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The comparisons between football/basketball and minor sports does not match well. I believe football, men’s basketball, volleyball, and women’s basketball have full ride scholarships and they can not give partial scholarships. Other sports, including soccer, almost never give full ride scholarships. Therefore, having good students who qualify for academic merit scholarships is a major tool to expand your aid to athletes . In the four sports that offer full rides, there is not the same incentive to offer academic aid- it does not expand your roster in the same way. Also academic aid most often does not include room/ board.

There is a god. Good triumphs over evil!

I believe that Kent has favored thugs in their basketball recruitment for years. The real blame here is with the coaches and administrators who certainly knew the kind of individuals that made up their roster. The video simply publicly shows what everyone already knew- the players were putting their lack of character on display for the world to see. Kent State did only what they needed to do given the moment- but the root causes are still intact and we can predict it will happen again unless other action is taken. Doubt Kent will do that because, after all, they are Kent!

Any conversation regarding the best all time bigs in UA basketball should include Bill Turner 63-67. Realize he was before almost all of you. 6-7 power forward/center, ranks 5th in all time scoring and 4th in all time rebounds ( please note he played with two other players in top 6 all time rebounds). Realize this was against smaller schools but did include Earl the Pearl Monroe among other top talent. He did make the NBA and play for 6 seasons.

As of late signing day, 247 sports has Akron as 55th best school in the country in use of transfer portal. We are 2nd in the MAC behind Buffalo’s terrific 20th ranking. Both of these schools are light years ahead of the rest of the league. Look for this to show up on the field. Coach Joe said to look for a significant shift even this fall in his recent comments on gozips.com i

247 has not yet added our tight end from Erie, PA that should also raise our ranking.

Believe Michael Mathison may be headed to Western Kentucky

94zipgrad is on the right path- some of our announced commits are already enrolled- they may participate in this weekend’s doings but they are committed in the sense they have already enrolled; other announced commits are here with family to cement their decision and meet people, see facilities, etc. There is a third group that are not committed and, hopefully, some/many will commit tomorrow. To have no new info tonight is not a problem- they are busy. To have no new commitments by this time tomorrow will be more of an issue. Hopefully we will have some positive developments in the next 24 hours. Go Zips!

Neal Renna has been hired to coach safeties- from Eastern Ill with time at Missouri

I hate what college football has become. I want to root for our players for 4 yrs. But that is over. As a fan, you have to adjust or find another activity. So- why invest your support for a player like Mumpfield who develops with the school that gave him a shot and then leaves hoping to be in the 2% that makes the pros. Maybe he makes it but the other two likely will not. The Portal offers Akron a better chance as the rules are at the moment. If they find good players with multiple years of eligibility, those players actually have more loyalty to the program as they likely can’t move again. We should see this as an opportunity if the coaches pursue the right player options. Over 2000 in the portal- not all will get solid options- some have made a bad choice.

Reed Case- head football operations according to football scoop

Feature story about Matt’s unique journey to the Olympic games in Monday’s Wall Street Journal! Nice piece for him and UA

Realize, to most of you, that this is really a new sport, but you might want to take a look at an exciting addition to The University of Akron sports scene. In their first full season, the women's lacrosse team is really improving in significant ways. They are currently 7 & 7 on the season. They posted two wins this week including a virtual beatdown of Kent State. Women's lacrosse is not as physical as the men's game, but still quite exciting IF played on a high level. It contains elements with parallels to basketball and soccer. You can score with individual athletic talent and/or team play. The University of Akron's team has some excellent "dodgers" (those who can create their own shot as in basketball) as well as team oriented goals ( as in good passing among team members similar to basketball and soccer teams). They can create opportunities through excellent stick skills (again akin to soccer foot skill and basketball dribbling skill). In today's game a first year UA player scored on a behind the back shot- a high level skill not even tried by many players! This Akron team hustles and is relentless in their effort. They are true student athletes- the roster is full of pre-meds, engineers, speech pathology, nursing, and business majors among others. They have accomplished a great deal in a short period during a pandemic. They have done all of this without scholarships! So, if you have a chance, check them out next year. Their last contest is against an established Central Michigan team that has been around for years. That will be a tough way to end the season but even here- they will give their all. UA played CMU even for a half the first time around before they pulled away in the second half. But, given Akron's heart, who knows. Next year, with another recruiting class and added experience, their level of play should continue to develop. Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. I believe. Give them a look- they represent The University well.

I also did not play soccer but am a real fan of the Zips and their style. So- my layman’s view- they look better. I think the move to return Strachan to middle back is a positive. Last year’s effort to put him at outside back and defensive mid robbed Akron of an offensive player. In Akron’s scheme, all of those positions need to be offensive threats. He did not have an offensive mindset and perhaps the skills/speed to be as effective as others. Milanese, on the other hand, would occasionally display more offensive instincts even from the center back position. What the team really seems to need, as another poster mentioned, is a goal scoring threat from the midfield. It will force opponents to spread out their defense and create space for all our players in the offensive third.

Akron announces 10 new players for Spring, 2021, including freshmen and transfers. Noteworthy is that the list includes no international players. Perhaps showing the impact of the pandemic and perhaps fewer recruiting trip dollars.