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Let'sGoZips94

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Posts posted by Let'sGoZips94

  1. 9 hours ago, NWAkron said:

    Do you still want Ali, Xavier, and Trimble to hit the transfer portal?

     

    Yes - more so X and Trimble, but Ali's attitude and lack of "teamism" has pissed me off as of late. Add Wynn to that, because he clearly isn't meeting Groce's expectations. 

  2. 1 minute ago, Illini Zip said:

     

    I think getting physically stronger would go a long way to helping him be mentally stronger.

     

    Did something change with the strength & conditioning program because of COVID? Groce's teams in his first several years were built like Linebackers & Strong Safeties. I haven't seen the same growth strength wise these past two years. 

  3. 11 minutes ago, LZIp said:

    He's been abnormally frustrated lately, that's for sure.

     

    He has tried to do too much on offense all season, and since he hasn't been able to execute at all on the offensive end lately, he has had mental meltdowns. It's incredibly annoying.

     

    This team, aside from Freeman, Aziz, Tribble and Dawson, is unacceptably weak mentally. They have zero leadership at the guard position, and that is why they constantly fall short of meeting their potential. 

  4. 10 minutes ago, GP1 said:

    Good responses. I love the discussion.  

     

    Paragraph 1:  $2.25 million is a lot for me and you, but it's a small amount of the annual athletic budget and a fraction of the overall University budget and makes the assumption the University will know what to do with an extra $2.25 million.  So you're telling me if we continue on our never ending "building process", some day we can aspire to be an AAC team. If so, I'm going to use this thing called "age and memory" to recall one of the thousands of hair brained ideas I have seen on this board over the years. I remember a day when the goal was to move to the Big East.  How is big east football doing? How do you know the AAC will be around in 10 years?  Do you want to be another Marshall desperately jumping from conference to conference every few years? The MAC is a stable place for UofA and our goal should be to dominate that league.

     

    Paragraph 1 cont:  The overriding idea is that money and exposure will make Akron better and the AAC is the place to get that. There is one team in the AAC that has no business being in that league and is quickly falling down to the bilge (pun intended) of it. This team has a huge name, provides opponents great exposure, great history, is a nationally known, nationally loved, has great kids playing, has the backing of the United States Government and is a much better program than Akron. That program is Navy. Navy made a huge mistake by joining the league. One could say joining the AAC was the worst day for the Navy since Pearl Harbor. It would have been better of remaining independent and campaigning around the country. It's fortunes may improve now that the top teams are leaving for the Big 12, but I'm skeptical. It simply isn't set up to be successful long term in a conference. 

     

    Paragraph 2:  I think Akron being good would draw more average NE Ohio fans than whatever team they may be playing. 15,000 Akron fans went to a bowl game in Detroit the day after Christmas in what can only be defined as the second greatest day in program history to see the Zips, not Memphis. Of course NE Ohio fans will go to a game in Akron as long as it is played on a day and time of the week convenient to those fans. The mistake you are making is that Akron needs something else from anther school to make itself interesting. I'm convinced that Akron has everything it needs to be successful and draw fans in the MAC if it could just put a competent team on the field. It will just take some creative thinking by those at the University beyond just the Athletic Department to put butts in seats. Akron is a public institution funded by the taxpayers of Ohio. As such, it has an obligation to the taxpayers to make itself a resource for the taxpayers. Why not make the campus a hotbed of activity in the fall in a way that benefits the athletes, students, alumni, fans and greater NE Ohio community? I'm not sure how accomplishing this could be defined anything other than success even if they did it in the MAC. Someone would have to explain that to me.

     

    Paragraph 3:  College football teams don't get promoted. Cincinnati's move to the Big 12 is more of an act of desperation by the Big12 than evidence of the greatness of Cincinnati. Cincy caught lightning in a bottle last year and was destroyed in a playoff game. Everything had to go perfectly. Perfection is hard to duplicate. 

     

    Paragraph 3 cont:  If Guthrie got Akron out of the MAC, I agree it would be a resume builder.....and a horrible disaster for Akron long term. Most conference moves are made out of desperation and based upon recent history this great resume builder wouldn't be that difficult to do the next time there is a conference desperate enough to sign up some teams. What resume building endeavors athletic directors engage in at G5 schools usually results in disaster for those schools after the departure of the AD. Can anyone point me to the great successes of teams that have moved up to P5 conferences or P5 teams that have changed conferences?  TCU is in decline. Texas and Oklahoma will regret the day they ever decided to leave the Big12. There is a long list of mistakes.

     

    Paragraph 4: Why stick with the poor leadership of the MAC? What evidence is there the leadership at other G5 conferences is any better? We should tip our hats to the commissioner of CUSA because of the Marshall, ODU, So. Miss coup?....spare me.  I'm less concerned about the leadership of the MAC and more concerned with the leadership at UofA. If the leadership cannot make the University the cultural center of NE Ohio in the fall and the football team being a part of it, it doesn't matter what league they play. 

     

    This desire for something better always looks past the frequently obvious, and that is we don't realize how good we have it. I left NE Ohio 15 years ago now and I'm always amazed at how many people think it is a horrible place so I have to remind them it's a great place and they aren't taking advantage of all of the great things. How many people leave good marriages because they think there will be something better only to find out they had it pretty good because their new spouse makes them miserable? The discussions around conference realignment and movements frequently fall the same way. Almost none of the schools that leave stability for instability are better off today than before. Let'sGoZips94, the MAC is a perfect place for Akron. When I was younger I used to look at things a lot like you do. It just took some year away from it for me to realize it's the place for Akron.

     

    Always keep your mind in the present.

     

     

    Agreed - it's a fun discussion. 

     

    Re Re Paragraph 1: $2.25M is a big deal for Akron, considering they're presumably only getting ~$750k from the MAC's media deal. Add in the rest of the revenue, and that's $4-5M. Half the conversations surrounding Akron are discussions about their financial troubles. 

     

    How do I know the AAC will be around in 10 years? Because ESPN is paying them ~$1B over 12 years starting a year or two ago. Over the next 10 years, I think we'll see another seismic shift in the organization of college athletics as well. I'm not saying the AAC should be the end-all-be-all goal, but whichever conference is the best G5 conference, that should be the next target for Akron after dominating the MAC. The AAC currently is THE G5 conference, and that's supported by ESPN's $1B media deal, their $43M in annual media revenue, and $111M total conference revenue. They dwarf the other G5 conferences.

     

    Re Re Paragraph 2: I don't disagree that Akron has the ability to be successful and draw fans while in the MAC. I disagree it has everything it needs, but that would be a digression. The point of the schedule: Joe Akron doesn't give a damn about Directional Michigans, NIU, Canada, etc. They care about Ohio State and P5. What schools have made a name for themselves consistently knocking off the Ohio States and other P5 schools? They're largely in the AAC. "Oh look, Akron is playing Wichita State Tuesday night at the JAR. I used to not attend Tuesday night games, as they're inconvenient, especially when it's against a garbage NIU team, but I think I'll attend this time against Wichita State." Case and point: Remember the Bracket Busters and return games from that series? They vastly out-drew the other OOC & non KSUcks/OU/Buffalo/Toledo/Miami crowds. You'd have 2.5-3k against Western Michigan, and 4.5-5k against North Dakota State, or sellouts for VCU, Nevada, MTSU, etc. I'm sure the same reflection would be seen in football if football was competent enough to make the every-week opponent matter.

     

    Sure, making the Akron campus a place to be is a component, but that's an easier sell when there's built-in excitement of not being a MAC school, but rather AAC or whatever the top level G5 conference is.

     

    Re Re Paragraph 3: Here is what you have (excluding basketball-only Big East & A10)...

     

    Tier One: Big Ten, SEC, PAC12

    Tier Two: Big 12, ACC

    Tier Three: AAC, MWC

    Tier Four: Sun Belt, CUSA, MAC

     

    Tier One pulls from Tier Two to grow. Tier Two replenishes with Tier Three. Tier Three replenishes with Tier Four. That is the cycle of growth in college athletics. Thus, colleges do get "promoted". 

     

    Programs may be in decline from a results standpoint, but their bank accounts probably aren't hurting given the revenue the bigger conferences generate. Look at Kentucky. Kentucky was a dormant football program for years, and now they're a top 25 program consistently. They raked in the revenue while being dormant, and have found success. Texas A&M just produced the #1 football recruiting class in the country. Will it translate to success? Who knows under Jimbo Fisher, but they're raking in the SEC revenue while doing so. Do you think Maryland or Rutgers regret gaining a share of the Big Ten revenue? I doubt it. And they're programs have elevated more and more each year. I doubt TCU is hurting. They're raking in Big 12 revenue, while getting a chance (and successfully at times) to knock of #12 Baylor, #4 Oklahoma, etc., in football. Basketball is even better with WVU, Kansas, Iowa State, etc. 

     

    Re Re Paragraph 4: $1B evidence that the AAC leadership is better.

     

    Agreed in holding the leadership at Akron to the highest standard possible. 

     

     

    I don't care to hold a stagnant mindset. There is living in the moment, which is great, but it's empty to me if you're not striving for growth in the future. I don't see how not striving to grow to the fullest potential athletically (and ultimately as a university in its entirety) benefits anyone.

    • Like 1
  5. 38 minutes ago, GP1 said:

    Getting a share of $43M cut up 14 times still leaves a massive hole in the budget. I'd be more interested in duping Canada or NIU into joining the AAC so I could watch them get destroyed and the MAC could return to some sanity.  Exposure?....Oh boy is this a fan trap if there ever was one. "Exposure" is what people who work in athletic departments claim is beneficial to their school just before they destroy it with another dumb idea.

     

    Paragraph 2:  How do you know the average football fan is interested in Memphis, Temple, ECU, Tulsa and SMU? What about those schools is interesting? Every time I see Temple on Akron's schedule I roll my eyes. Memphis is a dump. Greenville, NC has almost no redeeming value. Tulsa?...the place in Oklahoma?...please.  SMU is a cool place but not in driving distance for fans. Replace either of those names with Syracuse or Boston College and you know how I feel when the Wake Forest schedule is published every other year and both of them are on the home schedule. Heck, it's probably how Clemson fans feel when they see Wake Forest on the schedule.

     

    Paragraph 3:  The American Athletic Conference WAS the bridge from G5 to P5. Now a few of those schools are leaving to play in the Big 12 where they will, within 3-4 years, turn into TCU....after thoughts. Why would any P5 conference want any of the schools remaining in the G5?....It makes no sense.  The Big12 acted out of desperation. How do you know Guthrie is aiming for higher than the MAC and what is his plan to do so?...He's another guy who won't be around beyond 4 years. Whenever Akron has decided to make moves independently, disaster has followed. Be careful of what you wish for. I do agree Moorhead is higher than MAC level and I don't expect him to be here more than 4 years and wouldn't be shocked if he caught lightning in a bottle, had a great second season and was gone. My expectation as a fan is for Akron to establish a top level football program that competes year in and year out for the MACC. Moorhead will do that and the rest is up to future leaders. In the process, I expect the University to make the campus the center point of cultural activity in the fall with football games being part of those activities. To me, this would be a greater achievement than toiling away in further fantasy about playing at the P5 level while jumping conferences every five year in order to accomplish that goal only to be a bottom feeder. UofA is a taxpayer funded university and should operate in a manner that benefits the taxpayers of Ohio. Fantasy time is over.

     

    Paragraph 4:  "The MAC blows". I agree. The leadership is terrible and cannot be trusted to do much of anything other than put on a pretty good basketball tournament in Cleveland. I'd go as far as to say most G5 conferences operate similarly to the MAC. All moves would have to be made in conjunction with the other G5 conferences and those ideas would have to be drawn up by people outside of the athletic departments of those schools because the leadership cannot be trusted to operate with the interest of their employers in mind.

     

    Paragraph 1 Response: $43M / 14 = $3M & some change (AAC)

     

    $9M / 12 = $750k & some change (MAC)

     

    ~$2.25M added to the budget each year is pretty significant. And that's just their media deal. Here is a better breakdown of the AAC financials.

     

    The American Athletic Conference carries much more prestige than the MAC, hence why ESPN gave them a 12 year, ~$1B media deal. "MACtion" is the butt of college athletics jokes. Attaching yourself to the AAC is a much smarter business move.

     

    Paragraph 2 Response: You're telling me Akron fans the average college sports fan who lives in the Akron area wouldn't be more intrigued to watch Penny Hardaway (Memphis) & Wichita State at the JAR, or SMU, ECU, etc. at the Info? 

     

    The road contingency is a moot point for me, because I don't see droves of Akron fans at WMU/CMU/EMU/Balls/NIU/Canada/Miami/any MAC road game minus KSUcks.

     

    I don't know what Wake Forest has to do with anything.

     

    Paragraph 3 Response: Cincy was CUSA, got promoted to AAC, and has now found its way into the Big 12. Why can't Akron follow a similar path? They are very similar in size. 

     

    I don't know for certain that Guthrie has a bigger vision than the MAC for Akron, but I do know he had a bigger vision for the football program than a MAC-level coach, and football drives college athletics. What a resume builder it would be to elevate Akron out of the MAC. 

     

    I'm not sure how growing athletics revenue doesn't benefit all parties involved. "Fantasy time" seems to be believing the opposite. 

     

    Paragraph 4 Response: Glad we agree on something. Not sure why you'd be ok staying under poor leadership, though.

    • Like 1
  6. 3 minutes ago, RowdyZip said:

    If Enrique takes the same big jumps forward his Jr and Sr years as he did from Fr to Soph, then he will most likely be the best player in the league.  Right now, I'm not sure he gets a spot on the All-MAC first team, though he probably deserves it.

     

    National rankings for Rebounds Per Game

     

    1 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky Jr. 6-9

    2 Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley So. 6-11

    3 Armando Bacot North Carolina Jr. 6-10

    4 Norchad Omier Arkansas St. Fr. 6-7

    5 Kofi Cockburn Illinois Jr. 7-0

    6 Enrique Freeman Akron So. 6-7

     

    National rankings for Double Doubles

     

    1 Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley So. 6-11

    2 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky Jr. 6-9

    3 Johni Broome Morehead St. Fr. 6-10

    - Armando Bacot North Carolina Jr. 6-10

    5 Justin Bean Utah St. Sr. 6-7

    - Norchad Omier Arkansas St. Fr. 6-7

    7 Enrique Freeman Akron So. 6-7

     

    If Enrique Freeman isn't First Team All MAC, that would be criminal. And yes, he is in the conversation for the best player in the conference. 

    • Like 1
  7. 17 minutes ago, GP1 said:

    There are many ways to grow revenue for a MAC university. For example, make gameday the cultural center for the universities in their region so people will see the value in the university and invest in it through their personal activities, charitable giving and for some perhaps even attend the school paying much needed tuition. Aspiring to the AAC doesn't seem like an achievable pursuit.  Making it all about money for the MAC has resulted in disastrous outcomes for the conference. There has to be a better way to make more money.

     

    I'd love to hear your thoughts on how getting rid of the directional Michigan schools would improve the schedule to see if it ranks right up there with ESPN's claim that expanding the trash that is the college football playoff will make college football better. Get rid of the directional Michigans?  We are lucky they don't get rid of us.  In reality, the MAC would be better off to jettison Canada and NIU.

     

    It's pretty simple.

     

    Getting a share of a $43M pie gives you a better financial foundation, exposure, etc., than a share of a $9M pie. 

     

    Schedule wise, to the average college sports fan, what gets them more intrigued: Memphis, Temple, East Carolina, Tulsa, SMU or NIU, EMU, WMU, CMU, Balls? Add Wichita State for basketball, Navy for football. It's a pretty easy answer. 

     

    The American Athletic Conference is the bridge from G5 to P5. Why not dream big and build a plan to achieve that goal? Moorhead is not a MAC-level coach. Guthrie didn't aim for MAC-level. He's aiming for bigger & better. We as fans should expect that. 

     

    The MAC blows. The leadership is never ahead of the curve, slow to adjust, and lacks any type of innovative thinking to elevate the level of the conference. 

  8. 4 minutes ago, GP1 said:

    Silly me. I thought the purpose of athletic programs was to benefit the athletes, students, alumni, fans and greater communities around the schools. If I would have know TV money was the driving force, I would have advocated for Tuesday night games all season long as the benefit of the money would outweigh the costs of the empty stadiums and endless losing. I guess I have been wrong all along.

     

    Growing revenue benefits all parties mentioned in your comment. The innocence of college athletics is long gone; it's all about money. 

     

    Not to mention getting away from Directional Michigans would breathe some much needed new life into the athletic schedules. 

  9. 58 minutes ago, GP1 said:

    Why?

     

    Because MWC's media deal is worth more than double the MAC's, and the AAC's media deal is worth almost 5x the MAC's. 

     

    FY 2019 Media Revenue:

    AAC $43,988,700 Up from 2018 22M and 2017 21M

    MWC $19,853,461 Up from 2018 14M and 2017 13M

    CUSA $6,440,156 Down from 2018 4M and up from 2017 3M

    SBC $3,920,523 Up from 2018 1M*

    MAC $9,186,590 Up from 2018 8M, but down from 2017 8M

     

    Not to mention competition level is a step up in those two conferences. 

     

    • Confused 1
  10. I'm not sure how much these numbers have changed since 2019, but I'm struggling to see any advantage to moving among CUSA/SWAC/MAC. The goal for any G5 should always be to get to the AAC, or even the MWC depending on location. Otherwise it's a lateral/backwards move. 

     

    FY 2019 Total Revenue:

    AAC $111,278,729 Up from 2018 73M and 2017 77M

    MWC $59,467,622 Up from 2018 57M and 2017 54M

    CUSA $40,861,629 Down from 2018 44M and 2017 38M

    SBC $33,072,881 Up from 2018 27M *

    MAC $32,241,698 Up from 2018 30M, but down from 2017 30M.

     

    FY 2019 Media Revenue:

    AAC $43,988,700 Up from 2018 22M and 2017 21M

    MWC $19,853,461 Up from 2018 14M and 2017 13M

    CUSA $6,440,156 Down from 2018 4M and up from 2017 3M

    SBC $3,920,523 Up from 2018 1M*

    MAC $9,186,590 Up from 2018 8M, but down from 2017 8M

  11. 28 minutes ago, Spin said:

    3 Schools Announce They’re Withdrawing From Conference USA

     

    In anticipation of a move to the Sun Belt Conference, three schools — Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss — have all announced their decision to end their alliance with Conference USA in June 2022.

     

    Sports Illustrated’s college football insider Ross Dellenger reports that this decision comes in response to all three of these schools being included on the official C-USA fall schedule that was released earlier this week. The Sun Belt has also included each of these three schools in their scheduling for the 2022 season, Dellenger adds.

    .

     

    This is a wild story. The Big 12 schools joining the SEC aren't leaving for a couple of years. Why are Marshall/ODU/Southern Miss bolting so quickly? 

    • Like 1
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