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It's partly about attendance. It's mostly about other things. Some say MACtion is a great brand. It's a catch phrase. The MAC is a conference and a brand. A brand is how others see you and you have to do things to make yourself more attractive. Playing on weeknights in empty stadiums is horrible for the MAC; therefore, it is horrible for the brand. I'm sorry if there are some athletic directors out there who may shy away from MAC schools because they gave up weeknight games. Maybe they can find other universities to run into the ground. Either way, they need to go away.

I think when she sees Akron, she thinks acorn.

Long A in Akron. What a moron

Oh for sure, don't get me wrong - I get all of the non-financial reasons he would do it. I would do it if I were in his position. He loves Akron basketball. I was just responded to someone saying he may stop if he isn't getting a financial return.

Not all returns have to be financial. He's obviously getting fulfillment, as are others, but there will always be limitations to what those experiences are conceivably worth. Bud obviously has money, but he accumulated his wealth owning and building a small investment office. It's not like he's Dan Gilbert rich and can write blank checks.

Local station in Charleston quoting the AD as saying no offer has been made to Groce (also a hilarious pronunciation of "Akron")

This. A lot of talk about how wonderful Charleston is but not enough about what he has in Akron. - Basically a lifetime contract. The only way he would ever lose his job here is if he did something immoral off the court. - One of the best NIL budgets in the conference, a NIL Collective that has grown considerably in it's participation and impact in recent years, and a great relationship with the person who leads it. - Excellent relationships in the community he has built over many years. - A history of consistent winning gping back 20+ years surely recognized by potential recruits. - A proud tradition of success for players post-graduation playing professionally. I'll also push back on the "he's done all he can do at Akron" stuff. We were in that game with Texas Tech until it unraveled with a few minutes left. We almost beat UCLA. The MAC was a two-bid league for the first time in a long time. There's a lot of momentum here to keep climbing.

You can’t even write off NIL donations, correct?

lots of dime store psychology in this thread

Nate Johnson and Enrique Freeman and John Groce are going to invest their salaries somewhere.

I'm not quite sure how any NIL donor is going to make money off of their donations?

CougarNation rejoices!

It would be nice if any of the large corporations in the area could chip in as well

Well, I would think he's getting some additional business from all of the advertising he gets. But I'm also sure it's not as much as he's spending so it just depends how long his passion for Akron basketball keeps outweighing his financial losses.

It's not sustainable to rely on one guy to fund our entire program and get nothing in return but a 3peat hat or courtside seats. Financially minded people, specifically rich folks, all want to see money come back to themselves at some point.

How about an annual road trip to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan instead?

I think you may be on to something there. Short of finding an additional Bud Wentz or two he's done all he can do at Akron. If only we could establish some kind of connection to some kind of uber-wealthy oligarch/billionaire/private equity type with some kind of connection to Akron and an interest in basketball... Fundraising ability (along with culture) will be a bigger consideration than X's & O's ability, pedigree, coaching tree etc. in finding the next coach whenever JG moves on.

Donors, and some rebalancing between sports

The university itself doesn't have any extra funding to put into sports and can't be 'leveraged' in that way by coaches.

After sleeping on it, I too agree w/ many of you - CAA is a step down from the MAC.

I'm a Penguins fan. In 2007, they were on the verge of moving to KC before a new arena was finally delivered in Pittsburgh. Not that we're getting an arena out of this, but if Groce leveraged some other jobs to get some extra staff and NIL money, I'll happily deal with the emotional rollercoaster this week

Oh boy … the plot thickens

100% agree. He hasn’t done anything to squash the speculation. After almost a decade, maybe he decided it’s time. If so, what a run it’s been. Charleston is a beautiful place. If he goes, I wish him well. If he stays, that would be great. Simple as that.

His daughter is only 9 or 10 so the empty nester thing isn't bearing down on him quite yet.