

No argument there. The hope is if the MAC does expand to a 22 game conference schedule those would be the games eliminated. Whether it plays out that way who knows.

Here is a nice article about Malcom if you are interested. Says he has interviewed with seven teams and is projected to go anywhere from fourth round to seventh... https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/sports/2026/04/03/malcolm-dewalt-nfl-draft/89389791007/ Hope the kid makes it...

https://youtu.be/pbAkDyhEwgE?si=J0upTKHdpxgfI0Vg

Same here. I will lose much sleep.

I'm visiting Duke this weekend yet I am not on the level to play there.

I can hear it now- "I'd like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the good folks at Piggly Wiggly...."

Re: Big Stank. I have been holding off my thoughts on our former coach. Trying to let a little time heal the wounds. Coach didn't play him and he was clearly better than a few that got more minutes. Probably why he is transferring. 6'9" ball handler with offensive skills. Yes he was raw but he could of helped us.

I think Oggie's shortcomings on defense cost him time. Groce also always emphasizes how the guys practice and I suspect this did not bode well for a kid in a new country and new system. The Zips system is much more up tempo and physical when what he was likely seeing in Europe. Also, Groce's rotations tend to shrink as the season wears on and he ended up as the 10th or 11th guy in a 9 man rotation.

Speaking of

It won't happen, but I wish they would quit playing Final Four games in NFL stadiums.

I agree, I don't hold a grudge or ill will towards him for not doing it. Just assumed it would be something he would do given the length of his tenure.

This didn't age well...

This was a thorough thrashing and mostly one-sided affair.

I have no idea what the answer is, but I’m pretty convinced at this point that the NCAA isn’t it.

As I recall both BUGS goals were scored in the last 10 minutes. One in the run of play. The other was a PK due to a takedown in the box with only about 1:20 remaining in the game if I recall correctly. Nice to renew the rivalry with such a squashing. 😊

To be fair, maybe the blogger named that urinal Nemer was using "Europe."

Unfortunately it is going to happen every year from today, through eternity. Enrique Freeman will be known as the last great MAC player to have played his senior season at the same school where he began his Freshman season.

We only have 3 guys (one of them is Connor Groce) in the Portal at the moment. Portal doesn't open officially until tomorrow, so technically nobody can sign anywhere yet.

Since he's not getting another decent job anyways, I'm not sure how much he cares about the harm

Nice to see Xavier Castaneda is still balling, playing pro ball in Andorra and also a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina National squad. Always one of my favorite Zips, he could really control a game.

Politicians talk about the NCAA, I guess we have to talk about it. God, I hate doing this, but here it goes. First, executive orders like this aren't small government Republicanism. It's the government sticking it's nose in where it doesn't belong. Executive Orders are pure laziness. It's more of the same buffoonery Americans have been watching for around 11 years. Most are exhausted with him and the polls show it. Like building a wall, staying out of foreign wars, releasing the Epstein Files, and any of the large number of things he said he would do, he won't do it. He won't do it because he can't do it by himself and is not willing to put in the work to get things done. He's not an authoritarian. He's not a small government Republican. He's not a Nazi. He's not a Fascist. All of those things take hard work. He's just a lazy, buffoonish, reality TV star sitting around putting together Truth Social posts. I don't really worry about him because I don't think he has the will to actually do anything. I do laugh AT him. He's a silly old man. I was born in 1969. I can't believe in my life the Republicans have gone from a competent giant surrounded by other competent people in Reagan, to a buffoonish clown surrounded by Fox News personalities, nihilists, conspiracy theorists and general crackpots. Here is your daily dose of an example. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house-teleportation.html. The only thing that could make the NCAA worse is this group of clowns trying to solve a problem they don't really want to or are willing to put the work into solving.

You can't live that billionaire lifestyle in Akron like you can in LA or Miami. Memphis and Milwaukee are two of the NBA smaller markets. I've never been to either city, but I'd venture to guess they don't have the upscale dining or VIP experiences he's accustomed to in the larger cities. It seems weird the interviewer tried to make it a race issue. I feel this board spends too much time talking about LBJ. He's not the savior some think he is nor is he the villain. The most we can probably expect out of him is sending an occasional, low effort tweet.

Testing the portal waters is the new normal. On the face of it, Eric and Sharron, while we love them, did not do all that much. It’s their youth and upside that almost mandates seeing if they can cash in. I hope we can sell the culture: you will get decent NIL, will graduate, play professionally, and have a finance guru to help you out long term. That’s a nice package.

Groce stealing all our players /s

Connor Groce in the portal, to the surprise of nobody haha

Maybe this forces reciprocity as the solution, but I'm not seeing a willingness by the suits to put logical, common sense restrictions on the current system. Who knows how this holds up in court or what it results in, but at least it's an action in the right direction.

That’s a super strong add. Head coaching experience on the back end and the bench can’t be underestimated. It’s a trend right now and in my mind huge for a first time HC

Same here! They have been doing this for a while now and know how to build. They obviously weren’t blindsided and knew this was what would be coming and got ahead of it yesterday on social media BEFORE the portal announcements came. Also, who’s to say Bud himself didn’t encourage the guys to explore their value and then come back and give Akron a chance to keep them (aka we’ll do our best to match your true market value). Obviously they’d prefer to not have them go in the portal but I have to imagine they would welcome them back with open arms and want to show they care about what’s best for the athlete and their family - similar to Groce encouraging Nate.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/evan-t-wilson_gocougars-1charleston-activity-7445793981835382784-Wvlt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACkAKNsB0SkA095jhk47kMR1msg1-UFdr-o Evan Wilson accepts a job at Charleston. Love to see that