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I think the football staff is doing a tremendous job recruiting and landing some players that could play at the Power 5 level, but will be difference makers here. Not necessarily starters at the Power 5 level, but could make the depth chart and contribute. In essence I think we have a staff that is recruiting like a Power 5 staff at Akron. The biggest difference I see in recruiting as a whole is along the offensive and defensive lines (and to some extent linebacker and safety). It may take a year or two for the freshmen to develop on the OL and DL, but the talent has most certainly increased. The physicality our incoming recruits play with is eye opening and something we see on a weekly basis at Power 5 levels. Im doing my best to get the national guys at Rivals to rate our recruits, but they are busy and there is still the mindset that Akron isn’t a good program. I suspect I’ll have their ear a little more after this season and we’ll likely see a few more 3 star recruits in next year’s class, even if they aren’t any better than some of the recruits in this year’s class. It’s an exciting time for Akron football and I’m looking forward to experiencing it with everyone here.

Alabama and OSU are Saudi oil fields. By comparison, MAC schools are fracking in Newcomerstown. Upper-tier P5 programs are starting their own bazillion dollar "LIV Tour." MAC schools are clipping coupons to save 50 cents the next time they play Putt Putt. @catdaddyp did an awesome job of explaining why stars are exponentially less applicable the further you slide down the college football food chain. If the Zips staff is choosing a 3-star guy over a 2-star guy simply because of stars, he's not going to be coaching for long. Quoting catdaddy - "The better players will 'pop' off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating." Give me a D1 coach that knows talent when he sees it, over one that bases his recruiting on nameless star-assigners who have never coached or played, but have monetary incentive to gain views/subscribers.

Camp has started

Bowling Green, from the lowly MAC Conference, is nationally ranked?

Ah the never ending star debate. Haha. I’ll try to give a little insight into the industry. Overall, yes stars matter, but it’s not an exact science. For Rivals, the guys that do the national coverage give all the ratings and stars. The kids that go to the Rivals camps will be rated and usually be given a more generous rating. For kids that don’t go to the camps, the national writers will review highlights and give their best judgement. However, their main job is to write articles and get views/subscribers. Ratings and stars are secondary. So schools that are not Power 5 tend to get shafted in coverage. In Akron’s case, not many media members are paying much attention and just assume it’s the same ole Akron. They also assume the players being recruited probably aren’t as good as some others being recruited at more traditional powers in the MAC or elsewhere. Recently On3 came into existence and poached some Rivals employees, so the coverage may not be as extensive as it has been in the past, but Rivals is pushing to remedy that situation. 247 is a little more generous in their star ratings than Rivals. Many of their 4 star ratings should not be 4 stars in my opinion, but rating them as such tends to get more media coverage and the kids will post their best star ratings on social outlets. It’s a smart business move by 247, but it inflates the amount of 4 stars. Same could be said about the amount of 3 stars. On3 has tried position themselves as the top dawg by using Rivals, ESPN, 247, and their own ratings to make a “composite” and promote that as the top source. Some analysts rate more heavily on potential, while others rate more heavily on where the kid currently is. The amount of scholarships and which schools have offered also play into the ratings. Keep in mind, many of the guys rating these players never played or coached, but that’s how this industry is setup. In my opinion, the better players will “pop” off the film regardless of anyone’s expertise or rating.

Per On3... AAC In 2019, the 11-school league reached an agreement with ESPN on a 12-year, $1 billion deal; it started in the fall of 2020 and runs through the 2031-32 academic year. The deal averages $83.3 million per year, which means each school receives about $7 million annually. (Navy is in the league for football only; league member Wichita State does not play football.) Mid-American In 2019, the league and CBS Sports Network announced a four-year extension to televise football and basketball games through the 2022-2023 season. The deal, a four-year extension from the original agreement signed in the 2015-2016 season, is through a sublicense agreement with ESPN. The deal is worth about $8 million a year, which means each of the 12 schools receives about $600,000 annually. I don't know about you, but I'd double travel costs for 11x the amount of automatic revenue...

There's only one (at the moment) - American Athletic Conference. They have a $1B TV deal with ESPN, which is the largest non P5 media deal. The MAC I believe is #2, but that might change soon. In terms of growth, the American Athletic Conference and Mountain West have been the two conferences that get picked over by the P5 conferences. The Mountain West is geographically locked, especially from us, so the American Athletic Conference is the only viable option for growth at the moment.

I still love stars. However, I know it is not an exact science. Mistakes will be made, but for the most part, Stars win out. Look at Alabama, OSU, etc. They do not recruit zero star players. I will continue with my support of Stars. Go Zips!!!!!

Agree completely. I also love the consistently between the new turf and new court design. Both have the same blue A, blue endzones/baselines with gold type and name of facility on the sidelines.

This is simply gorgeous. The break in the blue with the gold is a nice touch, especially with the blue A in the middle.

6 game suspension per Miss Sue L. Can be appealed by NFL.

UConn...BG...UMass? I think of those 3, BG was the better program, and they lost to the Arth-led Zips? I always like the players recruited by Army and Navy. If that is the type of kid your program is attracting, you're doing things the right way.

Attaching updated scholarship chart per the roster. All newcomers are now listed we are aware of except for Deontae Williams. Maybe he's a greyshirt? As @catdaddyp previously mentioned, Janirr Wade and Juan Jarrett are no longer listed. The scholly chart shows 85 players, but 34 new additions (when I believe the max is 32. Of course, we never claim to be 100% accurate..just strive to be. A thought is that potentially 2 players were medically disqualified and that opened up additional positions. Michael Snowden is one player we know who that happened to. Zips Football Scholarship Chart.xlsx

Zips in the Pros update Chris Bassitt is 7-7 3.83 with 98 hits and 117 K's for the Mets JT is 2-9 4.40 with 113 hits and 105 K's for the Pirates The Mets are five games ahead in their division. The Pirates, not so much.

The ZipsNation authorities were initially thinking about a 6 game suspension, but they were swayed by my argument that the Zips football staff was securing too many 2023 commitments for an old guy to process. That's why they came up with the slightly less punitive double-secret probation. As you point out the NFL does have the right to appeal the sanction, but I don't anticipate that they will.