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People like to pick the language apart, but it's propped up by taxpayers. If it wasn't for taxpayer support, UofA wouldn't exist.

Coaching salaries have become absurd. Sure, guys like Nick Saban did enough to generate buzz and revenue at their schools to be worth their salaries. I just don't see how the math math's that guys like Moorhead are worth $500k and his assistants are worth ~$150k (or more) each. Most of the revenue Akron generates in football is fixed. The other revenue (ticket sales, concessions, parking) that are coach can impact is very minimal at schools like Akron. Camden Stockton I remember in an interview said ticket sales only generated ~$800k in revenue and that was for all sports. Even if we say football makes up 75% that would be barely enough to cover just Moorhead's pay. The whole system is propped up because of institutional support.

Schools like Northwestern, Wake Forest, Duke, Stanford, etc will be finished. P4 is going away. It will be one super league. It has nothing to do with the NFL and everything to do with TV networks. One super leage is less expensive to produce and more expensive to buy advertising for. It's a win-win for the TV networks.

The simple answer is schools like Akron aren't expected to compete. There are even schools in the P4 (Northwestern, Vanderbilt, half the ACC, etc. that aren't expected to compete. Programs like Akron exist because someone needs to be at the bottom of the food chain to prop others up. The P4 isn't going to go away because there is no way the NFL can replicate a farm league that would generate the revenue that the top ~30 FBS programs do. There have been how many spring leagues over the years that have failed? There is no market for minor league NFL. College football thrives off tradition and millions of people feeling connected to schools they didn't even attend.

Good questions. If there are 85 current scholarships, reduce the total number of players to around 60, no scholarships. Reducing the administrative staff will be a savings as it will involve the deprofessionalizarion of college athletics. There are millions of dollars spent on administrative staff that can easily be reduced. The money is all there, just not in the hands of those who need it. Do they really need as many assistant coaches as they have? The bloat in college athletics is enormous. Cap head coaches salaries. The elimination of spring practice and summer jobs lend themselves to more time for a part time job. Spring practice is a joke so use that time in a less joke like manner. If a kid is so poor that he needs a full time job to earn a living, that's where the needs based financial support comes in. The one thing we all have to keep in mind is playing college athletics just because you were good at sports in high school isn't a right. In addition, just because someone earns a masters degree in Sports Management doesn't give them a right to a job where the taxpayers support their desires. There is no magic pool of money.

A lot of this sounds good. I am afraid that a lot may be difficult to put into operation. When we talk about 'needs based financial support' for athletes. I am wondering where that money is going to come from. With the current political environments in Washington and Columbus the politicians running the show right now aren't allocating more money to higher education. If anything its generally getting reduced. Where do you get the additional financial aid that would be necessary? Athletes allowed 'to earn a living'. What are the parameters? How much can they work to earn a living? They still have to attend classes, do school work and practice and play their sport. I worked part time jobs while in school. I didn't play sports. I couldn't work enough to 'earn a living'. I would love to see the P4 schools go away. I would love to see the NFL have to do what baseball and hockey do. Develop high school athletes who can't or don't want to attend college in a minor league system. The NFL has gotten a free ride on this. Start spending some of those billions of $$$ developing your own players. That would help eliminate some of the BS that is going on at the college level. How do schools like Akron really expect to consistently compete the way the system is currently set up? Frustrating. Great discussion.

BAM! Wedding reception during the Toledo game on 9/27... save the date! 😅

That would be awesome. My question is, what would that framework be? What if the framework was this simple below the P4 level. 1. Eliminate scholarships for college athletes. We are the only country bankrupting universities with athletic departments. 2. Allow college athletes to earn a living. This is America. 3. Restrict transferring to one time. Eliminate the obnoxious. 4. Academic standards that require movement towards a degree. This is actually helpful to kids. 5. Better regionalized conferences. Better rivalries. 6. Needs based financial support for athletes who cannot otherwise afford college. Help those who need help. 7. Schools agree to not charge out of state tuition for varsity athletes. Stop the shell game.

Some of the top streamers in the world are converging on... The University of Akron!

Kamden Held, who was on the zips fall and spring roster......has transferred to Wisconsin Green Bay https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ48YGbTrPG/?hl=en

Hollobaugh flipped his transfer commitment, whatever you want to call it to Ohio

No idea because I'm not sure how GPA factors into APR. This was from the 2023-24 academic year... Football paced the combined list with 38 Zips earning between a 3.0-3.99 for the spring semester and 44 for the 2023-24 academic year. Assuming the APR YOY improvement trend for football holds true this year, I'd imagine the 2024-25 team posted even better GPA numbers.

When is Groce leaving???

GPA or under/over on wins?

Akron has to be under 2.5 right

I believe you are going to get your wish but not in the way you think. What's going to happen, is the P4 schools are going to break away from the enforcement policies of the house settlement. If what I am reading is true, they won't want to abide by the salary constraints. That will leave the rest of us with a more manageable framework. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/conference-expulsion-no-penalty-structure-frustration-mounts-as-college-sports-enforcement-comes-into-focus/

What could go wrong with the P4 deciding our fate? https://frontofficesports.com/charlie-baker-power-conferences-will-enforce-house-settlement-not-the-ncaa/ I've been saying it for years. Schools like Akron need to separate from the P4 and chart a better course for ourselves.

as always, great find.... Top Drawer soccer has him rated #129 in the class of 2025. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/mls-next-flex:-under-19-players-to-watch_aid54577 Braxton Hayes, Nashville SC – The central midfielder remains an intriguing prospect who has trained with the NEXT Pro team. The Maryland native could get run as a key player centrally.

SMU deserves the death penalty again for bragging about this.

Zips have a 2025 midfielder from Nashville SC Academy. Was with US Youth u15 in 2022. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ7NXohR74H/?igsh=dDQ0N3FnNjFzam4=

That's for sure definitely sounds like old school coach Bob Knight-like approach along with team hazing that is no longer tolerated this day and age! Teammates kicking a teammate tossed out of practice! I wonder if there were just no strict guardrails like Akron Children's has in place at UA now at her previous programs including Case. I would have thought athletes at a school like Case would have been even more sensitive to these types of bullying tactics then DI athletes and it doesn't appear she had any of these types of issues at Case where she was incredibly successful. Definitely came in without the DI experience but other than that her resume was quite impressive and she is known to have deep ties with the local clubs though maybe the reputation was more known locally as those ties never did pay off for Akron. https://athletics.case.edu/sports/womens-soccer/roster/coaches/jen-simonetti/245

Sounds like she would have been a great high school JV football coach in the 1960s.

I would throw out the name Drew Crawford who was an assistant Zips men's coach and is now an assistant at Yale. North Canton native, knows the area, good character.

First named that I thought of was Brian Jankowski. A Strongsville native who was a volunteer assistant at Akron in 2010 and 2011 under Chris Pfau. Jankowski is currently the associate head coach at Ohio State. This program needs someone from NE Ohio that has D1 experience.

This is sad for women's soccer. But it is also an opportunity to get it right with a change in leadership. It will be the first chance for Goodrich to show that he can find the best coaches when openings arise. This program should be top of the MAC year in year out. In fact, like the men it should aspire and perform at a level higher than the MAC. If all that is in the Beacon report is true I am glad to see a change. Ignoring medical advice is a total focus on short term outcomes at the expense of long term success. Our ladies deserve better and we should demand it.