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A professor wearing another University's clothing takes blatant douchebaggery to the nth degree. Obviously, that prof either forgot or had never learned about that famous case of Boot v. Ass which Boot won in a landmark decision. I would love to monitor one of his classes to remind him of this case and how the ruling may impact traitorous faculty.

What, exactly have we won? Yes, we beat the occasional power conference team, but those are always away from the JAR. We beat up on cupcakes at home, and then we beat MAC teams which doesn't mean much because most MAC teams have been awful for decades. We beat more MAC teams in the conference tournament, and then we lose in the post-season.

It doesn't take long winning streaks, it takes beating big name teams. Many students here still feel like Akron is in the minor leagues of college sports. Until the Zips start making runs in the tournament, or routinely beating top 50ish teams most students will continue to not care.

Slow down Weatherspoon inside and force Juice to take 20 shots. Hopefully he doesn't pull a Willie Alvarez, but that'd be my game plan. Hope Pat and Big Dog are up for it.

Hey I didn't say it was easy But just showing winning will get them to games. It's just that it takes more winning than is normally possible.

Some are going to look at my comments and agree with some of it. Majority will probably call me an idiot for saying them. I understand whichever way you feel about this post. None of it is clear cut, or we wouldn't be having this discussion. Having experience of being an AK-Rowdie, I wanted to share what I felt the problem has become. Majority of it is the leadership(or lack of) of the organization. But that's not the only reason for it: I was a member from Fall 2009-Spring 2012. Earlier on it was what I was hoping for. I was at a high school that had good to great athletics(depending on the sport), and our student section lacked enthusiasm and creativity. That was there my first couple years at UA. Before the athletic department stepped in, and wouldn't allow certain things to be done anymore that made it to an extent, " really fun". Now it's almost coming across as a job or a chore to be part of it because there's so many things you cannot do that could get the organization in trouble with the athletic department. I may be wrong, but I believe that trips taken by organization have to be approved by higher authority than just the organization. So when the athletic department has a beef with the organization already(College Cup in 2009), they'll make it almost impossible for anyone to have any fun with it. Which is why it's terrible now. No one wants to lead it with the burden of the athletic department always breathing down your neck on every little detail. Plus, the Roo Wards was a thing that the AK-Rowdies started, and was presented to the athletic department as how to get more students in attendance at games for the organization. Department stole the idea and put it out there for the entire student body. Which I didn't think was a bad idea, I just see that AK-Rowdies funds from membership fees(which includes the cost of the t-shirt by the way), gives you perks that go beyond the price you pay for it. But with the athletic department under the necks of it, that value of those perks have started to vanish and make the group that much more sad. My last point: Porter always stood up for the Rowdies, and the department couldn't do much about it because that was the top college coach in the sport(multiple college and MLS offers every offseason). Then he took the Portland job, and the Rowdies are no longer "protected". Nothing against Embick, but Porter just had the star power that Embick doesn't have right now. That is why I think you're seeing this dramatic fall of the AK-Rowdies.

A greyshirt only has to foot the bill for the first semester if he elects to go to school. Optionally he could stay out of school that semester and, for example, hold a job to earn money. He could also take some courses at a community college at a lower cost than would be charged at a D-I school.

Hard to believe we will have all the snow melted and the field will be ready in less than a month.

So he broke his own national record again and was named National Field athlete of the week for the second week in a row. Anybody else have the feeling he can actually clear 20 feet but is only going to do it a little bit at a time? :-)

To clear up the SMH remark... I'm not adverse at all to the Athletic dept doing this, I'm appalled that this is what it takes though. Somebody mentioned disbanding the Rowdies, I'm all for it, they're a joke

Too bad they're not playing the Riverhounds at Highmark Stadium.

I'll say from my own personal experience, that was the year I got heavily involved. Years before I was never that impressed with the AK-Rowdies But even those "peak" years I didn't think the leadership was all that great. UA has a culture problem. And until it starts hiring people who want to be UA all the time FIRST, it's never going to change. IMO: It's absolutely unacceptable that we are tweeting #TeamOhio "Go OSU" from official accounts. It's also absolutely unacceptable that professors (even if they're contingent faculty) are wearing the clothes of other institutions (OSU)...(yes, I had a professor who wore OSU shirts every Friday...never once wore Akron anything). Until people at UA stop treating it as a stepping stone to something "better" and start treating it as the "better" thing, I don't see it changing. This goes for those working at UA, all the way to the students.

Nice little story in Zips Line today. Read the La A QUICK STORY I WANTED TO SHARE Our 13th-ranked Rifle team competed Saturday at the University of Mississippi, earning a hard-fought and -shot 4.601-4,591 victory over the No. 17 Rebels. That’s a great win for our program, but what made this trip particularly memorable was a man in the crowd wearing a Zips shirt. Although there are Zips fans all over the world, Oxford, Miss., is not exactly a hot-spot for UA alumni, so it was a pleasant surprise to see someone there wearing our gear. After 36 years as our Head Coach (following his time as a UA Rifle team member), Newt Engle knows everyone associated with our program. Since this gentleman wasn’t related to one of our current student-athletes or a former Rifle letterwinner, Newt walked over to introduce himself to a smiling stranger who was waving and cheering for our team. His name is Perry Arrington, and he’s the brother of our late Football Assistant Head Coach, Alan “Tank” Arrington. An Ole Miss grad, Perry is from Mississippi and lives there today. He told Newt that it was the first time he ever attended an Ole Miss event wearing the colors of another school, but he wanted to cheer for the Zips because of how much our school and athletics department meant to his brother and family. We all miss Tank every day, and we think often about Perry, Tank’s wife Gail, Tank’s mother Gale, and their entire family … it means a lot to us that we still have a Zips fan in Mississippi, especially because all of us here in Akron who had the honor to know Tank always will be lifelong Arrington fans.

Akron's best kept secret, All of Zip track and field for that matter. 1 in 500 in this town may have a clue as to how great this kid is.

I sure do. I remember when Luke (with Hixon) and Charlie (with Cherry) were leading Zips offenses. It was pretty awesome to watch. Too many games to type out for you. The game when Byron Leftwich was injured and carried down the Rubber Bowl field was played on ESPN for a month. I remember Dwight Smith dominating a game, and just about winning the game all by himself from the CB position, despite James Harrison's best efforts on a freezing winter day in Portage County. I remember future HOF JT33 making every offense he played adjust to him. Notice every name I mentioned in this post played in the NFL. I'm as big as a coach Bowden fan as the next guy, but if you think entertaining football wasn't played in Akron before, you are shortsighted.