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It actually didn't. Here's what I received... "Thank you for your support of the Zips and interest in joining the Zips Fan Council! While it’s been a hectic time of year with basketball season in full-swing, I wanted to send out a quick update regarding where our department is currently at with creating the Zips Fan Council. We had overwhelming interest in being a part of this council, with just under 100 applicants from across the state of Ohio and beyond. Our goal for this council is to build a group that spans across as many different demographics as possible, and as such we’ve selected limited numbers of individuals across a wide variety of graduation years and backgrounds to accomplish this goal. We are in the final stages of scheduling interviews with applicants and hope to have our council members finalized in the coming weeks, with our first meeting late in the spring. If you were not chosen to move forward in the process, please know that it was based on limited availability and Akron Athletics appreciates and values your support. As this will be a group that ebbs and flows based on availability, we would love to consider you for the group in the future even if you are not ultimately selected in this first iteration." The part I put in bold is what reads like a rejection. Regardless, I still don't understand why they aren't joining ZipsNation for feedback, suggestions, brainstorming, etc.

So it was a rejection letter.

Nope. Just an apology for not doing anything yet. It did say there would be no notice if you were not selected.

I guess he's not lucky 🤷

So it wasn't a rejection email we received? It read like a rejection email.

I agree with pretty much everything you'd stated, but found this to be especially true. Scarcity drives demand. Particularly in this age of people wanting to show off on social media. People buy season tickets because they feel they have to and then keep them because it's a great experience watching games with an energized crowd. Perhaps the change needs to start with us on Zipsnation. Last year I bought 1 season ticket and split it in half as many games my fiancé work schedule didn't allow for her to attend and there were quite a few games that frankly I had little interest in committing time to attend in person. I will commit to two tickets next season and try to invite friends to games when fiancé can't attend. Perhaps that leads them to getting tickets in the future.

They haven't chosen anyone yet. Give them time.

Not surprised in the least after Blyden hopped in the Portal. Suck it, Tod.

Beautiful. I feel for Halcovage as it seems like he's a good person, but Freitag was arguably the best player in the MAC last year before his injury.

It's called the Zips Fan Council and it sounds like a decent number of ZN members signed up for it, but none of us were chosen to my knowledge. They were doing final interviews last I heard with the first meeting set for sometime in the spring. The running joke is that it seems like a lot of effort when they could just join ZN, make a thread called "Zips Fan Council" and have brainstorm sessions here.

You're crazy!

The CoC discussion is interesting. I didn't know their attendance was so successful until today so I'm learning along with everyone. I live in SC and go there about once a month. The people I know don't talk about going, but it's a big area and it doesn't take many people to fill their arena, which is a takeaway for Akron. Everyone in NE Ohio can't go to every game. They just need more people who are interested and willing to go. CoC does get a big student crowd, which doesn't strike me as unusual because they tend to live on campus and going to the beach isn't an option during basketball season. The students also take a lot of pride in going there. I've always heard that their baseball team gets good crowds. They play over by the aircraft carrier at Patriot Point in Mt. Pleasant, I think and it's a convenient place to go. What they have executed on is the goose that laid the golden egg in sports attendance. The key to success is selling as many season tickets as possible. CoC has three consecutive seasons of sell out season tickets. That's amazing. If people buy tickets, they tend to go or give them to someone who will. The downtown area of Charleston is slow in the winter and there are far fewer activities because their organized activities tend to be outside and it does get cold there in January and February. CoC allows a high quality indoor event separate from the cold so that has to be attractive. Moreover, it's cold but there are not several inches of snow on the road. The parking situation isn't the greatest, but with fewer tourists in the winter, it's manageable. I don't know. Call me crazy, but maybe making their athletic department benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around the school pays off.

A lot to unpack here. I don't really care to get i to dissecting it now, but I might jump in and say things if others comment. I appreciate much of the honesty displayed by Goodrich and Groce here.

I am a bit surprised. Not because he would be commanding top dollar elsewhere. Just that one would think he would be behind both Ipsaro and Skaljac in pg duties. You would think he would want an opportunity to showcase his talents that way he could command top dollar next year. I wonder if thar means one of the PG ahead of him will be transferring.

That quote from Groce tells you attendance and support from the fans IS VERY IMPORTANT to him! 'high care factor"

Not sure what that is, but happy to provide more ideas if they need some. I came up with those ideas as I typed. I work in marketing. Give me time to brainstorm more and I'll come up with even better ideas.

They have craft beers at the arena. You'll just be paying more than $2 lol.

Love the idea of a punch card. You can even expand it a bit to include perks that cost the University little to no money, but might be viewed favorably to others who don't typically get those experiences. 2 - courtside seats for 1 game 2 - tickets to Tommy Evans Lounge 1 game

I wonder if that exclusive Zips Fan Club thing is popping out ideas like these.

Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston. "I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together." Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor. Here are highlights from those conversations: Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston? Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move. Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce, losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. "The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Anrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts. "They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things." Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year. Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025. Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question. Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball? "I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful." Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA. "I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said. However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does. "I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true." To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White. "When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true. "When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football." University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay. No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron). "This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later." Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group. "The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million." Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere. "No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it. "If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters." Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach? Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston. "He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'" Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26). Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff. A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades. "We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team. "As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs." Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees. Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process. "He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box. "In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family." Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey. "Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."

Not that it means anything, but I looked at who is following the Charleston Basketball IG after yesterday and the only current players are Halligan, MMK, and Groce (obviously).

Good ideas. A few years ago. Students had a punch card to get a jersey. Is Hoppin Frog still involved? Get more out of them or Thirsty Dog. College kids might drink $2 bud lights but I don't. The T-shirt toss was weak this year.