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I'm of the opinion that if G5 schools snap out of it and begin to use their athletic departments to benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around their schools, their greatest days could be ahead of them. Further, I believe there is room for only one professional football league dominating the attention of Americans in the fall and winter. That league is the NFL. I believe over time Americans will grow weary with the pro football of the P4 schools when they realize only 3-4 schools are capable of winning the league. It won't happen overnight, but interest will erode. When that happens, people will look for other ways to spend time with their family and friends. OSUlike games are out of reach for most families. Why can't G5 schools provide games at a time and day of the week when families can attend? Get people to the games and everything else the school offers is on display for the taxpayers. Make it a great day for them and then you have something.

Bingo. The days of being a competitive G5 team that can "build a fanbase" are gone folks. OSU is king here, and OU and Cincinnati take whatever is leftover. Maybe you could have done it in 2013 by beating Michigan, enduring Akron into the OSU fandom's hearts or something...but that was really the last window. You're not doing it in 2025...how many times are we doing to double-down on the fallacy that Akron can be competitive at Football?

I'm as much of a diehard as any Zip fan, but this is just delusional. You stand a better chance of building a fanbase by having a signature win in a season you go undefeated, than you do by playing Somebody-Nowhere-University. Remember Indiana University 4OT loss?

I naturally agree, but not sports ... not when the University is in debt, and a lot of it has to do with the debt burden from supporting athletics with that white Elephant of a stadium.

The problem is 10, 15, 20+ years ago we could have competed. Not at the OSU level, but at the upper level of a G5. Back then if we had more than 1 P5 school on our schedule it was because we were hosting a school like an Indiana or Iowa State. Those are the type of schools, if you're aspiring to be an upper echelon G5, you need to schedule and on occasion beat. For the bulk of two decades we experienced extreme ineptitude on multiple levels and failed to capitalize. Fast forward to today and the landscape of college athletics has vastly changed as has Akron's financial situation. We can't compete with the upper half of the G5 financially any longer. Even EMU collective a few years ago reportedly made a $1 million offer for a QB. Meanwhile we can't even afford a training table...

some greek life chapter should buy it. would be a sweet

Is he still growing. He looks even taller.

Was driving through campus yesterday & noticed the Martin University Center is for sale.

There were several seasons prior to 8 years ago we were guilty of it. Scheduling is way more than who you play. It's also about what time you play and what day of the week you play. Both of these can be out of a schools control and can only be solved if G5 programs come together to solve their problems. Our problem is when we get to pick the day and time, we fall flat on our face.

Maybe every decision at a public university shouldn't be driven by money.

Anyway I don't subscribe to Cains. Do they cutting all money games or just back to one annually?

We are at the low point imo

This article has 7 paragraphs ...praising the performance of Richie Laryea. Click on the link below....to read about unselfish, team oriented Richie. this is the subheadline of the article TFC posted a big road win over the Western Conference leaders, highlighted by Richie Laryea's brilliant performance. https://www.tfcrepublic.ca/july-17-toronto-fc-san-diego-fc/

I hope they can assist in helping him find a good Big, much like every other school needs.

The team is being supported by the Fear the Roo collective.

Define long time because its only been relatively recent (the last 6-8 years) that we started scheduling more than 1 of those games a year. It's not like we were exactly thriving before that.

maybe they can try to win games and build a fanbase - we've tried the money game route for a long time and it appears it might not actually work

It's behind a paywall, but how does this make any sense? The Football Program doesn't cover costs, so if you're cutting "money games" you're cutting the ability to fund the program, and the University is in a debt crisis. How does this make ANY sense?

2024 Rewind: Ball State parted ways with Mike Neu before the season officially wrapped, ending his ninth year at the helm with a 3-9 record. In his place, former Butler head coach Mike Uremovich takes over and is tasked with breathing new life into a program that’s been stuck in neutral. Recruiting under Uremovich: 2025: On3 - 9th in MAC 247 - 10th in MAC Cardinals on Offense: After what felt like years of the Ball State fanbase clamoring to see more of Kiael Kelly, they'll finally get their wish. Uremovich favors mobile quarterbacks and isn’t shy about dialing up designed runs for them. Kelly may not be among the MAC’s most accurate passers, but there’s no denying his ability to make things happen with his legs. Kennesaw State transfer Qua Ashley has already proven himself as an all-conference kick returner and now gets the chance to carve out a role as an every-down back. If Ashley can’t lock down the job, redshirt sophomore TJ Horton is the likely next man up. The offense will look entirely different from last year’s version that leaned heavily on tight end Tanner Koziol in the passing game. That might not be a bad thing, considering Ball State returns very little proven production at receiver or tight end. Bucknell transfer Eric Weatherly is one to keep an eye on as a potential breakout candidate. The offensive line is a concern with just one starter returning in offensive tackle Chris Hood. Butler transfer Adam Dolan is expected to start on the opposite side. If fully healthy, Tristan Cook should slot in somewhere, but he missed all of 2024 with a medical redshirt. Beyond those three, it’s anyone’s guess who rounds out the rest of the depth chart. Cardinals on Defense: Somewhat similar to the Zips, Ball State will be rolling out an almost entirely new defensive line loaded with five transfer players. Bryant transfer Nathan Voorhis should lock down one end spot, while returning starter Drew Hughes reprises his role in the interior. From there, the Cardinals will mix and match to find their best combinations across the remaining spots. Ball State lost its top tacklers, but do return linebacker Joey Stemler who collected 56 total tackles last season. Backup Jack Beebe will have the first crack at claiming a starting spot. The secondary returns just one starter in Willizhaun Yates. Four transfers are expected to step into starting roles—Old Dominion’s Ashton Whitner, Bucknell’s Roman Pearson, Coastal Carolina’s Deondre Shepherd, and Western Michigan’s Michael Gravely. Carson Holmer and Cole Stumbaugh are expected to take over kicking and punting duties, respectively. Position Advantage: QB - Akron RB - Akron WR - Akron TE - Akron OL - Even DL - Even LB - Ball State DB - Akron ST - Even Way too Early Prediction: Like I mentioned in the last preview, Akron has had a tough time containing mobile quarterbacks. That said, Kiael Kelly isn’t quite in the same category as some of the other dual-threat guys we’ve faced—like Dequan Finn or Parker Navarro. He also won’t have the same kind of supporting cast those two had the last time we saw them. With so many question marks across the board on offense, it’s hard to imagine Uremovich’s scheme will be firing on all cylinders in year one. Ball State will also be rolling out a ton of new faces on defense, and there’s a chance we see a new scheme on that side of the ball as well. Depth could be a real concern in 2025, especially as the season wears on. Despite this game being on the road at Ball State, it feels like one Akron should win. Moorhead has now had four recruiting cycles to elevate the talent level in Akron, and this should be the best offense we’ve seen under his watch—with the most overall talent across multiple positions. Against a rebuilding program in year one, the Zips ought to have the upper hand. I think Akron takes care of business and walks away with another conference win, 27–17.

There definitely is some irony in some of these quotes but my quote still stands…..I want championships….getting to the second round of the NCAA tourney is not good enough….that being said I know the draw was bad last year and Indiana played like a bunch of thugs….but let’s get a second star soon please.

Reading back this thread is great how wrong you were with this post after Ohio State game last year. Maybe OSU were just pretty good hey? You and all the old bogies called for Jared and his staff to be fired after this game. Looking forward to more fun posts this coming Fall. Go Zips!!

I think BD will be awesome in the DL. Great change. Hopefully he can lock it down!

Josh told the staff in February he did not want to be part of the program.