Les miles

[skip-zip]

6 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 We would have been bowling if not for Woody's injury, and two years consecutively to a bowl game would have been another notch never achieved here.

 

This is actually a great question to Poll among the fans here, and elsewhere. 

 

If we had notched that 6th win, which certainly would have gotten us to a Bowl Game (some 5-win teams got in), would we have looked at this as a successful season? Would we have mostly celebrated the 2-straight bowl appearances?  Or, would we have been disappointed that the 7 or 8 win season which looked very attainable at one point had nosedived.  

 

I can't answer for all fans, but most of the people I know had lost interest even before the OU game.  They really didn't care if we became a .500 bowl team.  Maybe the expectations after 2015 created that.  

[Balsy]

1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

I can't answer for all fans, but most of the people I know had lost interest even before the OU game.  They really didn't care if we became a .500 bowl team.  Maybe the expectations after 2015 created that.  

 

Great point!  I personally lost interest around November, so I guess I'd be included in that (but it was with...other...things going on in my life that caused that, though the University was a player in it).  I still watched every game.  But OBJECTIVELY I though I would have (and am) upset the Zips weren't able to cash-in on a golden opportunity, I can step back and realize the true circumstance of this season; and had we made a second bowl game I would have in the end considered it a success.  5-7 is definitely a down year.  6-6 for a program that hasn't had consecutive .500 seasons...really ever in D-1 (maybe back in the Lee Owens era we did...almost 20 years ago), it should be viewed as a success.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Balsy

[zipsoutsider]

27 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

I can't answer for all fans, but most of the people I know had lost interest even before the OU game.  They really didn't care if we became a .500 bowl team.  Maybe the expectations after 2015 created that.  

 

19 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 

Great point!  I personally lost interest around December, so I guess I'd be included in that (but it was with...other...things going on in my life that caused that, though the University was a player in it).  I still watched every game.  But OBJECTIVELY I though I would have (and am) upset the Zips weren't able to cash-in on a golden opportunity, I can step back and realize the true circumstance of this season; and had we made a second bowl game I would have in the end considered it a success.  5-7 is definitely a down year.  6-6 for a program that hasn't had consecutive .500 seasons...really ever in D-1 (maybe back in the Lee Owens era we did...almost 20 years ago), it should be viewed as a success.

 

Yup. It was too painful to watch the QB situation. The Buffalo game sealed the deal. Woody looked so not like himself, it was too painful to watch and I had little hope that Goodman could catch up fast enough.

 

[Zip_ME87]

21 hours ago, LZIp said:

Rob Ianello was supposed to be a pretty great recruiter too. What does WMU have now? What did they REALLY achieve this season? WMU won nothing of significance and now they have nothing. As Akron natives Andre Knott and Zac Jackson would say..."Congrat"

 

$4M (split with MAC?) for playing in the Cotton Bowl. Plus: In addition to the payouts detailed below, each team participating in a playoff semifinal (Peach and Fiesta Bowls) or the Cotton Bowl receives $2.16 million for travel expenses.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2016/12/31/college-football-playoff-payouts-by-conference-for-2016-17/2/#6478ea2b24a4

 

Some of that nothing, please!

 

 

[Balsy]

52 minutes ago, Zip_ME87 said:

 

$4M (split with MAC?) for playing in the Cotton Bowl. Plus: In addition to the payouts detailed below, each team participating in a playoff semifinal (Peach and Fiesta Bowls) or the Cotton Bowl receives $2.16 million for travel expenses.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2016/12/31/college-football-playoff-payouts-by-conference-for-2016-17/2/#6478ea2b24a4

 

Some of that nothing, please!

 

 

When I told my Dad that it ends up costing most schools to participate in a Bowl game, he was blown away.  And I quote him "than why in the hell are there so many Bowl games?  And why would you want to go to one!?"

 

The answer is simple:  Everyone is making money off of it, except really the schools and the ones responsible at the end of the day (the athletes).  The schools rationalize it as "advertising...can't put a price tag on national advertising!"  The Bowl system is a bubble just waiting to pop.

 

As for us fans, we need to find being okay with NOT being a top prestiege program. What is it do we want?  Watch a team that can find way to win, or dreaming about something that simply is never going to happen.

[ZachTheZip]

5 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 

When I told my Dad that it ends up costing most schools to participate in a Bowl game, he was blown away.  And I quote him "than why in the hell are there so many Bowl games?  And why would you want to go to one!?"

 

The answer is simple:  Everyone is making money off of it, except really the schools and the ones responsible at the end of the day (the athletes).  The schools rationalize it as "advertising...can't put a price tag on national advertising!"  The Bowl system is a bubble just waiting to pop.

 

As for us fans, we need to find being okay with NOT being a top prestiege program. What is it do we want?  Watch a team that can find way to win, or dreaming about something that simply is never going to happen.

 

Schools agree to lose money in bowl games because it's three and a half hours of advertising for a relatively dirt cheap cost. Even if you lose. The biggest thing is just reminding people that your university exists (and is big/wealthy enough to have a Bowl-division football team). Many universities report real, measurable enrollment jumps following major sporting events.

[Balsy]

4 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

 

Schools agree to lose money in bowl games because it's three and a half hours of advertising for a relatively dirt cheap cost. Even if you lose. The biggest thing is just reminding people that your university exists (and is big/wealthy enough to have a Bowl-division football team). Many universities report real, measurable enrollment jumps following major sporting events.

 

I wonder how much Akron's enrollment went up after participating in the Idaho Potato Bowl?  

 

I don't doubt that Universities may claim that, I hypothesize it's more the exception to the rule (enrollment going up) than it actually having a measurable impact.  ESPECIALLY, for the G5 schools.

[LZIp]

1 hour ago, Zip_ME87 said:

 

$4M (split with MAC?) for playing in the Cotton Bowl. Plus: In addition to the payouts detailed below, each team participating in a playoff semifinal (Peach and Fiesta Bowls) or the Cotton Bowl receives $2.16 million for travel expenses.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2016/12/31/college-football-playoff-payouts-by-conference-for-2016-17/2/#6478ea2b24a4

 

Some of that nothing, please!

 

 

Right. We benefited financially just as much as WMU or Ohio or Kent or anyone else did. Thats why I was tracking weekly and rooting like crazy for WMU to make it.

[Zipgrad01]

1 hour ago, Balsy said:

 

As the official ZN.O Bowden cheerleader...doesn't hurt to think about.  Bowden's contract is up after the 2018 season.  But I personally believe this season was an asterisk.  We would have been bowling if not for Woody's injury, and two years consecutively to a bowl game would have been another notch never achieved here.

 

Bowden is building a program.  But a coach like Les MIles, too old to possibly get another BIG school look, and probably not ready to retire, with his previous success is EXACTLY the type of coach I would think about bringing in.  I'm 100% against bringing in some hip young-gun like fleck, who will bring 3 good years, go one-and-done with a awesome year and bolt.  I am NOT interested in bringing some punk coach to use the program for their own personal benefit.  

So why is Fleck or any other young up and comer being tagged by you as a punk? Im just curious. 

[kreed5120]

I feel the marginal cost the school spends to go to a bowl game is worth it, particularly if you land in a higher profile bowl like WMU did this year.  A school like Akron couldn't afford 4 hours worth of commercials on ESPN. The real cost is what schools spend on stadiums, athlete villages, IPF, coaches, etc to be in a position to go to a bowl in the 1st place. Those are the areas that schools bleed money.

[morris buttermaker]

There is no such thing as a marginal cost at a school like Akron... they are broke, and spend money they don't have, like drunken sailors .... I just wonder when it ends ( for them and other schools).

[Buckzip]

3 hours ago, Balsy said:

 

I wonder how much Akron's enrollment went up after participating in the Idaho Potato Bowl?  

 

I don't doubt that Universities may claim that, I hypothesize it's more the exception to the rule (enrollment going up) than it actually having a measurable impact.  ESPECIALLY, for the G5 schools.

I would think we got a lot of spuds that now want to come to UA.

[Balsy]

3 hours ago, Zipgrad01 said:

So why is Fleck or any other young up and comer being tagged by you as a punk? Im just curious. 

 

Of course I don't know him personally, but for starters he said it about himself in his press conference.  I simply don't disagree with his assessment of himself.

 

Note:  Not every young up and comer is a punk...but the likelihood that they're going to stay around long enough to build a stable and successful program isn't high.  And TBH, I'm not interested in having Akron be the prostitute for some other football coach to take advantage of.  Find someone who wants to be here, and build something stable.  I don't care if their good enough to get sniped by another school.  I care if they're going to stay dedicated to building something.

[UAZippers]

34 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 

Of course I don't know him personally, but for starters he said it about himself in his press conference.  I simply don't disagree with his assessment of himself.

 

Note:  Not every young up and comer is a punk...but the likelihood that they're going to stay around long enough to build a stable and successful program isn't high.  And TBH, I'm not interested in having Akron be the prostitute for some other football coach to take advantage of.  Find someone who wants to be here, and build something stable.  I don't care if their good enough to get sniped by another school.  I care if they're going to stay dedicated to building something.

I want the best coach available. I don't care if that coach is 25 or 85. Last year Fleck was the best coach in the MAC and was therefore desired by bigger schools. Minnesota offered him a rather large raise and better resources so he took it. I have no issue with someone taking great opportunities. If a MAC school wants to keep a young coach they can always double down and prove that their school is the right place to be. It very rarely works, because it is very rarely true that it is better for the coach to stay. I don't understand why people feel that loyalty means something here.

 

History has shown that the best teams in the MAC don't have there coaches stick around. Many OU fans are getting tired of their current regime because they have not done anything. When is the last time the OU won a MAC title? I would much rather have a coach that comes in, raises the standards at UA, and then moves on instead of continuing to wallow in this .500 record bubble that we seem to be in.

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, UAZippers said:

I want the best coach available. I don't care if that coach is 25 or 85. Last year Fleck was the best coach in the MAC and was therefore desired by bigger schools. Minnesota offered him a rather large raise and better resources so he took it. I have no issue with someone taking great opportunities. If a MAC school wants to keep a young coach they can always double down and prove that their school is the right place to be. It very rarely works, because it is very rarely true that it is better for the coach to stay. I don't understand why people feel that loyalty means something here.

 

History has shown that the best teams in the MAC don't have there coaches stick around. Many OU fans are getting tired of their current regime because they have not done anything. When is the last time the OU won a MAC title? I would much rather have a coach that comes in, raises the standards at UA, and then moves on instead of continuing to wallow in this .500 record bubble that we seem to be in.

 

What amazes me is I believe Fleck went from making $800k to making $3.5M and people are questions his integrity. What person wouldn't leave their current job, no matter how much they loved it, if someone offered to ~4.5X their salary.

[Zipgrad01]

45 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

What amazes me is I believe Fleck went from making $800k to making $3.5M and people are questions his integrity. What person wouldn't leave their current job, no matter how much they loved it, if someone offered to ~4.5X their salary.

He is a punk according to balsy. The guy did a freaking amazing job at WMU and then gets rewarded with a huge contract from a bigger school. If WMU didn't want him to leave they needed to pay him. If they can't... that is capitalism. Good for him. I hope we get the next Fleck. 

[zipsoutsider]

My issues with him are about his over the top, it's all about me persona plus the whole rumor of an affair soon after losing child, and then having the nerve to market (more or less) the horrible story of losing a child and then freaking out when other schools make fun of the RTB mantra...and by the way, word is that Wisconsin was singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" after the Cotton Bowl.

 

To me, college football should be about the student athlete, first.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I won't feel about feeling like he is a punk. I don't begrudge him getting a better job (though better is debatable in the case of Minnesota.) I thought it was great for Babers to go to Syracuse. I just don't like Fleck.

 

Edited January 9, 2017 by zipsoutsider

[clarkwgriswold]

Thanks but no thanks to Miles.  That guy annually pi$$e$ away top 10 talent through idiotic playcalling and game management.  How in God's name LSU renewed him when he was solidly on the chopping black last year continues to perplex me.   My greatest college football wish is that Harbaugh goes back to the NFL and Miles returns to his alma mater.

[akzipper]

21 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

What amazes me is I believe Fleck went from making $800k to making $3.5M and people are questions his integrity. What person wouldn't leave their current job, no matter how much they loved it, if someone offered to ~4.5X their salary.

 

Part of me always wonders what would happen if some of these coaches never left. What would the MAC look like with PJ Fleck, Nick Saban, Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer, Darrell Hazell, etc. Would any of those schools ever amount to a TCU or Boise State? Would the MAC ever become a powerful conference? Probably not.

Edited January 9, 2017 by akzipper

[skip-zip]

31 minutes ago, akzipper said:

 

Part of me always wonders what would happen if some of these coaches never left. What would the MAC look like with PJ Fleck, Nick Saban, Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer, Darrell Hazell, etc. Would any of those schools ever amount to a TCU or Boise State? Would the MAC ever become a powerful conference? Probably not.

 

It's a matter of opportunity.  It's no different than a bright, young CEO seizing an opportunity to go to a major company for a ton of money.  Or, a young actor or actress dying for an opportunity to finally land a major part in a big movie.  

 

Maybe all of these guys would have faded into oblivion if they never seized those opportunities when they had them.  That's why most of them rarely reject the chance.   But in the case of most of the guys listed above, I'd have to guess that we'd be be a darn powerful league right now if they had stayed.  

 

[Balsy]

14 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

My greatest college football wish is that Harbaugh goes back to the NFL and Miles returns to his alma mater.

 

Why?  I love Harbaugh at Michigan.  

[Balsy]

13 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

It's a matter of opportunity.  It's no different than a bright, young CEO seizing an opportunity to go to a major company for a ton of money.  Or, a young actor or actress dying for an opportunity to finally land a major part in a big movie.

 

And Universities are stupid for it.  $12-million over six years for Darrell Hazel?  Hope was getting payed like $970,000 and they dramatically increased it for what?  No better off?  Idiots.  Especially when your highest paid research professors at Perdue make about $115,000.  It's disgusting really.

[Blue & Gold]

12 minutes ago, Balsy said:

 

And Universities are stupid for it.  $12-million over six years for Darrell Hazel?  Hope was getting payed like $970,000 and they dramatically increased it for what?  No better off?  Idiots.  Especially when your highest paid research professors at Perdue make about $115,000.  It's disgusting really.

It really is.

 

This is why I've mentioned in the past that universities shouldn't have athletics budgets.  All athletics expenditures should be categorized as advertising expenses, because that's what they really are.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Blue & Gold