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Agree...but I also miss the flat foot two hand set shot and the underhanded free throw.

Seriously. One photo of a coach yelling without context?! That's an incredibly soft comment and a reach. I immediately thought of Saban throwing a tantrum in the Iron Bowl Saturday as a counter example. I recall Hicks getting kicked out of a game, can't remember which one, and Arth going straight to him and sternly talking about the incident and why it can't happen. There was no screaming in a situation that would have 100% warranted it.I have met the man, though not in a football environment, but I have also observed him throughout the year, and based on what I can see, Arth's demeanor does not strike me as a blow hard at all. I will say 94zipgrad's comment about being him "too much" did catch my eye though. He's proven that when he says something, we should listen. Is that feeling a result of Bowden not having control? Or is Arth being a control freak and having days scripted and expecting kids go to class, have good grades, etc not common at other places? My guess would be the former. Arth has disciplined players at the expense of the team throughout the year and the team had the highest ever cumulative GPA in his first semester. We all want results on the field - and thats what he's paid to get - but molding young men to be successful citizens post football is pretty damn important too.

I have to wonder if the loss of 'the Chest' from the staff had a role in the unraveling of team culture at Akron under Bowden. Amato was in his seventies, but he still had some charisma that players respected. Chuck brought in some good linebackers here and I think he was missed after his retirement.

There was also the double OT loss at #20 Dayton in 07 where we were down 3 and Nick Dials tried to shoot a 3 and they only awarded him 2 free throws. He was a 90% free throw shooter so it probably would have gone to a 3rd OT.

I liked the Bowden hire and how he coached, but I think we all have to admit he lost the team last year.

I believe the closest we came was 2011 when the Zips beat a 1-0 Miss State team that had Rodney Hood and several players that went on to pro careers overseas. The Zips controlled the game and won by 10 at MSU's house. MSU was unranked at the time, but would climb as high as #15 before a losing streak late in the season. Probably the best start to finish Zips game I have ever watch (on TV that is). Harney had a break away dunk near the end of the game to seal it.

Im going to have to disagree with you on this. Have you ever seen Nick Saban on the sidelines or Urban Meyer? They are no strangers to ripping into those boys so lets not get all soft here.

Akron ranked a Top-10 Minor League Market by Sports Business Journal "Akron ranked 10th among 211 markets in the survey, which compiled and reviewed data on attendance, venues, cities and economic regions in 34 leagues and 350 teams nationwide" Think of the potential. IF... I don't have to argue the point this is a football hotbed, we have high school games that draw more fans than most colleges, they're on TV. Investing in, and marketing football (and basketball) not only improves attendance, but also enrollment. How many Akron students go to tOSU because of the football program? And our new modern stadium sits empty (literally some nights). It's also a soccer hotbed. In the 1980's and early 90's it had the only profitable pro soccer franchise. It had a second successful franchise in Canton (in a league with lower player salaries) at the same time. We filled CBS for international matches. In the midst of this we have one of the most popular minor league baseball franchises. I have complete faith that the Zips "marketing" will capitalize with the new baseball program (complete with high profile coach) the same way it does everything else. <crickets chirping> I've been against the baseball program playing at Canal Park for that reason, putting 50 or 60 people in a stadium that holds 7600 would look baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Been there, seen that.

I’m right with you. I can still picture Tark chewing on his towel. Or what about Houston’s 5 Slamma Jamma?! Where has Houston been?

Javale Mcgee was also on that team.

#5 at worst. Wake up pollsters!

It's funny how powerful tradition is. I was watching the Cincinnati -v- UNLV game last night & was thinking how cool it would be if we could bring UNLV to the JAR. But man I'm getting old, as UNLV hasn't really been relevant since the early 90's. But I still think of them as a basketball power. Same goes with UMass. And Temple. To a lesser degree Tulane. Even Loyola-Marymount (they experienced a little tournament success same era as those classic UNLV teams). Now that I think about it, when was the last time Cincy got past the 2nd round of the NCAA's? UConn seems to be falling into this category as well. Anyway, yes, I think Tulane would be a nice trophy prize. While I'm just rambling here, Louisville is now ranked #1 in the nation. We only lost to them by 6, so we should probably be ranked between what, 2-to-4?

Discuss University financing here. Discuss football in the football forum.

I do appreciate your passion, i know several players on the team over the last several years. I just want to make clear I don’t know the solution. The perception of the players over the last few years of Bowden is he lost the team. No discipline, the team was ruling the roost. Players where arguing with coaches, players were not taking their academics & commitments seriously by missing meetings & mandatory study times. Also, the team was not made up of the high character players you want representing your community. I know the AD is taking a lot of heat for the decision he made but IMHO his hands were tied & he had to make a decision. Now, this may change over time but the players perception now is that Arth is just to much. The day is scripted from beginning to end. Over the top on demanding perfection. Have to meet standards set for team. Grades, study time & meetings plus perform at a D1 level. He took scholarships away from players that didn’t meet these standards trying to raise the expectations. I believe he lost some of them. Over a couple years of his recruits hopefully this feeling will go away and succeed or this program will explode. I honestly don’t know which direction it is gonna go Hopefully Arth can find that middle ground & can make this thing work cause ultimately we may all look at things differently but we want our Football team to succeed Go Zips ?

This is the biggest OOC game (aside from WVU/Louisville) for a number of reasons. - We have a guy on our staff with a STRONG Huntington, WV, connection for recruiting. - A down Marshall squad is who we should be beating in year 3 of Groce. - Road wins have been tough in recent years (as @NWAkron mentioned). - Prove we deserve to be talked about with some of the expected top teams in the MAC (Toledo, Buffalo, etc.).

You really have no clue.

I can't recall a lower time for any Zip sports enthusiast. This is not a rant or a fire any coach, AD or BOT member call to action. It is merely a statement that our athletics culture is depressed. Football is now the worst of the bottom 10. Arth may raise us to the top of the MAC. I hope he does, but we have a lot more pain ahead before that happens. I'll give him a chance. Soccer is experiencing an unprecedented winless streak. Jared will fix it, he's too good a coach and we are lucky to have him. Tennis loses a coach who raised the program to the top of the MAC and then resigns days before the first fall season match for personal reasons. What gives? I don't believe why he left. There's more than that at play here. Track and Field can't have a spring home meet because the track is unsafe. Is this any way to treat a program that has made it to a top 25 national ranking? I don't believe this dysfunction is the result of one man's leadership, but rather a deteriorating culture that tolerates excuses and does not think of the university as able to achieve a high level of MAC competition. It's not always about money and funding. For us it's about expecting to lose eventually. There is little evidence of commitment to excellence. I've seen more passion on ZNO than I have ever seen from athletic dept staff. Their response always seems to be "This is Akron, what do you expect?" Well screw that. I expect to win and you coach, athletic staff member or administrator are supposed to find a way to make that happen. Not an excuse as to why it can't. Please men's and women's BBall gives us something to be proud of.

...He’s going to be valuable for the Dynamo. He’s contributed everywhere he’s been before. But today’s selection still feels like a blow to both player and, now, his former club. One month after their biggest loss on the field, the Timbers and Valentin suffered another defeat off of it.