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Such a big get. 6'6" G that had 23 vs. Wake Forest in the NIT, 13 vs. Auburn in the NIT Final Four, etc. Comes from a winning program. LOVE this signing.

I talked to a coach about him. He said the player was brought in for depth and development. This staff does an impressive job in mining and growing under-developed players. Another interesting part of the discussion was that the staff rates itself on the performance of the players they bring in. Regarding JUCO's they have a hit rate of about 50%, but on high school players they are near 90%, especially in O linemen. The obvious problem is that we are developing high school players for other programs with money. It is what it is until Congress changes things.

I received mine yesterday as well. I plan to get a case and display it in my home office. There have been some talks here about how the success of the program warrants our attention, but it's also great seeing Ford, Bud, and the assistants engage the fan base. In a day and age where college athletics has become more transactional, it's great to still see the sense of community they're trying to instill in the program. They genuinely seem to want to be here and do great things.

You guys are way to hung up on traditional positional definitions of who is on the court.

Somebody donated 10K to basketball. They've already hit their goal!

He has impressive film, that’s for sure. We might’ve gotten a steal. If Duncan stays at LB, then I think we’re done there. If not, I imagine one more will be added.

Softball won two more yesterday and are now 19-4 in the MAC with 4 conference games left. 2nd and 3rd place both have 14 wins but have more games remaining so I don't think we've quite clinched the regular season title but are getting very close.

To be fair, it wasn't just him. We were completely guardable with one man at every position. If we had someone that TT needed to double team, that would have freed Hardman for some open looks. But TT had no issues guarding us straight up. To me, that's why the loss Nate and Okonkwo was a killer, and the loss of Sharrone isn't. Sharrone's too short to compete at today's P4 level (NCAA tourney). In the MAC he's fine, but in the tourney he gets exposed. All the Zips did. We needed to get bigger at guard this year. I think we did? Eric Mahaffey (not Fr, but year 2, 3 or 4) is the type of player we need if we ever expect to win an NCAA tourney game. I don't know if that type will ever play at Akron again.

There is a show on Fox promoting this summer's World Cup. Each episode focuses on a specific host city and its culture, especially related to soccer. Each city has a liaison who is interviewed by the commentator throughout the show. UA's Steve Zakuani is the liaison for Seattle. I thought this was really cool to see and wonderful to hear why he chose to live in Seattle after his career. It is always good to see fellow Zips thriving in other parts of the country and throughout the world. https://tubitv.com/series/300019445/fifa-world-cup-26-stories-from-the-cities

More help is needed, but UA's run through an exhaustive list of coaches, AD's and losing programs for decades. Good luck finding anyone willing to shell out big bucks if they don't feel UA will spend that money wisely. I make my donation to football annually because I like Joe and feel he merits support. I have fun attending the games in the fall. The guy went 5-7 last year despite being hamstrung by a litany of handicaps beyond his control. He's a good coach who wants to be here. I expect 6 wins this season. Which is like 8-9 wins for a respectfully funded program. Infocision is a resource. I think it could be filled to 18-20 k on average and make money even with the University's football acumen and historical shortcomings. But it's easier to say "I wouldn't have built that stadium" and be off the hook. Goodrich has only been around a short while. He hasn't done anything stupid yet, so I have a some hope that he can at least get football pointed in the right financial direction. We'll see...

By “so far” do you mean since 1893?

Akron Athletics just posted this news story https://gozips.com/news/2026/4/21/general-university-of-akron-athletics-holds-annual-day-of-giving I plan to donate directly to men's soccer. (direct link below) I just wanted to make everyone on this board aware of this important day. I believe that this is the link that will allow your donation to go 100% to men's soccer. https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/ATHDoG26/team/MSoccer

There's real momentum behind Ford/the program.

Great win! (also, it should obviously be "flies" not "fly's". 🫠

Article from the Beacon on the Spring game - https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/akron-zips-football-coach-joe-095601341.html

On the defensive line regarding the high school players that they brought in last year that sat and were not allowed to get any reps "to develop" going into next season ... Brown - Demery is 6'4 about 330 lbs had a sack/force fumble Saturday and is going to be hard for anyone to stop at the zero gap; Watkins is about 6'4 240 and looks raw but has been getting a lot of reps, he returned the fumble that Brown-Demery forced for six; Bivens is listed on the roster at 6'0 255 although I think he is much heavier; and Kavals is listed at 6'5 265; he is 6'6 and is between 275-280. Not sure if they are going to move him to tackle or leave him at end, (last year on scout team he played both and did well; he has long arms and is quick and athletic) he played end in high school and qb so he is athletic. Should be interesting to see if these guys can contribute right away this year.

I checked in to see how our three most recent Zips have been doing. After starting just one of the first four matches for Crown Legacy, Ashton has started the last four matches in a row. Austin FC 2 have only played 6 matches so far and Stefan has appeared in all 6 matches including 4 starts. One assist. Mitch Budler has not appeared yet for Pittsburgh but has been on the bench for 7 of the past 8 matches.

Not sure if this is known already or not.

Right now, I've seen two of the current Zips who combined played 20 minutes a game last year. I've never seen Dustin Ford be a head coach. There are still roster spots to be filled. As such, I'm not quite ready to make predictions.

Personally, I think this season will be unlike any other and damn near impossible to predict. Of the 15 players named as All-MAC 1st-3rd teams, I believe Luke Skaljac is the only one with eligibility remaining returning to his school. With so much turnover everywhere, I think it's damn near impossible to project who will do what next season. This level of universal turnover is unprecedented in the MAC. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't talent, or there won't be good teams. I just don't think we'll know who that will be until we see every team on the floor for 8-10 games.

Okonkwo couldn't stay out of foul trouble against the better MAC teams. He would have fouled out in 6 minutes of PT against Tech. Eric is the one that hurts . He is going to be so much better than his brother and it sucks we won't get three more years of watching him just keep getting better and better. That makes the Freeman run even more amazing.

This is so cool.

Was just about to post this to call that out. First hint we've seen at the style. Looks like we'll be getting a bigger, more physical version of All Gas No Brakes?

She has been a generous donor for years. Part of me still wonders if she clicked 1 too many zeroes 😅

Home opener should be Deborah Cook Appreciation Night. Wow!

This is a massive haul for Akron. He is projected as a HM start/mid-major all-conference. He's a 2-way player and his game is very well rounded. He is an elite finisher at the rim and dangerous enough from 3. IMO this is this our best signing with Tahj a close second.

He beat PCCC last year. Should be a smooth transition.

Ty Pence is an Akron Zip, from Illinois State. Just shared on his IG.

I noticed it last year that soccer has done a great job of keeping former players engaged with the program. Them and the swimming and diving team seem to have great participation. The soccer donations just typically come in at a higher dollar amount. On the flipside it's disappointing that football doesn't do better. There are 3x-6x more former student athletes in football compared to the other sports, but the number of donors is relatively smaller. At least for day of giving. Not sure what's done differently that makes select sports former athletes stay involved and other not so much.

last time there was a big guy position battle there was a broken jaw and criminal charges involved.

Hey that's a longer college highlight video than LeBron!

I think Colin White could be a 3-4 in the MAC. He supposedly has a physical streak in him. This stings Toledo where the fan base wanted him back home. The key now is for White to measure up to his prep credentials as a MAC player.

Incoming.

I suspect Ford will follow Groce's lead and bring in the most talented kids (with character) he can find and adapt the system to his talent.

God bless Luke Getsy. Getsy pumps... he throws to Hixon and it is... CAUGHT! FOR A TOUCHDOWN! - Mike Tirico with Herbstreit by his side and Erin Andrews in her prime on the sideline.

You need to look at the advanced stats. His eFG% was .592 and .598 the year before so this past year wasn't a fluke. He rebounds really well for being a wing. Plays good defense. IMO he's a lot like Eric where he does a lot of things very well, but isn't elite at any 1 thing in particular. I really hate looking at counting stats as it's frankly lazy. Would you want a player that averages 20/game, but chucks up 30 shots a night to get it? Of course not. But if you insist at looking at counting stats remember he only played 23 mpg. If he projects to play 30 mpg you can bump his numbers up ~30%. I would also expect him to a more focal part of the offense so his usage will increase compared to Illinois State, which in turn will increase the counting stats.

Someone just donated 50k, bless their heart ❤️❤️

To be fair, Matt Kaulig isn’t donating via the Day of Giving. I think football gets a decent share of donations outside of today. I donated to football today, and my 💵 increased the total football amount by 50%!

Would imagine only 1 spot remains. We're at 13. The next would be 14, and I would bet Akron goes Walk On for the 15th spot (go find the next Freeman/Evan Wilson/Halligan). Pence & White slot into more of a Wing role on this roster, giving us some really nice depth and balance. Look at the height! Barre 6'10" Burton 6'10" Christion 6'9" MMK 6'6" White 6'6" Pence 6'6" Halligan 6'5" Henderson 6'5" Jones 6'5" Head 6'3" Staveskie 6'1" Wilson 6'1" Perkins 6'0" Couple different directions we might go with the final spot... - We're missing a proven sniper. There's a chance Henderson, Jones, Perkins, Wilson, or Head prove to be that, but at the moment we don't have a proven ~40% 3P shooter. - Another front court piece would be nice. There's a gap between the 6'6" group and the PFs. A 6'7"-6'8" stretch 3/4 would be incredible. - In a perfect world, we get a stretch 3/4 at the aforementioned height that is also a sniper from deep, although that type of player is like Elmer and already committed to Wisconsin.

This is a great campaign and I hope every Zip fan contributes what they can. It is interesting to note soccer has a goal of $60,000, which is nearly half of the goal for our 17 varsity sports. BTW, they will make it with a matching gift they have received. Soccer is truly elite at Akron. The commitment the university and Andrew Goodrich have made to it will allow us to compete at the highest level. Contributions to all sports will enable us to keep raising the profile of all programs. It's a good day to be a Zip!

Thanks, just gave to hoops and FB!!

Transfer portal is now officially closed. Players can still sign, but nobody else can enter.

Zips add Colin White. Bowen Hardman, Rich Brisco, Ognjen Stankovic and Jashawn Ladd depart.

7' 280 lbs. He could be a problem. St. Joseph's > Providence > South Carolina > Bowling Green. His production has regressed with every stop but going back to a mid major might revert that trend. Has a jump shot, too.

Just the name makes me cringe. The end of his time with the Zips was not great.

It looks like he suffered a leg injury his freshman year early on and barely played. It required off-season surgery and he attempted to play last year but never found his groove.

Went to Rally House in Fairlawn today and they had an Akron University shirt. How does that even get approved for sale, the correct name is on the seal on the shirt too. Found it online as well.