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If an AD is good at his job, this is an easy call.

i thought Stroh Stadium was not nice at all. i have been to MANY high school stadiums that were nicer than it. A LOT nicer than it. I don't see how any fan that has actually been to it in person can say that it is a nice stadium. they don't even have restrooms... portopotties only. and the "big screen" looks like a 75" tv that u can't see anything on.

Do it right or don't do it at all. Don't expect fans to commit to the program any more than the university commits to it.

On a Saturday, please?

You'll need to call the MAC commissioner for that to happen! Good luck!📞

How much more is Kent investing this year to win back the Wagon Wheel and potentially go bowling? Multiple things can be true. 1) The program needs better financial support. The University needs to quit half-assing football and commit to building a program worth supporting. 2) JoeMo isn't the right guy for the job. From X's & O's to an ego too large to win over donors - he's just not it.

I was at the game last night. The Akron Stadium is much much nicer than Bowling Green Stadium. It was their last home game of the year obviously it was their senior night and it was far from a sellout crowd, even though they had a retired NFL player head coach. in my opinion, Joe is not going anywhere. He will be back next year and this form will be just as entertaining with all the haters on it next year I do personally hope he does better and I hope the team does better. I really want to see the zips succeed and I like the direction they are going. I hope the athletic director could find a way to support the program and hopefully the real fans start to come out and support it as well.

I'd like to see a Marketing plan that even approaches mediocre and see what happens. Obviously you need to win. Lather, rinse and repeat. And to do that, you need to invest. You can't save your way to #1. If you want to fill a stadium, play Kent the first game of the year. Only morons schedule the Kent game in November. You'll get 20k+. Boom - The stadium is filled for 1 game every other season. That's 10% of the home games at capacity every 2 seasons. I have more. But that's all I give without a stipend.

You can have the greatest marketing plan ever made but if there is no demand for your product it won't make any difference.

Really fantastic post. I'll just add even on many games days it sits mostly empty.

Will take full advantage and sit in empty spots since I have GA STH tickets

I'll disagree on these points. Multiple administrations have said "I wouldn't have built that stadium" and subsequently been let off the hook. Their lack of Athletics Marketing acumen is boarder line is a criminal as their ability to run a D1 Athletics program. If Joe would have been told he'd have the smallest staff in D1, lowest budget, can't travel to recruit, no player meal plan, 25% fewer practices than the competition, and in 4 years other programs will be buying his best players and he'll need to completely rebuild annually...I don't think he'd have agreed to be the man.

Why is there not more done with the stadium in the offseason? Concerts, events, etc.

No other MAC school has a $5 million note payment every year for a facilitie that sits empty for 90% of the year. Multiple administration's have tried everything you could think of to create interest. A nice 15,000 seat stadium would have been perfect. Mack Rhoades and others were sure if we built it, they would come. They didn't come. JoMo knew what he was getting into when he agreed to be the man. There is plenty of blame to go around. Hopefully Goodrich can find a different type of unicorn. A rich donor who is willing to give millions to support football. Odds are that guy is going to want some input on who is running the program. People with that type of money expect a return on their investment.

Parade someone like Eddie George through their door and see what happens.

We have donors who have contributed that much to Akron Athletics to create endowments. Just not for football. BTW, if you could share with me where I can get a guaranteed 10% return on my $2 million please send me a DM.

Good post. By the end of next week, the final MAC standings will be available. Akron probably will finish in the middle of the pack in conference wins and overall wins. That's what 5 wins gets you in the MAC. We are out of the basement and with all things considered, it's a pretty good finish. Some believe shaking up the coaching staff and bringing in a no name who only has youth and energy on his side. Like all bad ideas, this will result in failure. With that said, Joe should leave and should have after last season. The leadership of the University isn't capable of developing a winning program. His time here will become pointless if it hasn't already. He should leave the leadership to their ultimate failure. It is inevitable.

Supposedly ... pairings in February are based on highest NET rankings by teams in both leagues. Hopefully that is indeed the case, vs. trying to pair teams that haven't yet played each other. Let's face it. For this to truly work and benefit teams for March, the February pairings, at the least, should be NET pairings. If that means some challenge games are with teams that have already played each other, so be it. The top 4-5 teams in each league may rotate position but overall haven't really changed that much. If that means two straight road games vs. the same team, so be it. The object, in my opinion, is to pair teams with an eye toward March. Otherwise, what's the use.

One of the smartest things UofA has done in relation to a new basketball arena is NOT partner with the City of Akron to build it.

i heard spriggs is already meeting with an agent, Dall has his pick of schools, and Laventure is not coming back unless he is getting paid, we all know what that means. Laventure and Dall deserve it. I doubted them both at the start of the season but they absolutely proved me 100%.. I would love to see Riggs come back for one more season, but I think he is gone I was at the game last night better prepared for the cold weather, but it was the first time I realized how small gant really is in person. I thought he had a really good year and I think he is gonna get paid but he gets a portal as well. I think he will be gone. I don't think Bosworth has the numbers or the stats to really go anywhere I think according to PFF there's only like two linebackers rated lower than him in all of division one football. I think he needs one more year at least to play. He hardly played at all the last six or seven games I think.

Cool promotion they have started doing every year.

BGSU seems to have always done a better job than Akron at keeping their alumni involved in athletics. The Stroh Center was built 15 years ago at a cost of $30 million. Half or more of that money came from alumni. The Stroh family alone gave $8 million. Several other donors gave over $1 million. They also sold bricks that way they could gather money from the everyday fan, which also made them feel invested. Some here have criticized the Stroh Center for not being elegant enough, but honestly for being a rural MAC school it fits what BGSU needed. They could have handicapped themselves financially by taking the $15-$20 million they got from alumni to build a $75 million 8k arena that would sit mostly empty. They were smart enough to not financially handicap themselves.

I really hope there is some way that Gant, Bosworth, Spriggs, McManus and Laventure stay with us, but I'm not holding my breath.

Legitimate question: what are the financial/resource differences between Akron football and Kent football?

I would guess 15-20 if Joe returns. I will guess ~30 if Joe leaves and a new coach comes in.