Here we go again. Texas A&M has reportedly just been accepted to the SEC.

The SEC will be looking for wither one or three more teams to balance things out. Things will filter down to the MAC level. I hope that president Proenza is on the phone with the presidents of C-USA.

The Big 12s days are numbered. Those schools are going to break up and go to other conferences and the Big 12 will go away.

5 16 member BCS conferences is now a real possibility. The key remaining piece is Texas. If they move, the remaining members of the Big 12 have no choice. C-USA is a possibility for us, but I think a 16 member Big East with all members participating in football is more realistic. Our size and growing research profile fit the institutional requirements, our Akron-Canton-Cleveland media market is a good fit, we've had a lot of athletic success on the national level in the past 5 years, and our facilities are great. The only limiting factors are (maybe) the lack of a medical/pharmacy college, success on the football field, and our basketball facility. If there are plans for a future arena, the basketball facility issue could be overlooked.

Just remember, UC was not strong in football when they joined and have ever only won 2 national championships 30+ years ago in basketball. We are a much better fit than most of you realize.

Look for the Big East to take 5 other schools: UCF, UMass, East Carolina, Memphis, and Akron in that order. And if we don't get the call from the Big East, there will definitely be openings in C-USA, and I have to think we are a front runner for one of those. I have no doubt that the Big East will split based on football though.

Acceptance would signal the end of any hope for the basketball team. There is no way the Zips have a prayer in that conference for Basketball and with the current facilities, new talent still wouldn't come. Now, it could be a good thing for the football team if the current staff has the ability to recruit to the level of conference.

Depending on how this all shakes out, CUSA might be a better fit for us for all sports.

If we do get a call.......the president of the Big East misdialed his phone.

I think anything other than a downward move to a conference like the Sun Belt is good for us. I'm just not convinced that our attributes are anything that would persuade a "bigger" conference to say, "We want Akron".

What does Cincy circa 2005 have that we don't? Answer: Medical and pharmacy schools and corresponding large grant money and research, a mediocre football team, and a great basketball arena.

Cincinnati is a slightly more-attractive market than Akron-Canton too.

Do you not affiliate NEOUCOM with Akron?

I would think our lack of a direct Medical and Pharmacy school is pretty low on the list of reasons we'll never get invited to the Big East?

Other than the few items I've already mentioned, Cincy circa 2005 had no more to offer than we do now. And no recent National Championship to brag about either.

Yes, Cincinnati is more attractive than Akron-Canton, no doubt. But, there is no BCS school in Cleveland making that our territory too. Just as Detroit is part of Michigan's market. The Cleveland-Akron-Canton area is a megalopolis that a BCS conference should be salivating over. It would also take the two population dense diagonal corners of the state on either side of Columbus and make them Big East territory. Natural geographic rivalries with Pitt, WVU, and Cincy should also be obvious. And if you want to talk about stimulating the local economy, think about the fans from those schools who actually travel in mass to follow their schools (unlike most MAC fans) who would make regular trips to Akron. The bars, restaurants, and even potentially the hotels have a lot to gain from this and should be supporting UA in a bid.

The lack of medical and pharmacy schools per se is not a big deal, but the NIH and big pharamceutical research dollars that we can't attract without these affiliations is huge. And no, I don't count NEOUCOM...it's in the middle of a corn field with no direct interaction with the hospitals or UA for research. I'm currently a medical student, and my talks with Dr. Proenza lead to the creation of the Bioinnovation Institute, so I know what I'm talking about. While the Bioinnovation Institute is a strong step in the right direction, the medical and pharmacy schools need to be in Akron and part of UA. A Big East committee would also not consider NEOUCOM as part of UA.

The Big East for UA isn't as far fetched as most of you think. You had better believe that it is Dr. Proenza's goal (not that he ever told me though).

Recruits don't just select schools alone. They also consider the conferences the schools are in. If UA should ever squeak into the Big East, the Zips' leverage to attract top recruits would be increased several magnitudes, perhaps more so in basketball than football.

Fantasizing for a moment about Zips basketball in the Big East, the first season would likely find them fighting desperately to get a step above the cellar. But the longterm possibilities are intriguing, to say the least.

Add a new arena into the mix, and what do you suppose local interest would be in a steady stream of highly ranked Big East basketball powers playing in Akron?

Where might some of the best basketball talent in Ohio want to go if they wanted to play close to home against many of the top college basketball powers in the country?

Amen, Reverend DiG.

Cleveland is Ohio State's market. I don't think any BE representative could be duped into thinking people in Cleveland care about the Zips, or would suddenly go gaga for Zips football just because UConn or South Florida came to town.

Sure, UA would give their left nut to be in the BE. I'd donate mine if it helped the cause. But I just don't see it happening.

Here's an incoming post from 2000: Cincinnati is Ohio State's market. I don't think any BE representative could be duped into thinking people in Cincinnati care about the Cats, or would suddenly go gaga for Cats football just because Rutgers or West Virginia came to town.

Of course, now we know that OSU's base has significantly weakened by adding a new BCS presence to SW Ohio. You stick a BCS tag on Akron and the people of Cleveland will start following us at first as they have a habit of only caring about the "big boys" of college football. You'll see an instant attendance boost. Get to a few bowl games and they'll even start wearing Zips gear. It took a while for it to happen in Cinci, but it seems to have paid off pretty well for the BE to take the worst football program in college football at the time.

I'll have two of whatever Trimmy is smoking.

Cincinnati had a nationally recognized basketball program, with a real arena. Cincinnati is a real city, with no need to fool people by pretending distant big cities belong to their population/fan base. Cincinnati was in C-USA when they were invited to the BE. And on and on and on...

Wait...it's Zach...what the hell am I doing?

Out.

Dave, I've followed Akron athletics for the past forty years. There is actually LESS community interest today than there was in 1975 (largely because the city has lost 1/3 of its population). The attendance absolute ceiling for basketball is 5-6000 (ave.) even if you brought Madison Square Garden to S Main. For football it is 20k, regardless of how many games they win. GP-1 and I agree on one thing, Akron is not a good place to build a retail base of consumers.

More generally, I must say, I've done everything in my power to avoid reading news about changes in college athletics. It is all constructed on the strength of BCS audience capacity and future growth. Those of us with no dog in the race (e.g., the entire MAC), have nothing to gain from it. Even if the blow-up occured tomorrow, it is unlikely any MAC schools would be seen as Big East caliber -- and frankly Akron would have to stand in line behind at least Ohio, Toledo and Miami. Conference USA is barely more than a parallel move, with significant increased costs. As I've said time and again, the Akron Zips are a typical MAC athletic program -- and there ain't nuthin wrong with that! Let's wait till we're "too big" for our current surroundings before even thinking about moving anywhere.

Excellent post.

Akron is not a good place to build a retail fan base, but the surrounding area is. The Aeros do a good job of drawing fans to baseball games from all around Akron, so it can be done. They need to try harder.

If the mac/UofA want to be taken seriously, they need to draw fans to the games. Selling corporate suites is very important, but when America turns on ESPN and there are 5,000 people, it is laughable and recruits aren't going to take it seriously.

Lastly, the Big East. I lived in Connecticut for a year after college and I went to a lot of Big East basketball games. We would get absolutely destroyed in the Big East. Within five years, it wouldn't be worth having a program. Look at schools like Providence and that's what we would be like.

Sum a y'all need ta get real.

The Big East doesn't need another doormat in football. Thats a basketball conference any way. Sorry,Akron adds nothing in football or b.ball that upgrades that conference in TV market share,money or competetion. Thats the bottom line. You don't bring in a TCU which is in the Dallas market then look at some school that has no market or competetive value. Dollars folks,dollars.

Fantasizing is healthy.

Hey...not so fast!! According to some people, we just got some new guys that are looking good in practices, and should be taking us to the upper echelon. The Big East teams will be fearing the Roo very soon.

And some people think the Zips are so hopeless that they should just hang it up and drop down to DII.

Amen to that!!!! Typical of the "right now" culture in the US...we want everything today. But outside Akron, most will not see the Zips in the same light as those on this forum. My recommendation would be to build incrementally with a solid, repeatable formula/process. The conference affiliation will take care of itself.

Won't this help?

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We are a "right now" culture, but there is a bigger picture with the mac that doesn't play into that. The mas has been around since 1946. It can't seem to get it right. The goal should be to have the best mac we can possible have with the expectation being it will never catch up, because history shows it isn't capable of catching up to the bcs conferences. We are in the mac. That's where we belong until we are forced elsewhere, or the mac's member schools wake up and take control of their future.

We can only dream that this happens.

This is a good post. I've always felt that this is the biggest challenge to getting into a "bigger" conference....the MACs long history of mediocrity, and the lack of a collective effort to do anything about it. Operating within that kind of framework makes it so difficult for a school to make themselves desirable to the bigger boys.

Maybe a "right now" attitude could have benefitted us 20 years ago. Our first season in the MAC saw a 7-3-1 season and a 2nd place finish. The following year, we were picked to finish first by most people, and won a key matchup to start the season against CMU before being decimated by injuries and had a .500 season. Could we have possibly elevated ourselves right out of the MAC by taking a "right now' attitude? The facilities never came around fast enough, as everyone had hoped. And the powers at the U seemed very content with being a MAC member. But, the excitement and momentum was there early, and I can't help but to think that we may have had an opportunity to position ourselves as the up-and-coming D-1A program if everyone could have gotten on the same page.

Yes...the MAC has been around a long time. But they never wanted to compete for the national title in Football preferring to focus on academics. Their goal was to be the "David" in the David and Goliath scenario with occasional upsets of major programs. To assure that they would not compete at the top....they gave 10 less scholarships that the big schools thinking that a significant enough disadvantage that coaches and ADs would be discouraged from even trying. They reduced the amount to 5 less in the 70's (not sure of exact date) as they were falling to far behind. They currently give the same amount of scholarships as the big conferences. You can track the changes in amount of scholarships to the mandatory attendance figures mandated by the NCAA and the increased money available. The MAC strived to be a Midwestern, rural campuses with high academics. That changed as the landscape of big money bowls came into existence.

You can't join something and then complain that you do not like the rules. Kinda like the Muslims who come here and want to change the legal system to Sharia. You are always free to leave.

Mediocrity? You're being too kind.

I agree, ZtZ. We don't have to submit to OSU because they are the biggest BCS gig in the state. If there is ever a time that their programs are consistently down for a few years, they will lose the casual fans...especially if there is another BCS school doing well. That's just how it works with casual fans. And with all the crap going on now with the football program, this could be one of those times. There was no buzz for OSU football throughout the state with John Cooper at the helm when they'd finish in the top 20 after losing to Michigan and another Big 10 school every year and go to a non-major bowl game. That's why he was fired. He had a season or two in the top 5 and still managed to lose to Michigan.

And how many of you would have said that we'd never win a National Championship? Especially given the poor men's soccer seeding in 2005 and the game against Northwestern being moved? I was pissed, but I don't think I said never. Some alumni didn't buy into Coach Porter's plan to get the top recruits to Akron either...and it happened.

Cincy being in C-USA before the Big East carries very little weight. C-USA is a mid-major just like the MAC, albeit slightly better but still a mid-major. And Captain, your evaluation of the quality of their basketball program is inflated...they had some good years in the '90s with Nick van Exel and regularly made the Tournament with Huggins in the early and mid part of the last decade. How is that any different than us now? They won a few Tournament games?...Okay maybe, but I feel we are now on the verge of doing that ourselves. And if we do the next two seasons with Zeke, are we comparable? No? Oh, that's right, the arena issue...would the Big East overlook that if it were on the drawing board or there was a timeline to replace the JAR with a downtown arena? I think so.

Cleveland is dying for a winner...hence the lingering bitterness about Lebron leaving and fans interest in the Indians when they are barely competitive for a playoff spot. Being competitive in the Big East would give us the Cleveland media market...40 miles away or not.

How many times has the argument come up about Akron and Cleveland being contiguous? Although I disagree, the consensus here is that when it comes to the media and sports, Cleveland is Akron-Canton and Akron-Canton is Cleveland.

I feel most of the negative arguments about the Big East prospects are due to the stigma of our athletic history as a university and of northeastern Ohio sports in general. Snap out of it. This is hardly the same university any of us went to (and I graduated fairly recently in 2005) thanks to Dr. Proenza. I think we've turned the corner.

+1

Are you channeling Zach? I didn't even know he had passed.

With A&M moving to the SEC it appears the Big 12 has an opening for us.
P.S. How come nobody has mentioned Thomas's move from Cincy to Illinois?

We have only one chance to catch some attention before everything goes down. This sports year is critical to the future of the entire athletics department. Football needs to make a splash, Soccer needs to repeat, Basketball needs to make a tournament run, and the other sports need to be at the top of the MAC or better.

I'm not talking about the Big East, but C-USA or a new FBS conference consisting of schools who actually care about athletics that want to leave the dead weight schools (EMU, various Sun Belt teams, etc.) behind.

The SEC just rejected A&M. No expansion for the moment. This still severely hurts the Big 12's stability, but doesn't cause it to collapse.

The SEC is publicly saying that they're happy with a 12 team format, for now. There have been previous rumors of Arkansas possibly wishing to reunite with their old SWC foes. I don't think this is over by a long shot.

Monday is the deadline for ACC schools to leave their conference without a penalty. If the SEC wants FSU or UNC or someone like that, they have to announce tomorrow. And if they're announcing that, they would also likely announce the addition of A&M at the same time.

The SEC doesn't HAVE to do anything or NOT do anything regardless of deadlines or penalties. You jumped the gun a bit on announcing that A&M was leaving for the SEC, and now you're jumping the gun on saying they aren't. I think Andy Staples may have had you in mind when he wrote THIS.

I think the MAC needs to strike while the iron is hot, and bring in Texas A&M and Clemson. That will boost the MAC's RPI and give the Zips a better shot at that Big East invite.

The dominoes are all falling into place....

If you can twitter Zach....we can actually start the ball rolling!!!

Are you suggesting we bring them in for all sports or football only?

While nothing is official, all signs still point towards Texas A&M leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. An official announcement is expected in the next week.

NY Times article reportedly makes Texas A&M's intention to leave the Big 12 "official". An announcement is expected today.

I am redfaced. Now the Aggies are denying they sent any letter to the Big 12.

They did just to make the NY Times look bad. You know how those Texans operate!

I think you're on to something!

I frequent an online football chat room operated by SEC fans.

The buzz there for the past couple of weeks is that it is a done deal
that Texas A&M is leaving the Big (sic) 12 for the SEC.

A couple of room regulars are fans of teams still in the Big 10/12 remnants.
They are fearful that the whole conference will collapse. A couple of wags
have been suggesting to one popular Kansas State lady fan that K-State bail
for the Mid-American.

The chat room is on PalTalk in the adult section and is titled "Talking
College Football". Its free to join. Warning: you need a thick skin to survive
the many lame barbs cast at any non-SEC school fan. Akron has some creds
as I have been there since before we upset North Carolina State and Syracuse.

I get teased a lot about soccer. But, they do respect our National Championship.

A&M made it official on their athletic website. Now the SEC takes one or three more, and the lines of dominos begin to fall once again.

I hope Dr Proenza is on the phone with FBS presidents all across the Eastern US. Get us into a conference with like-minded schools both academically and athletically.

Interested in knowing who in the Mac, perhaps with the exceptions of emu and ball state, are not like minded athletically with Akron. And most in the Mac are ranked above Akron academically, correct?

Bowling Green is being carried by a few big donors. Their administration has no interest in D-I athletics except to keep those few donors happy. They have a miniscule athletic budget compared to the rest of the MAC (even EMU). Some schools in the MAC care about athletics, others do not. Some that do not care still have success, but aren't interested in taking it any further than they have to. Some are not satisfied with where they are and strive to improve. Akron is in the second group. Quite a few MAC schools are in the first group, happy with how things are right now.

Academic philosophy is not the same as some ranking. A gigantic state research institution and a small private college be ranked close to each other nationally, but they don't share the same philosophy. Should they associate with the same conference based on that ranking, then? The MAC is a hodge-podge of urban and rural, research and undergrad, eastern and midwestern, just all sorts of things mixed together for the sake of short travel distances. It's hard to relate to the other schools. Part of what makes some of the conferences great is that you're playing against schools and opposing fans whom you have a lot in common with, culturally.

Wow, I couldnt disagree more and suspect you've been to few Mac campuses. Akron's athletic budget is lower than several other schools. The academic philosophy of Akron is very similar to that of Toledo, Can't, central mich., western mich., niu and even emu. You denigrate rural schools but fail to realize that at least one of those, ou, has a larger research portfolio thAn the league's urban schools. Look at the b10 - Penn state is very rural. West Lafayette, ind., is not a big city by any stretch. And northwestern is far above the other schools academically. But by your measure, this weird amalgamation that is the b10 must exist because they're all within a few states of one another.

Akron begged for decades to be part of the Mac. The league certainly ain't big time, but these schools do many things right when it comes to treating sports as secondary to the educational mission. Marshall was a good program but an academic renegade that belonged somewhere else. At least there's honor in this league.

By the way, emu has one of the highest athletic budgets in the league. Higher than Akron. Bgsu's budget is higher than ball state and buffalo. I think you must just make this stuff up.