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Should Akron Seek Another Conference?


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On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 0:04 PM, skip-zip said:

Wow, this discussion has gotten interesting. 

 

I suppose that MUSIC LISTENING on the radio has dwindled tremendously during the electronic age.  But, I'd guess that there might still be a good market for Talk and Sports, but surely the use of the actual physical RADIO has to be declining rapidly. 

Well, there are two 24 hour sports talk stations in Cleveland, another one in Akron/Canton, and another in Canton that does an evening sports talk show.

 

As far as music goes, good luck trying to find rock or classic rock music if the Cavs or Indians are playing. Those stations now broadcast sports. Which gives listeners a break from the 15 song loop that continues on 24/7/365 ad nauseum.

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On ‎5‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 5:35 PM, scottditzen said:

Has the school EVER invited WKNR or 92.3 The Fan to broadcast at Infocision? 

 

Seems like a no-brainer idea.

I'm sure those stations would be pushing each other out of the way if there were ratings. KNR has arena football and minor league hockey. IIRC.

 

Div I college sports in NEO only warrants weak AM stations.:unsure:

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On 5/14/2016 at 10:35 PM, Spin said:

I'm sure those stations would be pushing each other out of the way if there were ratings. KNR has arena football and minor league hockey. IIRC.

 

Div I college sports in NEO only warrants weak AM stations.:unsure:

I'm guessing that with air rights, etc. broadcasting the actual game is a non starter. But to invite them just to do a live show to tailgate before and during the game would be great. They do remote broadcasts at bars all the time.

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It would be interesting to look at the athletic budgets, attendance/revenue generated, overall enrollment, endowment, alumni base, facilities, record of program success and media market size of the bottom tier of the p4/5 schools and compare that to UA.   I think those are the key variables that any conference would be looking at. 

 

I think it would be a stretch for UA to be really attractive to a p4/5 in our current state.   I don't think an objective review of our current status would yield a "ready for the next level" conclusion.   The implosion of the football team under icoach, now being nicely repaired by Terry, and the lack of attendance for both football and basketball could be overcome if there was a demonstrated pool of financial support that could be readily tapped to fund upgrading, but instead UA is already one of the most egregious examples of making students shoulder athletic department costs.   That indicates that the well of support either doesn't exist or can't be tapped.

 

I think some have posted the assumption that moving up would unlock more interest locally, and I don't doubt that if we were competing at another tier, say in the vein as Cincy, there would be more local interest.  But it's a chicken and egg thing-- we can't get to the next tier without that support; we can't get that support unless we are in the next tier.  One big reason we can't get the support is because we are splitting the market, at minimum with Kent, but also with CSU and YSU to some extent, and all are entirely in the shadow of OSU.   

 

To me, the conclusion is that moving up is entirely dependent on a gamechanger of some sort-- either a super wealthy alum or group of alum, a group of local businesses, or some combo of that, get together and commit to the tens of millions it will take to push UA to the next level.    That kind of demonstrated commitment (think Phil Knight, Nike, and Oregon or what happened in Cincy over the last 15 years) would seem to open the eyes of a next tier conference.   Is there any prospect of that happening?  The only obvious path is LeBron-related, but it feels like that would have already emerged if there was really a chance for that to happen.   

 

In the absence of that, the only other gamechanger scenario is some sort of consolidation with the other universities, at least athletically.   I know most disagree with this approach, but it is hard to dismiss the fact that combining UA and Kent budgets for football or for basketball and will yield a much better supported team.   The football budget goes from $8M-ish each to $16M for 1 team-- a budget in the range of Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oregon State, and Stanford (http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/08/31/the-economics-of-college-football-a-look-at-the-top-25-teams-revenues-and-expenses/#4a6887e42023).    Similar result for basketball.   

 

We're all just noodling ideas here, so I thought I would add into the mix.  I just think the only realistic conclusion to be made is that there needs to be some sort of gamechanger for Akron to be considered seriously by the next tier of conferences.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by LosAngelesZipFan
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  • 1 month later...

AAC is really Akron's only option. If we had a somewhat decent arena, I think it would be a no brainer. 

 

They are definitely a conference that focuses on market potential (Philadelphia, New Orleans, Tulsa, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, etc). Maybe if Cincinnati were to move, picking up a new Ohio market would help. No other teams in the MAC would make sense really aside from maybe Buffalo and Toledo?

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IF Big 12 really expands, one of my picks is Memphis. I think those TX teams are afraid/want to keep Houston down. Potential AAC replacements would be a fun discussion.Have to think our market helps us, along with the stadium and hopefully continued improvement of the football program.

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1 hour ago, LZIp said:

IF Big 12 really expands, one of my picks is Memphis. I think those TX teams are afraid/want to keep Houston down. Potential AAC replacements would be a fun discussion.Have to think our market helps us, along with the stadium and hopefully continued improvement of the football program.

I heard the experts on XM84 speaking of the chances of UH getting into the Big XII.  They thought somewhere between zero and nada.  The heads opined that (although none would ever admit) the Texas schools would block Houston's membership because the city is such a fertile recruiting ground that gets poached frequently.  If UH was in the league, they would begin to retain a lot more of the talent available in that city.

 

The second reason the Big XII doesn't need UH is because they already have the market wrapped up with all the BU, UT, TCU & TT alumni that reside there.

 

UH to the ACC makes a lot more sense if they can ever make the jump, since geography means absolutely zero any more.

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26 minutes ago, tpsjugglerdude said:

I think Cincy will definitely be invited to the Big 12. Executives for Macys and Krogers have been lobbying hard for them for months. After that I would expect either Memphis, BYU or Bosie to be added. 

All 4 make sense. Depending on how many teams they want to add, I could see all 4 being added. 

 

Also, I wonder if any Big 12 teams will opt to leave (may an SEC or Big Ten poach job), creating even more movement. 

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The only conference worth leaving for would be the AAC. We probably are somewhere on the AAC long list of potential expansion candidates, but I feel the number of teams ahead of us is too great. We have a quality basketball program, but it has 0 tourney wins. We have a nice football stadium, but it is bankrupting the University and the football team has 1 bowl win in program history. We play in a decent size market, but share it with another school that has a significantly larger enrollment.

 

Perhaps with time Akron can solve its shrinking enrollment problem, it can build itself into being regarded as one of the top dogs in MAC football, and it can start somewhat filling the stadium. Until that point I don't see us getting an AAC invite.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ham said:

This might be the time for the MAC to expand.  Right now, I think making the MAC a better conference would be our best option.

 

This is an interesting thought.  

 

I've thought for a while the MAC might be wise to invite James Madison, Old Dominion, and Marshall.  

 

Maybe Northern Kentucky & Charlotte.

 

I'd bet they'd all at least pick up the phone.

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There is no benefit for the MAC to expand, particularly for the teams that you mentioned. Adding more teams just splits the same size pie more ways. None of those teams you mentioned will add a 2nd tourney bid, increase CFB money, nor get ESPN to renegotiate our tv deal for a higher dollar value.

 

If the MAC expands it needs to be for a program like Wichita State, whose heavily considering adding football. At that point adding them with Marshall makes sense as Wichita State would make the MAC a potential 2 bid conference and Marshall football would offset Wichita State's terrible start up football program.

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James Madison would be a good addition (for football, not basketball), provided that the MAC could not get another FBS team from the Sun Belt or something. And only then if the MAC had to replace somebody else. Absolutely no need to go beyond 12 teams, and ABSOLUTELY NO MORE FOOTBALL-ONLY SCHOOLS.

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1 hour ago, Steve1982 said:

If Connecticut joins the Big East (as rumored) would anyone be willing to take them in as a football member only?

The Zips delegation representing Ashland votes no!

GettyImages-577084124-676x450.jpg

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I think I read yesterday that in order to leave the AAC, teams must give 27 month notice and pay 10-12 (can't remember exact number) million dollars. Seems like they made it hard, but admittedly I have no clue how other conferences compare.

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3 hours ago, LZIp said:

I think I read yesterday that in order to leave the AAC, teams must give 27 month notice and pay 10-12 (can't remember exact number) million dollars. Seems like they made it hard, but admittedly I have no clue how other conferences compare.

 

The 27-month notice thing isn't enforceable beyond a fine for breaking the contract. Besides, Any team moving to the Big 12 would see a revenue boost higher than the penalty in their very first year in the conference. A one-time $12 million penalty won't deter anybody when you're talking about getting over $20 million more than you currently make, annually.

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