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I don't disagree that things could be freshened up some. However, our current facilities are not keeping us from winning. Of course, prior to The Big Dialer and fieldhouse the facilities were nothing short of horrible. We have to move past facilities being an excuse at this point. Someone is always going to have something more new and shiny as what we may have in comparison. We need to win with what we have. It's good enough and they need to get winning. Coaching is the key right now. I really believe in JoMo and those who think its now or never may in fact... be correct. Joe is the Dave Clawson (Wake Forest) of the MAC as he is the perfect fit for the program. Joe has a specific vision for the team which centers around our identity. I'm certain we have never had a coach with this clear of a vision for the program and a history of success to feel confident in his abilities. Why Dave Clawson as a comparison? The identity and vision are the two main reasons for me. Like JoMo, he has an offense he believes in and is a fit for his school. Joe understands who to recruit at Akron just like Clawson understands Wake is a very niche fit for his players. Joe had a much bigger name and history of success than Clawson did, so that alone is very encouraging. Clawson's first two years at Wake were both 3-9 seasons. They were absolutely terrible. Since then, they have had seven straight bowl seasons and one trip to the ACC Championship with some time in the Top 10 early last season before finishing the regular season 2-4. What does 7 straight bowls mean at Wake? Wake has been to 17 bowl games in their history. They first started to play football in 1888. They didn't make their first bowl game until 1945 when Coach Peahead Walker took them to the Gator Bowl. Wake is a historic bottom feeder in the ACC. Recent success has come with a stadium not as nice as The Big Dialer and facilities on par with what Akron has. I think CK used the word ineptitude to describe our football history. I would use the term Intellectually Lazy. Maybe one leads to the other. Issues such as culture and identity don't seem to have ever been considered when making a football head coaching hire. They made one with KD in MBB and it worked out great. I don't know much about Dr. Miller or our AD, but the little I do know is they seem to have a clear vision for the University and Athletic Department based upon the identity of the school itself. They brought in a coach who's opinions align with theirs. It's going to work because when this happens, it works out even for a bottom feeder like Wake. The expectation of a 5-6 win season next year is not unreasonable. Clawson took Wake from 3-9 to 6-6 in year three and a bowl win finishing the season 7-6. I would bet those with a clear vision at the University have the same expectation. Guys like Joe don't take baby steps. It's year two and the fans should be beyond baby steps as well. In fact, the idea of baby steps disguised as the "building process" has been part of the low expectations for Zips fans for too long. Getting to six wins shouldn't be nearly as difficult as we seem to make it. It's a mystery to me why we can't make it happen annually. If Wake can do it in the ACC, we can do it in the MAC.

I haven't missed a men's MAC tournament game that is open to the public since the 2010 quarterfinals. Didn't get to see the Steve McNees game live. I remember listening to Groce pound Kent on the radio later that night. Been to every MAC tournament game I'm allowed to since then. 2021 QF weren't open to the public for some reason, that's it. My favorite week of the year. Sticking around after the 82-46 behind-whooping at the hands of Buffalo was well worth it to see CMU run Kent off the floor in 2019, for example.

Here's the tourney simulator. http://bball.notnothing.net/bracket.php?conf=macm Frankly, doesn't matter to me who plays whom in what round. Trivia: in 2021, Ohio (at #5 took out #4 Kent State, #1 Toledo, and #2 Buffalo. In 2022, Akron did the same in reverse: Akron as #4 took out Buffalo, Toledo #1, and Kent #2. This is what I came up with.

I am listening to this game off of the EMU website. Three times tonight, and I am not kidding, the announcer for the eagles has call Kent State GOLDEN STATE!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like the Bowling Green crowd has heard enough and the season hasn’t even started.

In hindsight, to keep it from going down as it did, yes. Not necessarily to the authorities, but to a coach or other adult before it all went down. In the present, as a college kid, that would not have been as easy of a call.

For anyone reading this, my experience is that some of the Spring exhibitions in the past have moved due to inclement spring weather. So, I highly recommend monitoring Zips Men's Soccer social media for updates, but I'm posting the information from the tweet/press release above for ease of reading it here, at the time of posting. Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m at Pittsburgh Riverhounds Sunday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. at Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa Sunday, March 5 at Hamilton Forge in Hamilton, ON, Canada at 2 p.m Saturday, March 11 Rush Canada Club's U20 and U21 squads at UA's FirstEnergy Stadium at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Saturday, April 1 St Bonaventure and John Carroll at UA's FirstEnergy Stadium 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8 Purdue Fort Wayne and Thomas More, respectively at UA's FirstEnergy Stadium at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m The Zips open their spring slate visiting Pittsburgh, Pa., to battle the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. The Zips return to Pennsylvania a week later to battle Robert Morris on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in Moon Township, Pa. The Zips commence the month of March traveling to Hamilton, Ontario to square off against the Hamilton Forge on Sunday, March 5 in a 2 p.m. tilt. Akron welcomes the Rush Canada Club's U20 and U21 squads to FirstEnergy Stadium for 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. showdowns on Saturday, March 11. The Zips kick off the month of April hostingSt. Bonaventure and John Carroll in a doubleheader at FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday, April 1 at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Akron concludes its exhibition campaign hosting a doubleheader on Saturday, April 8 at FirstEnergy Stadium versus Purdue Fort Wayne and Thomas More at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. All spring exhibition contests at FirstEnergy Stadium are open to the public and free of charge.

Great, thanks! @LoyalZIP

Great read indeed. Thanks for writing @GeorgeThomasABJ

Great read. Very well constructed by GT. But man, Groce has Akron rolling pretty well now. A mini deep dive into the last 4 years here would be a fun read. Talking to guys like Tribble, Clarke, Freeman who have been here for it all. I suppose beggars can't be choosers.

Dan Gilbert loves my wallet, those Thursdays all day can add up fast!

Ah yes, I remember it well. 😄

Akron 2023 roster....lists Alejandro Varela as 6'1 the Keiser roster listed Alejandro Varela as 6'4 https://kuseahawks.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/alejandro-varela-sabio/6692

Very well said, that even got me a little fired up! The only thing that I dispute, and I hear this all the time, is how great the facilities are. Granted, the stadium is first class (despite the big screen and scoreboard constantly in need of repair) and the best in the MAC but what else is great about the facilities? The locker room is horrible , the weight room is worse than some high schools that I've seen and the indoor is average. I hear that are some much needed upgrades coming - desperately needed!

When he first accepted the Akron gig I think Joe could have gone to 10 other places that would have paid him more. The opportunities won't stop now that he's here. College, and occasionally NFL teams will annually put him on their interview list. I just don't see him leaving until he gets the job done. He's here for the right reasons - the chance to run his own program again, a decent salary (you can live pretty nicely on $700k in the Akron area), and for whatever reason...like all of us hard-core supporters...he actually believes in the potential of Zips football. Faust famously called Akron a "sleeping giant" when he came on campus back in the mid 80's. We've been asleep ever since, thanks to horrible facilities, horrible hires and overall administrative ineptitude. It's amazing how many 1-AA teams have ascended to 1-A since the Zips were the first to do so back in 1985. And every single one of them has been more competitive than the Zips. To me, Joe is our first legitimate chance to get off the 38-year schneid. He wants to be here...he's got the facilities...he's a brilliant guy...he's a proven winner...if he can't do it, no one can. Stay the F away, NFL. You don't need Joe. We do.

That settles it. None of my kids are allowed to attend Ball State.

The way things shook out last year it felt like we had to run the toughest possible gauntlet. This year the MAC is deeper with parity so I don't think it really matters where we end up; it's going to be a tough 3 rounds any way the cards fall.