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I disagree with your first segment, and agree with the last. The program KD has built is absolutely not a tough sell. We're sufficiently on national TV (in comparison to our peer programs). Play for championships every year. In an NBA arena. Have recently beaten the likes of Oregon State, South Carolina and USC. The support is fine. Zips fans show up for big games. They don't for tripe. It's no different than anywhere else in comparison to our peer programs. One thing no one has given KD any credit for is his effort to change over time with regards to recruiting. He arrived, and the team was crap. He turned it around with good, hometown/Ohio kids. He recognized the program's growth was limited by doing only this, and opened the door to high-risk/high-reward kids. Those were hit and miss, with more big misses than hits. But the guy tried...there's no blue print for success. And often in college sports you are stuck with the effects of your errors, big or small, for 4 or more years. He had at least 3 players that should have been in the rafters next to Bill Turner and Joe Jakubik...and none of them finished their eligibility at UA. The program evolved again, changing the recruiting focus from relatively "local" kids... to High-risk/High-reward, to now one of a more national scope. HS kids from Texas and Nevada would never have been on a Zips roster over the first 7-8 years. Will it work? I don't know. But the early reports look good. I agree that, now that we allegedly have all these fantastic recruits, our peer programs should also be of elevated stature. We need to begin playing them more often. Home-home. I wish Dambrot embraced the "Gonzaga of the East" comment rather than regretted it. I would bet 70% of the D1 basketball schools wish their program was as tough a sell as Akron's. Even if we'd have won only 19 games last season.

Since Coach Bowden has been here, he has had his team ready to play the big payday team. This is probably his best team since he's been here. Our defense is good and getting better, and we anticipate a different philosophy on offense. Oklahoma should win, but we are still excited and hopeful for an upset. Good luck, and....Go Zips!

I agree with everything that you say here but what has winning 20+ games for 10 years done to the UA program? I can tell you a couple of things that it has not done... improved the attendance, gotten an NCAA Tourney win (or been close), or improved the home schedule. Yes the program is in a better spot than it was 10 years ago but it is in the same spot that it was 7 years ago. In my opinion, the 20+ win thing is overrated here at Akron.

Sonny Johnson ‏@sonnyjohnson32 2h2 hours agoWillie Jackson is on his official visit to Akron University today FAVORITES511:28 AM - 2 Sep 2015 · DetailsReplyRetweet Favorite Morehttp://www.verbalcommits.com/players/willie-jackson--2 Lets get this guy!

We're getting close to another tickets sold vs. butts in seats discussion. Has anyone heard about any new plans to try to sell blocks of tickets to sponsors and other groups to pump up paid attendance? I wonder if the new AD is already at work behind the scenes with some quick fix strategies.

Frankly, it is a tough program to sell. They play in the MAC (which is ok for middle recruits), play in a gym, have no student support, not great support overall, play an avg ooc schedule, play a lousy ooc home schedule, are limited financially (like many programs) and have never won a tourney game. So I guess 20 + wins is something to talk about... but as I have said before, an ooc road schedule vs bigger teams --at the expense of a weak home schedule, will appeal to a better player/ recruit, in my opinion.....and moves the program along.

I dont buy too much into that. I remember a ticketmaster chart like that a few years ago for one of our other non-conference games and it showed something very similar. Gameday arrived and the stadium was 75% empty.

Those are also all used as recruiting tools and have also been mentioned in recruit comments to the media and in private, just like the 20+ win streak. No single factor is decisive with every recruit, so it's important to have as many recruiting tools as possible to work with. While it's true that this hasn't yet taken the Zips program to the next level, it has kept the Zips at a remarkably consistent winning level that other similar programs have been unable to achieve. The Zips coaching staff would dearly love to add an NCAA tournament run to their list of recruiting tools.

7 of the last 8 (? - I forget the number at the moment) MAC championship game appearances. 3 conference titles. Those mean more than 20 wins, imo

Playing time. A coach who spent time with LBJ who shows up to practice, you'll probably meet him. Coach with a long contract (stability). The most important thing seems to be making a young man feel "comfortable" in the environment he is visiting. Make him feel good about his decision to spend four/five years learning the game and attending classes. Cost aside, the campus has become much more aesthetic. The players that are on the team need help that recruit feel comfortable. I remember Lee Owens telling a story of a player he had that he called his "closer", who had a unique set of social skills.

The new band uniforms look sharp.

EA is predicting a sellout home game this year, perhaps against Pitt. I have hear rumors that the Pitt game may sell out. This would go a long way towards helping our attendance issue.

How about this for cRaZy: Akron has a better shot at beating Oklahoma Saturday then Oklahoma has at winning the national title this year. They are drooling all over themselves over there.

Not sure the reason for the bump, but I went back and looked through this thread, and it snows what a crap shoot recruiting is.Of my list, we landed Moore (who I think can develop into a solid DE); and Anthony Young (after a short stint at Indiana), who may be more of a track guy, but has the speed to be a guy who can take the top off of defenses as a WR down the line. I was interested to seeing what some of the other guys are up to. As you pointed out, Hunt is suspended for two games, but he is arguably the best offensive player in the MAC and a legit NFL prospect. I like Hundley and Alexander, but neither is Kareem Hunt. After that: 1. Crenshaw is track standout at Michigan (ran their 5th fastest 60 meter as a freshman). As a track guy, going to Michigan is a step down from Akron, but a UM degree is obviously prestigious. Can't blame the staff for that. 2. Marcus McShepherd is at Northwestern. He redshirted last year. Again, tough to turn down a NW degree. 3. Mathie, as pointed out is at Findlay, where he seems to be doing well early at a usually solid GLIAC program. That's a far cry from UCLA, or even Akron. True, he doesn't play yet at Akron, but still seems like somebody who wouldn't be overwhelmed at the MAC level (the GLIAC has produced some pretty good NFL players). 4. I don't see Trei Thomas on a roster, but a twitter account by that name, showing a bunch of kids in Can't Roosevelt HS uniforms has a "Zips, Zips, Zips!!" Tag line. Maybe just a regular student at UA? 5. Marshall Howell is at D3 John Carroll, where he looked to have had a very good freshman season before getting hurt. Yes JCU has produced a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer (London Fletcher), but a big difference in talent level. But the OAC (Fletcher, Pierre Garcon, Cecil Shorts) has produced some good NFL talent. So its not unheard of for a guy to fall through the cracks and end up there. Some other notables: 1. Darian Hicks: he was a guy I really wished Akron could've have landed. But in retrospect, even though OSU didn't offer, as soon a Michigan State came calling, it was over. Mark Dantonio has a keen eye for talent, especially at CB. Hicks started 10 games for MSU last year and will be another Spartan CB in the NFL. Plus, MSU is now a legitimate major program. 2. Jerome Lane: This was easily Bowden's best pull from the 2013 local class. I never really considered him for UA because I thought he was high major bound. Whether those offers never came through, or he just wanted to stay home, he was a major get. 3. Ed Stockett is now can't remember what happened. He committed to Akron early and looked like the QB in the class. He supposedly had some P5 offers (Pitt and Rutgers, IIR). But he is now at Indiana .... Indiana University of Pa. Looks like he is their starter. But it worked out OK since Travon Chapman (a 4 star, top 250 prospect from that class) is now at Akron. Also, Reid Worstell, another QB discussed in that class is now at Walsh. Overall, when you look back, I think the staff did a pretty good job locally out of that class. The only guy you can truly look at as a big loss is Hunt. Part of it is because he went to another MAC school (though one with more success) and partly because Akron has/had gotten some kids from Willoughby South (Nicley, Ritz). And Bowden has gotten some solid local kids in 14 and 15. Just win now and I think more local kids will come on board. And it also looks like Summit County football has easily surpassed Stark in terms of talent and is gaining on Cuyahoga. But all three counties, along with Portage, Medina and Wayne, should be receptive to UA if this team starts winning.

Lady Zips improve to 2-0-1 with 4-2 win over Cleveland State. Next up is @ St. Bonaventure on Friday, and Cornell (@ St. Bonaventure) on Sunday. St. Bonaventure is 1-1-2 on season(W vs Buffalo, L @ Binghamton, T @ Canisus & T vs Oakland). Cornell is 1-0-1 on season(W vs Loyola, T vs Siena). I expect the Lady Zips to come out of this weekend with either two ties, two wins, or one tie and one win. Any loss will be disappointing this weekend. Katie George, who didn't score a single goal in her 3 previous seasons with the Lady Zips, she has had her second match(out of three) this season with two goals(4 for the season and her career now). Coach Herlihy thought she would be more suited for midfield than defender, and it's already showing results.