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Well, we're already playing the Concords, as well as the Louisvilles. I get your point and your passion Captain, but I am still showing up if there's a change. I enjoyed them just as much in the OVC, OAC, DII and D1-AA as I do now. I hope to God there's not a change but I will be there to support the teams if there is. At the end of the day, I think we're all getting ahead of ourselves. Every other MAC school is going to have to face those issues and will face the same limitations and I think there will be a solutions beyond Akron alone.

Let's talk numbers. What are the football cost savings in dropping down? Coaches salaries, scholarships, maybe less travel (I find it hard to see less travel than the MAC in any level really).. What else am I missing here.. The stadium and the debt service costs ain't going anywhere. Do those cost savings of maybe 2 million make up for losing buy games, TV revenue and the sponsors we'll lose? I just am unsure if dropping down a level is some magic wand.

If we drop to FCS, we're out of the MAC. There goes the automatic Tourney bids for basketball and soccer. And the manageable bus rides to/from games. Maybe the Kent rivalry changes to YSU? Yippee. GP1 is correct. We need to have partners in this deal. Most of the MAC, and other G5 programs, are in the same boat. If UA walks away from FBS football alone (i.e. no like-minded partners), and drops to a lower division, I'm done with Zips football. Unless, maybe, if there was a new G5 division. And, I wouldn't care to watch the basketball program compete in a lesser conference either (like we tried with the Northeast Conference after we left the OVC). There's a big domino effect if UA does something really stupid this football decision. Thanks to the Prez for his premature, negative, vague announcement that lets us twist in the wind for weeks...

We need to root for this issue to be as widespread as possible...if many are dealing with it, exceptions have to be made I'd think. https://www.crainscleveland.com/rachel-mccafferty-blog/kent-state-cut-fiscal-year-2021-budget-20?utm_source=afternoon-report&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200427&utm_content=article5-readmore

Considering this is an athletic message board, I'm stunned that some on here are ok with dropping to D2, leaving the MAC, and crushing the athletic program all because of their distaste for Williams, Arth, the stadium or whatever else. No other program can bring in $4mill by playing 3 road games like the football program can. There will be big changes but I'm with the Captain. Flushing our basketball and soccer teams down the toilet by downgrading would be a huge mistake by Miller and the board. All the MAC schools are in same situation. Hopefully, they are all working together on a solution instead of a suicide pact. If Akron has too many sports, the cut them and work on that waiver from the NCAA.

I think Dr Miller is following the advice of Winston Churchill, "never let a good crisis go to waste". Akron has been kicking the can down the road for years when it comes to deficits in the athletic department budget. Now under the cover of the Covid crisis it is the time to make a major course correction. Hopefully the rest of the MAC sees it the same way. GP1 makes a good point about the G6 schools breaking off and doing their own thing. They may not have a choice if the G5 thinks old Winston had a good idea.

Really looking forward to seeing Brian Trimble after hearing Groce's comments. Sounds like he's a next level shooter and should help replace some of the shooting they lose to graduation. Sounds like he can handle the ball too which brings some real value, like Tyler Cheese, when LCJ is off of the floor. He and Daily are going to give the Zips some dangerous wing players. I understood KD's approach in focusing on freshmen, but the infusion of transfers (e.g. X, Riak. LCJ) and JUCOs (Cheese, Banks, Reece) has added a lot of excitement to the program. Dailey, Trimble and Currie will be a huge infusion of talent.

Or Northwestern, Pitt, Navy, NC State, etc.

Their noodling team and washboard and jug band program are doomed.

I think any real discussion on saving money would have to start with totally scrapping football or going non-scholarship FCS, which I can't see either happening. And if it did, I'd be done

Wouldn't fewer scholarships at the FCS level make it less of a financial burden on some level?

Broken record. It's as if you have no idea about Akron - your're just boring to me (ignore).

There are 350+ D1 schools. There are much smaller schools with much smaller enrollments and endowments than MAC schools in D1. If MAC schools are saying they can't keep up with the NCAA D1 requirements, conferences like the MEAC, Southland, Northeastern etc. are probably even facing worse problems. The NCAA isn't going to let 100 or so schools drop from D1. I expect to see system wide changes.

Ive never known this board to overreact or get ahead of itself.

If I attended Mount union or Wittenberg, I'd be with you. But if I attended a University which formerly played Louisville's, and then switched me to Concord's, I'm walking away. You can have it. It would physically sicken me to see the Zips play basketball in the Horizon League, or worse (remember, if football's present division status is changed, we're booted out of the MAC).

I think we all need to realize that we're not exactly a strong cross section of the University of Akron consumer here. We are strong and informed fans of the athletic program. That's what brings us here. The average UA consumer is aware of athletics at the school but little else. They could care less whether the teams competed in the Big10 or CYO and wouldn't lose a second of sleep over any cuts. For me, as long as the teams are competitive and the games are entertaining and not unduly expensive, I will show up and support the teams of my alma mater, whether they're playing Concord or Louisville. I'd also venture a guess that the average UA consumer (not us) could not distinguish between a game between two good high school teams and two MAC teams.

A number of people who post here have been talking for quite some time about the possibility or even the advisability of Akron and similar schools moving 'down' to other compete in other other athletic divisions. That part of the discussion is not new not even recent. Its been out there for a while. When Akron made the transition to DI in football and basketball I was frankly excited. I however had watched Akron compete VERY successfully in football and basketball at what would now be the DII level. Playoffs,winning seasons and being very competitive was 'normal'. One of the 3 most exciting Akron football games I ever saw was the overtime playoff game at the Rubber Bowl(I miss U) in I believe 1976. Didn't care if it was College Division,DII or D15. Even though the initial excitement of competing at DI was fine,it has unfortunately become obvious that a number of schools like Akron can not consistently compete at this level either on the field or financially. The best predictor of future behavior is usually past behavior. If and when football resumes try watching some Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference games on the cable. There are some fantastic rivalries there. IUP, Slippery Rock, Clarion etc.,etc. That happens week after week. And for the most part those schools are in proximity to each other. By the way way back when Akron used to play some of those teams. We could continue talking about what a nice facility Infocision is. We could also mention that it has become something of an albatross under the circumstances. Athletics at Akron has to shift gears. Can't continue to bleed money. Akron also has some world class academic programs. Scarce financial resources should go there first.Emphasize what you do best. Those programs attract more finances from out side the University. Athletics should remain,but not in the same form we have seen them for the last 30 or so years.

100% agree that the ADs that have been at Akron have been lesser than since Mike Bobinski left. Helsel was clueless. Thomas was looking for a job every year, as was Rhoades. Wistricil was a clown and Williams has proven to be a true phantom, likely the worst of the group. The AD is only as good as the staff around him/her, and at Akron it's been the same group of core people running athletics for the last 25 years. An AD needs a strong University President and Board of Trustees. That has not been the case at Akron. Do we really need to address these dysfunctional further? The business leader as an AD is a concept that has been pushed. Not new. Not successful for the most part.I have have missed some but these two immediately pop into mind. Dave Brandon helped build Dominos Pizza into a top American brand. Brilliant business mind. He then was named the AD at Michigan and drove the program into the ground. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2014/10/31/dave-brandon-university-michigan/18241453/ Jack Graham was a great businessman out in Colorado, then was the AD at Colorado State. A few years later he was canned as again, the "Business Mind" left lots to be desired in terms of operating an athletics department. https://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/08/jack-graham-fired-as-csu-athletic-director-calls-decision-surprising-disappointing/ Fred Glass at Indiana was a lawyer before, same as Larry Williams. I'd say Fred's time at IU has been weak. Basketball is bad and football is, well, still Indiana football. Committees only work if they have teeth and are empowered by a plan that carries out their recommendations. Without follow through you are wasting everyones time and making things worse by giving the impression that you care about change. The University of Akron enrollment is on the downswing. That's a bigger issue than anything in Athletics. Focus needs to be there, not on sports. Akron Athletics receives 70% of its funding from Student Fees and other institutional support. The people raising money for Athletics are weak, unable to focus on a long-term mission, and that's because the AD is failing at his#1 job. Have a workable strategic plan. Larry Williams may be a nice guy but he's using a day trade mentality. The day has come from the UA's mindset that Athletics has a margin call. First it was an 8m cut, now it's another 20%. As such, D1 Athletics as we know it is over. Any student who has completed a Business 101 Intro Class could tell you that. Another poster asked if Matt Kaulig would approve of downsizing athletics? Who cares, he's not writing a big enough check to have that veto power. The last guy who did ran Infocision, and he died in 2013. He committed contributed $10 million for 20-year naming rights for the newly constructed UA football stadium. That was in 2009, so that deal has 9 more years on it. Akron is a lot like Dayton, only UD is private and UA is public. UA should look into privitizing the school, downsizing for the current economy, and dropping football from D1 to D3. Play D1 in all other sports like Dayton, Davidson, Drake, San Diego, etc... Lots of D3 football in the area and no reason why we could not make basketball a true powerhouse. Football at the MAC level with MACtion killing the schedule every year is an anachronism. Get busy with a true strategic plan and leadership in athletics who operate in a transparent nature. Larry Williams has been too secretive in his operations, or in most cases, lack thereof. Since his hiring in 2015 he has been a ghost. His leadership is no where. Contract is about up... don't look for a return. Akron needs to clean house on the athletics staff side. These folks have all had their time and perhaps bringing in a Matt Kaulig would be appropriate. Someone who has skiing the game and a brain for business. No one on campus now has a clue and it's time to make some waves.

Go Chipps!

To who? The students who are Ohio State fans? Or could care less about sports? I'm a firm believer it's more exciting, more interesting to play to your level. I come from a Division V high school football program, Doylestown/Chippewa. I have never heard fans say "Man I wish we were getting smoked by St Ed tonight" or "We should be playing in Massillon!!" I personally had a lot more fun watching the Canton Charge than the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. I would rather see a competitive, fun football team. At whatever level we eblong. I enrolled in Akron in 2007 (non-traditional student) and in that time I've seen the program go 49-110. .308 winning percentage. ONE winning season. We're talking the MAC, not the SEC. Sure the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory was fun, but overall THIS SUCKED. Season tickets? Not anymore. Criticize me all you want about not being a "real fan" anymore, I won't cry. It's time to be realistic here.

Student Fees are there - it's called institutional support. Athletics Donors give 1.87m (5%) annually Ticket Sales are 1.38m (4%) annually Student Fees provide $24.29m (70%) annually Yeah, Student Fees are 7x the amount of total donors and tickets sold. Perhaps the U of A should be more concerned with keeping students in a period of declining enrollment, and not loading the students down with fees to fund the athletics department. Move to D2 and be the best at it in the nation.

“The Battle of Copenhagen” Ten thousand Swedes ran through the weeds, chased by one Norwegian. Ten thousand more ran to the shore in the battle of Copenhagen. Way, way back in history, back when the world was new, norwegian searched all over, to find some snoose to chew. They fished for Lutefisk and Torsk, it helped to make them strong, and you and me, we know a Norsk, cannot do nothing wrong. But swedes and danes were envious of Viking trips and raids. The Viking shields and helmet horns, made all those folks afraid. Throughout the world the Vikings sailed, to Ireland and to France. The even found America, one afternoon by chance. My grandpa says, and he should know, the swedes made up the minds. To beat the Norsky Vikings, and kick a few behinds. But history, so grandpa says, show that the Norskies won. They clobbered all the swedes and danes, and made it lots of fun. Ten thousand swedes ran through the weeds, chased by one norwegian. The dust from the weeds, made snoose for the swedes, and they called it Copenhagen, E. C. Stangland

The athletic program can't be all things to all people. My son attended a snooty east coast school that played top notch D1 men's and women's basketball and participated in lower level leagues in every other sport. Schools need to pick their poison. Do you think anyone really cares about the football teams of Gonzaga, Butler or Georgetown? I get that this is a football area, but if UA bases its decisions on historic success, football is in trouble while soccer and basketball should be less impacted.