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Very new to this soccer thing but my observation: this is what a culture and tradition gets a team and a school. Like the Dukes and Gonzagas in BB, when the Zips are in the tourney the magic happens and can never be counted out even if the regular season was nothing special. A culture like this takes a generation to develop. It's an intangible, a confidence that every Akron Zip soccer player must have when he walks on the field. I'm sure our AD is thinking about that while he looks for our new "football" coach. I know budgets, recruiting, available scholarships are part of the mix. But this is a world class program right in the heart of our city.

I’m not trying to be a D***, but do you hear some of you guys? If you struggle in life do you just give up & say I guess this is how I’m destined to live? No, I believe you keep picking yourself off the floor until you succeed. Sorry but some of you sound miserable.

I'm impressed by the coverage and enthusiasm from the MAC. Also impressed by the media coverage from our local media. Akron vs. Maryland. This really has been a run of epic proportions by Akron - Syracuse, Wake, Stanford - and would be fitting to cap it with a victory over Maryland for the title.

They don’t deserve another opportunity unless they pay full price; otherwise they can take the corn cob and....

Beacon already has an article up Much credit to the Beacon for Sending Marla Ridenour out to Santa Barbara for the coverage https://www.ohio.com/sports/20181207/university-of-akron-mens-soccer-second-championship-in-school-history-within-uas-grasp-after-zips-rout-michigan-state-5-1-at-college-cup

55" curved Samsung TV - check Matching curved Samsung sound bar - check Wife and daughter in Washington DC and not returning until tomorrow afternoon - check Son coming over to watch what we hope to be a double-header - check PIzzas ordered for 7:15p pickup - check Jug of Gold Peak sweet tea to chase the pizza - check LET'S GO ZIPS!!!!!

TB did win the East and get a us a bowl victory. It was a fun season and he was probably the best available coach we could have hired to follow Ianello. But taking an close look at the past Zips DI coaches, TB's legacy is being greatly over-hyped by some on this site that did not like his firing. Gerry Faust and JD Brookhart both had better records than TB at Akron. JD won .417 of his games and Gerry .447 to TB's .402. Gerry did it while taking us from DI-AA OVC to DI-A Independent to the MAC which may not have been as bad as following Ianello, but was not an easy road. Gerry also did not get a free win against a DI-AA opponent every year as he played an 11 game season. Lee Owens did not get the free win either for the first part of his tenure. The yearly stomping of Howard, Morgan State, etc. inflate TB's winning percentage from .350 to .402. GF (.438), LO (.432) and JD (.458) all had better MAC records than TB (.411). All the prior coaches also played in an era where a 7-5 team did not get a bowl bid. If you wish TB was still here I get it, but please be honest that you are arguing to keep a coach that won 35% of his games against FBS opponents.

NANCHOFF !!!!

I went to the JAR tonight. There were some cheerleaders and dance team there but they checked out before the match began. I think it's hard to have a band and cheer teams when there are no time outs or breaks in the match. But hearing a bit of the "Blue and Gold" would have been fun. Bad night for MSU and their goalkeeper.

Getting some rest for David Egbo, Skye Harter and others is going to pay major dividends on Sunday. I am so happy for Skye Harter. He was always overshadowed in high school by Chris Brennan. Skye has improved so much at Akron. His free kick goal was beautiful..... and how about that 5th goal from a CVCA alum. I could hear fknbuflobo cheering that CVCA goal ....from several states away. Can't wait to read the Santa Barbara updates from Zip_me87 and SBZipfan and others

They got one back, but Jared's using some little-used subs. One, Christian Lou Young...Where'd HE come from?? lol...This is a laugher. Hope game 2 goes to PKs. Cause I want another star!!!

Will Lebron be at the game?

I may eat these words tomorrow night, but I'm glad we're playing Maryland. 1) Indiana's pep/brass band was really annoying. The fact that's allowed by the NCAA, especially in the tournament after years of a zero tolerance policy towards noise makers in general, is shocking to me. I like the idea of our guys being able to focus more without 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, etc., blowing in their ears. 2) Indiana RIPPED their shots. I was much more impressed by Indiana's attack than Maryland's, although the Terps have some studs and capitalized on their opportunities. I think Akron just scored another goal on MSUcks... Let's get that 2nd Star, boys!

Nice talking point. My initial thought is why are we so sure that Mount and JCU always have vastly superior talent to their opponents? Mount, while they do have a great reputation, is in the middle of nowhere. JCU is in Cleveland, but there is plenty of competition here with various universities. Capital and Otterbein are in Columbus. JCU has a solid reputation as well (London Fletcher and various guys on NFL staffs/Front offices), but the program definitely improved significantly when Arth was there. They were a .500 team before he became HC and were one right after he left (though this year was better). Lance Liepold, Buffalo's coach, previously from UW-Whitewater, was the equivalent of the Kehres coaches at Mount Union. I think he's shown that it *can* be the coaching, as that hire seems to be working out alright for Buffalo. Maybe I am wrong, but we seem to be in a fickle spot. I don't think we can't afford top coordinators at big time programs any more (Yurich at OK St, Getsy at Miss St) with our financial situation and the ridiculous inflation of P5 assistant coaches, unless they want to take a pay cut. Buffalo having the success they are makes me feel better about a dominant coach at the D3 level. Arth's lack of success at the FCS level is something that should be questioned, but if its explainable then its explainable. I've read he just got his OC from John Carroll back on staff, who just finished a season 4-0 as interim OC at EKU (another FCS school), so I would think his offense will look better no matter if its with us or UT-C. He also fired a few other coaches who weren't getting the job done, something I'm not sure TB ever did. His stop at the FCS level before coming to FBS could have been the perfect place to get his feet wet with taking it up a notch and recruiting. Hopefully the learning curve has flattened out for him if he is indeed the guy. He seems to have the respect of a lot of people. I'll support whoever, assuming the hire doesn't come out of left field somewhere, like the RB coach at Texas Tech or something (looking at you BG). I just hope Larry W does proper due diligence and at least interviews a few different candidates.

Wouldn't the definition of insanity have been to keep Bowden and expect a different outcome next year from the past 7 years?

Arth and Kehres May be excellent coaches and fantastic hires. I don’t know. I guess my concern is that they may have built up such stellar records in D3 because JCU and MU simply always have vastly more talent than their opponents. Is the reason for the success the talent? How much of it is/was coaching? I guess I don’t see the Zips having the talent to overwhelm their opponents in the way Arth and Kheres have done in D3 with their squads. I am not saying they coulsn’t do it, only that it is a long way from D3 to FBS and Akron has not exactly been a perennial power at their level. I will be behind whoever is hired 100% but I wanted to hear what others thought about transitioning from a D3 power to the MAC and how important everyone thinks it is that the coach have a northern Ohio background.

There were 3 male Gauchos students who sat in the front of our section last night. I don't know who they were, if they had any connections to Akron, or were there because we're the mid-major in this College Cup of B1G teams + 1, or that they appreciate great Zips soccer. They were fun and seemed to be cheering for Akron. One of them even wore a blue mask (think Lone Ranger type mask)...Gauchos, of course. The clock for our game counted up (strange that it counted down in the 2nd game). Anyway, at 68:50 they started counting down..."10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" ... and turned to face all of us ... "69 YAY!!!" Strange, but funny! You probably had to be there.... We all had puzzled looks on our faces as they started that countdown. But, we were all "high" on what our team was doing on the field; so, who couldn't just love those guys and that bizarre moment. I thought, hey they have 2 games tonight in which to do this...Perhaps the clock counted down in the 2nd game so that they couldn't do it again... NCAA / ESPN party poopers.

Good times here in Santa Barbara! Great to meet Zip_ME87, 72 Roo, and many more Zips fans! Akron well represented, good show! Best moment: two women sitting a couple rows in front of us; when Braden Petno scored, one leaped up and yelled "that's my brother!" followed by the other "that's my son!". Fantastic game to see in person. Zips looked very solid, very impressive. I was worried about Indiana in the final, but … no more Indiana! Maryland is still a very good team, but I like Akron's chances. A lot. Go Zips!

It has been about 12 or 13 years since the former UA Ass't AD took my tag line and turned it into a brand name and clothing line. When Akron and Maryland played each other in 2005 or 2006 -- might have been first or second round NCAA game, and I closed a post on this board -- or was it the old Blue Board? -- "Fear the turtle"?? FEAR THE ROO!!!! I want my royalties! And ...

A little "Blue and Gold" would be great after a goal. I agree there are fewer opportunities for cheer teams, but they can fit a few game action Z-I P-S cheers in. Plus how about some pregame hype rather than watching ESPN2 talking heads on an unrelated show? A game host would help, too. (Is Willy in Santa Barbara?) All I heard was a female voice on the PA after the game thanking us for coming. I don't want to be too critical, but this could be much more of an event with a little more effort. That's how you grow a fan base.

You are 100% correct. Zips could be undefeated and you will not see more buts in the seats. Fails to recognize how bad the Zips were and the damage to the reputation. Lives in the Land of Make Believe...

A decent crowd. A bit disappointed they aren't doing more to make the atmosphere more dynamic like having a pep band or active cheerleaders or even a host/announcer. Just a bunch of fans coming in to cheer on the Zips on the video screen.

GOAL! 2-0!

AKRON 1-0! BEAUTIFUL GOAL!

2005 MAC Championship with JD Brookhart was the best accomplishment the program made. Bowl games are nice but MAC champions should always be the greatest goal.

TB took our program to the highest level it's ever been by just about any measure you want to look at. Sh!t, its the end of the season and Northwestern played in the B1G championship and is ranked! Saying any chump could've done it is ridiculous, because nobody else has. TB did a great job getting our program back to its peak, we just need a new guy that can take us up a level, because unfortunately the peak is pretty depressing. There is quite a bit of talent on the roster (assuming the new coach can keep it). The recipe is right to take the program up a notch and do it quick.

Bowden remains the best D-1 coach we've ever had. The expectations of so many of you are unrealistic; we will never be a Boise State and likely not ever an NIU or Toledo. Someone like Solich is difficult to find. Anyone younger we get who is successful will be courted by larger schools with more money, and we will thus be repeating this process regularly.

As critical as I have been of the Bowden administration, I do have to concede they've left the program in a better condition than they found it.

Today's ABJ includes some stunning facts: 1. UA lost 2,600 "qualified" students to attrition in the past year - not low-quality, hope-for-the-best students; students who qualified with decent grades and test scores. That's an astonishing level of attrition. This points to a severe "student experience" crisis and a significant, further drain on budgets. Additionally, and shockingly, the board's three-year strategic plan seems to ignore the need to enrich the student experience. It's more about raising revenue. 2. The U is exploring the concept of selling off the stadium and Stiles and then renting it back. This reeks of desperation. 3. One of the strategies for revenue generation is to increase the placement of students in dorms, with athletes specifically identified as a target. This tells me the U is going to require that scholarship athletes live in dorms. While a revenue generator, it will invariably become a disadvantage on the recruiting trail. 4. There's a clear re-emphasis on moving as many classes online as possible. This raises the specter of Scarborough's online university push. As we know, these students are not likely to be engaged in the university experience; they will not value athletics, for example.

It is disgraceful that the justification for the cancellation of 80 academic programs was financial difficulties and then shortly after, we eat a $500,000 per year contract for a fired football coach for a program that costs around $10 million per year to run. Shame on the Board of Trustees! This is irresponsible and further proves that the BoT are not looking out for the best interest of UA or the Akron community. How much better off would UA be if football were suspended as a program for five years so that debt on the stadium could be paid down and additional support be given to the academic faculty to strengthen research programs? Though for different reasons, the suspension of the UAB football program worked out favorably for its competitiveness. That $50 million would go a long way towards turning UA around while not sacrificing anything academic. This is exactly what we need new, long-term leadership for.

Posting too much?!! How can one post too much positive stuff about the team he loves?!! Keep up the great work @TennZip Remember, FAN is short for FANATIC! I've been too busy with work the last few days, especially on travel. So, I greatly appreciate everything you've posted here to keep all of us informed. Heading to LA from Albuquerque tomorrow. Planning to be in Goleta/Santa Barbara on Thursday. Hope to see our team, let them know I'm there, others are coming and that many more are supporting and cheering for them back home. (I'm sure they know, but it doesn't hurt to reiterate to them how much support they have.) GO ZIPS!!!

New plan. We fire Bowden, and reallocate his salary (and maybe more) to Embick to keep him for 10+ years. Dynasty.