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Cool event! Good food. BBQ meatballs, spanikopita (Greek spinach/feta pies), shrimp, charcuterie, cash bar. Nice to mingle with all the athletes and coaches. Groce and Jackson seem like they love coaching their teams, lots of returners for both. Melissa said they had 20 and 29 assists in scrimmages, emerging from a few years of Dawson carrying the team. Groce emphasized they are not defending the title, they are attacking. And it’s imperative that the team realizes they ain’t won s*** A cool event I hope becomes a tradition! It definitely got me pumped up for the season a bit more.

No. 🦘🍪👎🏼 I concur with @Loyal Zip - a fun, feel good event. Great food. Hoops will be fun in the AK again this winter!

I think we miss out on a ton of revenue because the JAR isn't a place for local businesses to entertain. Even for a date night...how many couples want to see a game smooshed together against Frank from Barberton on a wooden bleacher? Even Kent has a nice enclosed area where bigger-donor fans can enjoy the game. I went to the Tommy Evans Lounge once. Maybe 15 years ago. I won tickets at a golf outing. For the pregame (noon tip-off) there was a breakfast station with pancakes, eggs, etc. At 1 pm (halftime) we returned, and the same breakfast stuff was still sitting out. The blue hairs were scooping up their dried-out pancakes and trying to rehydrate them with butter and syrup. My young son wanted a soda. I poured one from the fountain dispenser and handed it to him. He gagged. There was no syrup in the dispenser. Along the front glassed-in wall were some cups of ice cream. They must have been placed on the table at noon, because they were all completely melted. The place was absolutely packed. Looked like 1984 Bulger Hall floor party, but without the kegs. I couldn't imagine an exec from Goodyear walking in there for the first time and saying "Gee...I gotta entertain our out-of-town rubber supplier VP's HERE!" I like watching games at the JAR. It is a nice home court advantage for big games. It's nice that the simpletons who banned beer at the JAR for 35 years are either dead or fired. But as far as D1 arenas go, it is completely bush league. I'd pay a lot more for a cushioned seat and a better view of the game. Hope it happens before I retire to Arizona, or croak.

It was announced that they are starting a capital campaign to raise money for new seating for the JAR.

This doesn't even go into how much more use the community would get out of the arena compared to the football stadium. Infocision gets used for 5 home games per year then maybe a handful of high school games. The basketball arena houses 3 Zips sport teams, high school graduations, and if it wasn't a dump could host concerts and other similar type events

I imagine we would have done it already if permitted, but selling the naming rights to a business and using the proceeds for renovations sounds like a win/win to me.

I really like Kyle Thomas. He seems to fire out of his stance quicker than any other DT we have. He also may be our best interior pass rusher, but is not as strong against the run as Holt and Harper. I’m excited to see how he develops with a full offseason in the program. I haven’t heard anything about Holt receiving a medical redshirt. I hope it happens, but not counting on it. I’m excited about Murphy too. He has unusually quick feet for a defensive lineman and certainly has the size and strength to contribute. I think he’s played in one game on special teams, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any playing time at DT in these last few games. We may take a few lumps early next year, but I think the combo of Thomas and Murphy have a much higher upside than our current DTs. And that’s not a knock on Harper or Holt.

Joe confirmed on Zips Live tonight what I thought the announcers said at the Liberty game. There’s a good chance Bubba has another year of eligibility. I assume the determining factor is officially getting the medical redshirt for last year. Would be big to get him back.

ugh...Clark, I came on here to type just that: we watch garbage product in a beautiful setting and an excellent product in a much rougher setting. I guess for me, i have so many good and exciting memories and a few bad ones as well that make me feel good when I walk in the JAR. But when I walk into Infocision I'm overcome by dread and negativity. It's just an awful experience watching Zips football (someone improved without Keith Kennedy) Tommy Evans lounge is pretty bad. The food they serve now looks quite good but its such an awkward room to eat and or socialize.

we have a connection and are die hards. it's nostalgic, and really loud for big games. for a casual fan with no connection to UA, it stinks. Better than it was 5-7 years ago before the paint job and video boards, but still very below average

I agree. Unfortunately, it isn’t about the die hards and this stuff has a lot of influence on why people hate that place and are embarrassed by it.

Whoever is in charge of loin girding for the Zips should be hard at work this weekend. The Jackrabbits are not the typical bunnies that teams invite to hop in for an easy early season win. Zips by 14. GO ZIPS.

@catdaddyp, what do you think of DL #55 Kyle Thomas? He's currently a junior so we'll have him next year. Have we gotten any more information on Ravontae Holt's possible medical redshirt status? On GoZips.com he's currently listed as a R-Sr. I'm excited to see what freshman Kiawan Murphy adds to the mix, as JoeMo has mentioned him to Joe Dunn on Zips Weekly a couple of times now.

I hope we come out this year with the same defensive intensity we ended last season with. Z-Fence!!!

What a clutch, brilliant, and ballsy move by Coach Groce.

Special team. 2019-20 and 2021-22 are my 2 favorite Akron squads of all time. What that team did last year to pull together through all the adversity and not only beat KSUcks by 20(!) in the MAC Title game, but also come within a couple of baskets of knocking off UCLA in the NCAA Tourney - legendary team. The newcomers this year need to understand what happened last year. The sooner they figure that out, the sooner they buy in, the better off we'll be in the long run.

Had to go to SDSU's website to figure it out, but the game will be on ESPN3/+ for those not able to attend. https://gojacks.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

I don't recall this being posted, but this is the first time I've seen it. Will get you pumped for Monday:

You're just worried that the new seating will give the guy with the t-shirt cannon a better line of sight to your seat!