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Whoever gives us the best chance of winning should be the one who starts. Back in 2016 Akron was sitting at 5-6 and needed to beat Ohio to gain bowl eligibility. We elected to start a WR at QB instead of Kato because we didn't want to burn his redshirt. Who knows maybe had Kato been our QB we could have won. Three years later and people are talking about benching Kato and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he transferred this offseason so he wouldn't even be on our roster for his 5th year. You know the year we redshirted for the purpose of keeping him for. With the way the portal is and the way new players are constantly coming in to compete for jobs, I don't see the value in red shirting unless you don't think that player can help you year 1 as you already have better players at the position. Someone might argue that this season is a lost cause because we're not going bowling. The thing is recruits are still watching these games and if we're able to build any kind of momentum instead rolling over and losing our last 4 games by 20+, that may help to land a few that are on the fence.

How is it cheaper? The athletes still get their scholarships. We get less TV money from ESPN The team still travels to wherever it travels to. There is less or no post season money. The coaches are under contract so maybe years from now we could get cheaper coaches.

As in "

The football program bleeds money because of the football stadium. A cost that doesn't go away regardless if we drop down or eliminate football entirely. I've made more detailed posts in the past on the matter, but a quick rundown the football program costs ~$10 million to run. $4 million of that is tied to the stadium debt payments. This means the operating costs are $6 million. We get ~$1.5 million per body bag game, which we have been scheduling 2 per year so that's $3 million in revenue right there. Next we get ~$1 million for the MAC tv deal. The college football playoff distributions pays something in the neighborhood of $500k-$800k. Just between those three revenue sources we're looking at $4.5 million in revenue. This doesn't even include ticket sales, parking, concessions, advertisements, etc.

My wife and I were at that game. I was standing in the aisle at Ford Field throwing some'f' bombs before the final drive. NIU just ran out of gas and Hixon ran right past his defender. Still think Getsy was one of at least the top 3 'QB's in Akron history. Not the best athlete. But, he could run a game. Thanks Luke.

Glad I'm not the only one. I love the editorial comments at the end from the writer about how Saban has clearly earned his salary. Man, if only we paid workers in the US based upon their productivity, and how much revenue their work for a company generates...

The scholarship bill alone is around $2.5m and salaries/benefits for the staff are another $2m easy. Are the "body bag" game payouts public? Not sure that all of them are 1.5m, but in the ballpark for sure. All things in, football loses money at Akron. This is not breaking news, and no need to beat the dead horse about athletics finances, which for FY2018 were revenues of $34,601,000, expenses of $34,873,226 and a total of $24,289,339, or 70.20% of the budget coming from the student fee, which is based on Akron’s total enrollment and $1,359 per student annual fee. It makes no sense whatsoever to drop the program at FCS as the MAC is a perfect match for Akron in all things, including the academic profile. The issues come down to historical, long term mismanagement of the limited resources that Akron has athletically to begin with coupled with brutally poor hires in football. Make good hires on and off the field, find the right mix of sports and do not add sports that drain resources from support staff, other budgets, and operate with a thoughtful strategic goal of winning more than you lose, and Akron can win again.

You and a-zip agree, @John Ward. He was trying to say that he doesn't want to drop to a lower division either. He's supporting the fellas. *Unless I'm completely mis-reading your post, @a-zip?

I would like to hear others' opinions, but Oh, what I wouldn't give for a Morgan Hackworth or a Robby Dambrot --- that type of player who, when given his opportunity, works super hard to make a difference. What I saw at CSU last night had the feel of..."Hey we're Akron. We don't have to do anything but show up. CSU will just tremble and crumble before us." We had 3 starters out last night - Tojaga, Egbo, and Ritaccio - but did we see anyone who replaced them go out of his way to prove he deserves to be on the field? Some people have said to me that the message that seems to be sent to local players is "Don't come to Akron. You want play." That's garbage. This is D1 NCAA Soccer, and the upper echelon of it. You come to Akron, you better expect to work hard, or you won't see the field. You have to compete for your playing time. A player may have been the greatest at his high school or for his club, but when he comes to Akron, he had better be prepared to prove he belongs on the field representing the great history that goes with our jersey. What I saw last night looked like few in our jersey cared to be there. Sad.

What the hell? Nice night to watch great soccer by a Great Lake....how bad this was. I am totally at a loss, I cannot put my finger on what is wrong, it's just.....I don't know. When I envisioned "off" seasons over the last 10 years, knowing that sometimes they happen, I guess I thought maybe a 10-8-0 season, not even a .500 season. Or I thought there'd be "markers" along the way, to kinda warn that it might happen. I thought if it did, it was due to a few catastrophic injuries to key players. A gradual decline...not a #2 in the nation one year and a 4-win season the next... What a long ride home this was....

Embarrassing!

Even if the ZIPS win MAC tournament, the will enter the NCAA's with a losing record. When was the last time, if ever, that happened? When was the last time they had a losing REGULAR SEASON??????

Well, we all know rumors are like a certain part of everyone's anatomy. But,you all know I have been throwing this out for a few years now. Not because I want to see it happen. But, because I think the new Prez. was brought in to try to 'clean up' the financial mess that that one of the (unamed) previous Prezes put the U of A in. This may be less about athletics than FINANCES!! NO!? The 2 main varsity sports, football and basketball are financial losers. Big expenditures,little return. Soccer, though generally successful doesn't add to the bottom line financially. I am not so sure that possible recruits are going to see all this and walk away from Akron,unfortunately. If football and basketball can have successful seasons in 2020 it may postpone anything drastic....but.

This should get interesting

You could drop to whatever level you want. If the same dumbasses keep making dumbass decisions...it doesn’t matter. In fact, dropping to a lower level would be a dumbass decision.

Agreed. Struggling in FCS will make matters even worse. I would only drop if there was a commitment to make it work. And if there was a commitment to make it work, then it should work in FBS too.

It is a fair question and something that has been bandied about here. The Football and Basketball teams are a very large part of the branding of a University. When I attended Akron we were Dll I can recall, as a lad, being impressed with schools like Clemson, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and of course there was Darryl Royal. This is what I saw on Saturday afternoons when I turned on the TV (to say nothing of Bill Bradley playing Hoops at Princeton - he was such a HUGE star in the NYC area that every game was televised)! Before the Internet, I could never even get an Akron score. Totally ignored in all other markets. I think we made The Dance in 1986 or so, I saw an article in the NYT. That was as close as I could come to information about the Zips. Once in a while I would stop at a large newsstand and pick up a Beacon Journal or a Plain Dealer and get a box score. Many people here have framed this in terms of money. While they have a point, the two major sports are more important than that. Being a home to "big time" championship teams attracts students. It keeps the alumni happy. They make contributions. It brings ad revenue. It is a self fulfilling prophesy when it comes to recruiting. Recruiting to Akron has big challenges. It is an urban campus. It is not a glamorous place to live (remember, we are seeking athletes from all over, so they mostly live on campus in "sports" housing and have no ties to the community. Being a townie school, there is a lot of apathy as to sports. Commuter students go to class and go home. The stadium is a huge upgrade. I was only in the JAR one time on a brief visit years ago, and it was not a game day, so I never comment on how good or bad it is. Probably better than Memorial Hall, we REALLY rocked that place in the days of Len Paul and Turner and Williams. All that being said, there are a finite number of schools that offer D1 Football scholarships. A skilled coach ought to be able to get some good players. No, I do not support dropping down. The big picture is that lowers the brand and perception of the school. Football and Hoops have EVERYTHING to do with the reputation and brand. Is there anything "special" about Notre Dame or Michigan or Louisville or Indiana? NO Their biggest claim to fame is sports. When I was in grade school we learned the Notre Dame fight song! I still know the words. WHY? Because FOOTBALL. Back to reality. I know a lot of folks did not like Bowden. The reality check is that he won games, took us to two bowls, and a MAC championship game. This is after iCoach made us the worst team in D1. So you want to replace him? Fine. FIND SOMEONE BETTER. I never played or coached football at any level. But throw a deep pass on 3rd and 1 in a game you are still in? Illegal formation on a punt? This tells me this coach is not in control of the team. No offense, no defense. No OL. No special teams. This is not a team, it is a rabble. Face it, we have been blown out in EVERY game, There is no excuse for this. We offer Division One NCAA scholarships. A few of our guys get into the NFL. We may not have great players, but in my opinion we have a horrible coaching staff. Sorry for the diatribe, but this is just so frustrating. We fired a coach who brought us back from oblivion, and replaced him with a coach who is no more successful than you or I could be. AND we are paying both of them.

What is interesting is that people complain about the discussion about the poor coaching performance, yet they are the only threads people really commenting on. The on-field play is so bad, it is difficult to even discuss. I will never agree to some ridiculous notion that Arth can make us respectable, let alone in 2 years. There is simply nothing that should lead us to believe that. Our play has not shown any signs of an improving team. We have a couple of players here and there seemingly playing a little better but it is tough to judge whether there is true improvement or just the opponent taking their foot off of the gas. I spoke to a former player and his concern was the lack of urgency and will to win. I think that is obvious.

So if Cheese was hurt and held out you would deem him to not be a key player this season?

December 18, 1985- Zips relieve Jim Dennison of his duties and hire Gerry Faust. Regardless of whether you think it was a good or bad decision, it was a huge one that dictated the future of the program.

I'd add DB to this as well. I think I read in the off season that we only have 8 DB on scholarship. That's not a lot considering you have 4-5 DBs on the field every defensive snap. Not to mention good cover corners give the d-line a little extra time to get pressure on the QB.

That's very interesting! Thanks for posting!

Now, the problem with that model (and why tenure exists at all) is because Principals change readily in schools. Our oldest teacher in my department is retiring this year and he's seen 12 through his Career of 35 years. He's had administrators that have hated him, and would have fired him on the spot if they could have because he had the gaul to tell them that their plans weren't going to work because of X, Y and Z. Those administrators were always gone a year or two later while he's been there the whole time. Really, if things were the way they used to be, he should be principal. Unfortunately, you need to get a state certificate to do so, which is why he never cared to do it. It also prevents principals who want to hire younger (and cheaper) people do fill jobs. This is crucially important; because the people I learn most from are my peers. Having people who have taught for 35 years is an invaluable resource. Had some narrow minded administrator at some time gotten rid of them because they arbitrarily didn't like them, or arbitrarily liked the way they did things, than the younger teachers like myself would have lost out on that experience. As for getting rid of teacher unions; completely disagree. They act as a counterbalance in many districts for administrations screwing over kids because of whatever resume building policy they want to enact. Classroom sizes, classroom resources, building resources that directly impact kids, unions fight for all the time, as well as making sure the district is compliant with state and federal law, especially when it comes to Disabilities and making sure that the law is being met on resources given. Now there are some problems with unions as well. I'm active in mine and we have actively considered becoming independent of the national/state Union at large. I won't go into the nitty-gritty of why, but it isn't because unions are inherently bad.

The Zips drop a 3-1 decision to CSU.