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This is interesting... MAC team picked as potential 30-game winner this season!!!! https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46775032/mens-ncaa-basketball-predicting-teams-win-30-games-2025-26

Note from the game preview: this match will air on gozips.com not espn+ (I assume due to the volleyball match on espn+ right beforehand)

The comment was more the market it out of wack due to delusions of grandeur. Athletics is a marketing arm for Universities. It doesn't have to necessarily turn a profit to provide value. It exists to bring in new and retain existing customers, which at Akron its not doing. We're not getting the value out of it given the money we're pouring into it. The same is true for 75%+ of the other G5. Changes need to happen across college athletics as a whole.

Several games tonight featuring Zips' opponents, including a big one. Cleveland State (127) at IU Indy (170) - 7 pm Albany (110) at Vermont (2) - 6 pm NKU (182) at Milwaukee (173) - 6 pm Penn State (102) at Ohio State (91) - 7 pm Marshall (19) at West Virginia (21) - 7 pm

If anyone goes to the Trading Card game and doesn't want their cards, let me know. I am a big time card collector and will ironically be unable to attend due to my weekend shifts at the local card shop.

Simple answer. It's not a business. It's college athletics at a public university. I have the same reaction when someone says government should turn like a business, it isn't. In a world where Joe is underpaid compared his peers and could use about 4-5 more assistants and a bunch of other crap, it's the market.

Trading card night + autograph night sounds like I need to get a card binder!

Isaiah Johnson Night on 2/14 - assuming we are putting his number up?

Tuesday night always brings out the best in college football players!

I agree that college athletics has gotten out of hand. Even at a school like Akron the head coach is getting a multi-million dollar guaranteed contract before even coaching a game here. Not to mention he can't even field a product good enough to get 10k+ fans to consistently show up. I saw an interview from our former assistant AD and he said ticket revenue a crossed all Akron sports was something like $1.3-$1.4 million. Let's say football football generates $800k-900K of that. How does it make sense to pay a head coach $650k and each of his half dozen or so assistant coaches ~$150k. If this was a private business it would have long been bankrupt. I'm not necessarily picking on Akron here. Just pointing out the flaws in the system and Akron is who I'm most familiar with. Something needs to be done to better align what we're spending with the value said coaches bring in. Perhaps pay these coaches like a salesmen. Give them a lower base pay then give them bonuses for each win, making a bowl, etc. I wouldn't even be opposed to giving them a percentage of gate receipts. Success should be rewarded. Right now it doesn't matter if you succeed or not, you're walking away with a bag.

As Zips fans I think we might want to start worrying a bit more about that game on 11-11. A team that gets a positive jolt like that can be really dangerous.

There is precedent for a MAC member being expelled by the MAC for major NCAA violations (Marshall).

We'll pay them back in the Final Four.

It will be interesting to watch this team grow over the course of the year and see the rotations develop. You're replacing about 37 PPG from last year's rotation (Nate, Gray, Seth, Okonkwo) that is going to have to come from some internal growth from returning players and/or the combo of the Mahaffeys, Head, Stankovic, and Barre. Eric Mahaffey was apparently going to start as a true freshman last year, so that certainly suggests Groce viewing him very highly. I think Evan probably gives you modest offensive production along with elite defense. I know very little of Cody, but @clarkwgriswold mentioned the coaches really like him. He may be an important scorer off the bench. I've heard enough good things about Barre to believe he can be an energy big who chips in a few points around the rim. Stankovic is kind of the wild card to me. His size and skill suggests he could be an offensive mismatch against many teams. I'm excited to see it all unfold. The journey of the season is the most enjoyable part of being a fan, seeing where we start vs where we finish.

Ohio.com article on Tavari- https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2025/10/31/tavari-johnson-returns-akron-zips-mens-basketball-ncaa-transfer-portal/86983272007/

I was telling my son on the way home from the Tipoff event how lucky we have been as Zips fans. Most MAC schools would love to have had just one of KD or Groce, and we have been fortunate to have had both. Probably two of best coaches in MAC history.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/louisiana-governor-says-hell-let-donald-trump-pick-next-lsu-football-coach-before-athletic-director-does-211057289.html I doubt that letting Trump make this decision is a good idea, but the governor is on to something. I said recently that the bush league nature of athletic directors would not fit in the NIL era. I've said for a few years that a committee should choose the direction of G5 schools and athletic directors should not be involved in the decision. Moving forward, the role of the AD should be limited to administrative tasks and less on directional decisions. These people have made a mess of college athletics and can't be trusted with major decisions. This is particularly the case at G5 schools where these halfwits will destroy their employers institution just to make it to P5. Think this isn't true? Look at the MAC.

Ban all the directionals!

If there is a subpoena involved I think it’s safe to assume Justice was served.

YSU just wanted it more

I feel like we always drop the scrimmages. Drop the ones that don’t count and move on lol

Just for fun I was looking back at recent Akron successes in the MAC tournament. Akron was first eligible for the MAC tournament in 1993, it didn't even qualify for the tournament at all until 1998 and won only three games total until 2007 when it made the final (although the previous year the Zips were seeded third and their one win put them into the semifinal a streak that would continue for 12 years, then two years of not making the semifinal, then making at least the semis every year since it has been played). Despite the Zips never making a championship until 2007, and not winning one until 2009, they are 6-6 overall now (only one behind the three all-time leaders Ball St, Ohio and Kent (all of whom have made at least 32 appearances). Zips have 17. Despite the Zips having won only three games by 2007, they have the highest winning percentage in MAC tournament history at .607. Zips have as many wins as they have missed championship appearances since 2007. Just wanted to put in a little thanks to Keith Dambrot and John Groce for making these last 20 years so enjoyable. Now go win an NCAA tournament game (for us!). 🤣

JMU Preview here- https://jmusportsnews.com/2025/10/30/jmu-mens-womens-basketball-season-preview-guide/

Amen. I hate to give anyone from PCCC credit, but that guy has earned the full time job by winning with a flaming bag of poo that was left on his porch.