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Rankings this week Zips are ranked #10 by College Soccer News Zips are ranked #13 by United College Soccer Coaches Zips are ranked #14 by Top Drawer Soccer In RPI (as of 7:10 pm on Tuesday 10/24), the zips are #33 in RPI There are currently 7 Big East Teams that have currecntly qualified for Big East Tournament Zips are currently the 2nd highest ranked Big East Team (in RPI) Georgetown 7 Akron 33 St. John's 42 Providence 43 Connecticut 59 Xavier 72 Creighton 102 Akron's next game opponent, Butler is 122 Butler has a record of 2-7-5

his is such a cool post. I love this president. But let's not get too down on Gary Miller. He gets how important it is to beat your rival. Maybe not as engaging as this president, but he is all in. This week he is carrying a Zip football helmet wherever he goes just to remind everyone that we need to beat Kent. The coaches have also heard from him that beating Kent is a priority. That's a good start and I give him credit.

I'm not sure I agree this is entitlement, it's looking at the value for what you're paying. For what amounts to $100 per game, you should get tremendous value, and if that isn't coming via the product (the team), you'd expect it to be made up in other areas.

Every kid in attendance gets a free beer and a pack of smokes.

I love Dr. Miller.

Prior to this season, your $500 ticket got you nothing but a seat. I find the level of entitlement in todays world exasperating. Sorry that menu (typical tailgate fare) not up to your standards. The vast majority of the $500 ticket is actually a donation to the Z-Fund which is used to support the student athletes. https://x.com/Akron_Z_Fund?t=HYsvZ4yh8qr0pULIh89N-w&s=09

This is at least a solid effort to engage the business community. https://app.wyng.com/651dc09a90c693f853bc4143?fbclid=IwAR2Xz_Y2nj_108iyiXJeXf-NLbB3aS9LCSN6AHHTyetaZ4agp39OMFK0Qf0_aem_AajXOyBoMIEvtTnc5DuaiSFCE7VTlCJ_YyF2L6mAx6GVQR9JSxw0qnJsNwY3G5pKWWgZ0x0mMBvyLwHdft5F0UlX&_wyng_media_es_651dc09a90c693f853bc4143=Copy share

Does anyone sit in the club section? I am paying $500 for this wonderful abomination of the sport of football. I was convinced to buy club seats basically for access to the game day buffets. Here is the kicker though.... the food has been the exact same at all three games. Processed chicken fingers, brats, veggies, chips, chilli, fruit and cheese, soft pretzels, and cookies/brownies. The last game, some woman who thought she was the queen of the buffet actually stopped me from pouring my chilli to ask if I had a wristband to be allowed to eat the spread. I almost lost my mind. Here's hoping to something new Wednesday, AND nice welcoming food service workers.

Undercuffler HAS to be done. No way he can see the field again with anything other than a ball cap, a headset and a clip board. Wassel and Jennings are nowhere near ready, or they would have played by now. Hopefully Bullock, with a week and a half to prepare, can somehow carry the Zips to a victory against a terrible Kent team. Maybe our OL can carry Irons up and down the field like Leftwich at the Rubber Bowl?

I just saw the Akron-Kent football game is listed as Youth Sports Day, perfect for a weekday school night game with a 7:30 PM start. 🤦‍♂️

If you read my posts you know I'm not a fan of Guthrie. That being said, I do believe Akron Athletics is better off now than under Larry Williams. More on my thoughts on Guthrie later in this post. Here's my "State of Akron Athletics" comments. First - Facilities. Since Guthrie arrived we've seen repairs made to InfoCision that were needed, although we still need to fix/replace the video board. The JAR is what it is, but it's not terrible, and the new floor, the addition of a "$$$ donor bar" are all positives. It still looks good, and those who do attend infrequently still think it's a good facility. FirstEnergy continues to be one of the top Soccer-specific Stadiums in NCAA soccer, and they recently upgraded the sound system to give more sound clarity and moved the speaker system to make the seating area more enjoyable before the matches (you can actually talk to your neighbors pre-game without screaming!) Ocasek is a very nice facility for swim meets, and they just added a huge, state-of-the art video system that is not only informative, entertaining and readable, but offers the swimmers and divers training assistance. Of course, basketball is getting a new training facility as well. And the new track and field complex at Lee Jackson field is fantastic, although the throws area are a little convoluted. All of these were done under Guthrie, so hats off to the AD and The U on Facilites. Coaches - Guthrie was smart enough to realize that Coaches Groce, Embick and Peresie were the most successful coaches (and programs) he had, so he's left them alone, and even has enhanced their contracts. It doesn't mean he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't criticize them in public to others, which is a big negative IMHO about Charles. He is overheard many times at games/meets/matches being very critical of his coaches to the general public, which I'm sure get back to the coaches mentioned and may tend to undermine their confidence. That being said, I believe he made positive hires in football, softball and volleyball. Baseball has been a circus. He needed to move on from Sabo but the OSU coach fiasco and then not re-signing last year's coach has to be questioned, as well as his new hire. Granted baseball hasn't started and time will tell but his pick is a little underwhelming. The Women's soccer hire was and is disastrous, not that she is a bad person or knowledgeable, it's once again a terrible hire for a D1 school with a Nationally ranked Men's program. Track and Field is another terrible hire. Some will point to the 2023 Outdoor MAC title for men as an argument, but the head coach had little to do with that, it was the throws coach and his athletes that won that title. Meanwhile the women's program is still in shambles. And she's already lost the throws coach after one season and has gone through 2 PV coaches already in one year. It's no secret Guthrie chased Coach Mitchell off, like he did Herlihy from soccer (needed). Still...Now we have a new Lacrosse coach, so we'll have to see how that goes. And I do feel the new hire for Women's basketball is a solid choice without watching one game, but once again, Guthrie's handling of the Jackson situation was pretty ham-handed. Department - The Athletic Department is not what I would call a well-run machine. Being a retired businesswoman, I understand wanting to have staff around you that you have confidence in and comfortable with. And I understand the desire to change, but change for change sake is not always a good thing. The department was already reeling from needed staff reductions, like all departments at Akron when Dr. Miller came on board. It appears from the number and quality of recent departures from Athletics that the methodology is "make life hell on them and they'll leave on their own" rather than try to work towards a different and consistent approach. They've lost a lot of good people and their replacements seem more like a hodge-podge rather than a unified front. Game Day Experience - It is abysmal. At all events. From football's thuggish music on every down instead of marching band, lack of any entertainment during time-outs, quarter changes etc. to the treatment of us fans by game-day staff, plus the cost of everything, it's not going to bring anyone to games. Basketball was so-so but once again, where are the things that make families and casual fans want to attend? They finally seemed to "get it" at the last few soccer matches with a few give-aways. Let's face it, it just flat out is terrible across the board, especially compared to the entire MAC conference, other than perhaps KSU. We do got to many away events in the MAC plus go to watch a niece and nephew who compete at other MAC schools, and hands-down we are 11th out of 12 in Game Day experience. Eastern Michigan leads the way, Miami is very good, Toledo is solid, and I can go on. So that's my "more-than-two-cents" worth. I'm sure I've given enough ammo for some of you to tear into me and tell me where I'm wrong, but the premise was to offer "thoughts" on the State of Athletics....and these are mine.

If you think $500 for that isn't any kind of value, which to each his own, about 10x that amount gets you stale popcorn and warm terrible beer at another MAC stadium a few miles away. In my eyes, as someone who has experienced each and every seating option at Infocision at one point or another, the real value on level 5 is the warmth and comfort it provides when the weather sucks.

They caught @Zipmeister sneaking chicken fingers and brownies to his non-Club Level peon buddies so they're being extra vigilant.

Yes. The club level allows everyone to eat not just the special few. When you get off the elevator, there is someone present to give you a wristband for the buffet. The food is pretty good for a football game. Also, there's a soda machine for free drinks. However, I think the horrible football puts everyone in a bad mood when they are at the game, so we look for something to complain about.

Ironically with Duquesne in the list but six spots below. I genuinely hope Keith has a good year.

Akron Top 100 according to CBS

In the stadium there are two actual ushers guarding the lower level 50 yard line. All the other “ushers” are just students who get money for their organization by being there

Why would anybody buy a reserved seat for a game where you can pretty much sit anywhere you want to, like pretty much any Zips football game?

https://thethirdsub.ca/2023/10/23/report-card-decision-day-deadlock/ Very high game rating for former Zip Richie Laryea Richie Laryea: 8 There was a reason LAFC players kept dragging him down in dangerous areas, threatened by his quick feet and growing link-up play with his midfield partners. The flanks were always going to be important in this and Laryea shone bright, particularly in the second half. This was perhaps his best match as a Caps player and he is kicking on at just the right time.

2 former star zips.......selected for the team of the matchday Richmond Laryea and the timeless Darlington Nagbe Darlington is now in his 13th MLS year. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-matchday-who-rose-to-the-occasion-on-decision-day

Our marketing is next level stupid.

My biggest issue is the lack of engagement from athletics to its most loyal alumni and fans. The only time I hear from Athletics is when they're asking for money. Fundraising is obviously vital, but if, every time you hear from someone, all they're doing is asking for money, you're eventually going to ignore their calls/emails. My second biggest is the complete lack of marketing/promos/ticket specials. Don't tell me you need a huge budget to do it when the Rubberducks kill it every summer with a limited budget. It takes creativity and effort, two things our athletic department has lacked for years.

It's evidence nobody listens to college professors after the age of 24.

Every play Lingard doesn't get the ball....

There seems to be such little community involvement by Athletics and our teams. If athletes are volunteering - put it on social media and on GoZips.com. We know the Akron Beacon Journal will not print any positive story, so blitz the small community newspapers. Advertise games/ticket specials and send multiple press releases a day to those small newspapers about game results or community involvement. Partner with FirstEnergy, Goodyear, Firestone, Akron Children’s, Summa, Cleveland Clinic, Signet, GPD Group etc...and offer to assist with their foundations. Student athletes assisting with companies will put Akron Athletics on their radar. Maybe that company buys a suite at InfoCision, maybe they book the baseline bar at the men's basketball games, maybe they donate to Swimming or Track or attend a Soccer, baseball or softball game because they interacted with an Akron athlete. What harm could it do?...No one donates or buys any additional tickets, so then our athletes learn about being better citizens and learn about civic pride, which is part of what higher education is supposed to do.