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Mack Rhodes way overbuilt our football stadium during his tenure here. It looks like he learned his lesson and built this beauty for Baylor.

I urge folks to look at what McNeese State is doing. That thing has turned into a total party, amazingly without stilts and Tik Tok dances and foul balls sponsored by Luigi’s. They are good, and they make sure people know it. The game-winning dunk (I repeat, GAME-WINNING) at NKU went totally under the radar. Sure, they posted it. With grainy video, no audio, no Zips radio call, and went on their way. That’s not good. It didn’t get outside the Akron bubble we all exist in. There are a few people I spoke with at the Miami-Hamilton game the following week, who obviously follow the program and go to the games, and they said they had heard about some game winning shot but never saw it or had any idea what happened. That blows my mind and should never happen. It’s not 2007 lost footage of a Jeremiah Wood game winning layup at Kent. To add, with promotions, they do not move the needle as much as you’d think. When UA has done them in the past, many students and general public have shown up, picked up their items, and left. There was a whole controversy back in 2015 when all the hats for a football game were given away within 15 minutes of the gates opening. And an empty, rainy infocision stadium watched Akron win their 6th regular season game for the first time in a decade anyway. Same thing with bobble heads over the years. And coasters, lapel buttons. You should have seen the ticket office the last few years before it was cleaned out. It was like a Zips giveaway mass graveyard. The Ark of the Covenant could have been buried in all of the unclaimed items that were supposedly going to help make a difference.

Outside of Cincinnati/Dayton area college basketball just isn't that big of a deal. Even the Buckeye "fans" I know don't really start following OSU until the conference tournament is about to start. $4 waters, $10 parking, $4 tickets, etc isn't the problem. People pay those prices to see the Rubber Ducks. They pay several times those prices to go to a concert as Blossom. There is just a lot of apathy surrounding the program. Outside of the Kent game, going to Akron basketball just isn't "the cool thing to do". It's a shame because when the Zips have those 4500+ fan crowds, the games are very exciting. I don't really have a solution, but they need to change the perception surrounding Akron sports.

No surprise here

The refs can't take Freeman out of this game.

The fact that we are having this discussion in the BASKETBALL forum, proves that winning isn’t the cure all to attendance. This conversation happens all the time in the football forum. But if we are talking about this when the basketball team is one of the best in Akron history, maybe there is more to improving attendance than just being good

You're right to a point. It's not what draws us to a game, most of the time we don't even know there's one going on. But when you attend, and off-and-on get a little "something" thrown in for your ticket, whether a GA or a seat-back, it makes you feel a little appreciated for your effort, and it tends to maybe bring some people back. Just my opinion. And as far as the talk of a $10 vs. $7 GA ticket, I know I'm a 'blue hair" now (although I hide it, but when Hubby and I first started attending games, and bringing our two small children, the difference of $3 per person for a struggling family of four attending grad school and working full-time was a HUGE difference for us, especially when you threw in the cost of concessions, a lot more civilized than todays prices. So don't discount (no pun intended) what $3 a ticket can make to the average local Akron family in deciding to attend or not.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store at 1634 Brittain Road in Akron (44310) has a ton of nice Zips gear new with tags. Shirts are $5 and sweatshirts at $10. Most of the clothing is from - The Original Retro Brand which is a nice quality line of sports gear.

Today, Akron is 92 in Kenpom. #106 is UCLA. Forget 2022, this is the win over UCLA we have been waiting for!

Thought #1: It seems to me Joe Akron is oblivious as to how good the athletes at this level in fact are. When I was in high school I was also oblivious. I remember asking one of my friends (6-4, averaged double-digits in scoring) who was on the high school basketball team, and who was going to BUGS the following year, if he was going to play basketball at Bowling Green. He just laughed at me and said, "No." He understood how good the athletes were/are at the mid-major level... but I still didn't. (Mind you this was the pre-internet, early ESPN days.) Then my senior year I went to a couple of Zips football games and went down to the tunnel when the team would take the field and thought - "Holy crap! These dudes are freaking huuuge! And the ones who aren't huge are faaaaast! I'd get killed the first play from scrimmage at this level!" (You can't really tell how big the guys are unless you stand right beside them.) But until then I just thought Akron was... well, I don't know what I thought. But I really had no clue. Here it is, 2024, and it still seems like Joe Akron has no clue. Joe thinks if you averaged 10 ppg in high school you could probably play for the Zips. Joe thinks if you were a JV stud and part-time starter on varsity by the time you were a senior then the Zips probably have a roster spot for you. I have no idea why this is. People are oblivious to what a hidden gem of athletics entertainment is in their back yard and accessible for mere peanuts. Thought #2: We need our football team to perform. NEO is football focussed. Anecdotal, but I used to be somewhat familiar with the Marlington school district. They were very good in both boys & girls basketball, wrestling, baseball, and softball... but everyone in the community thought they were a joke because they traditionally had a very poor football program. Most of the students who went to Marlington were kind of sheepish about how awful of an athletics school it was... even though they were very good in almost every sport except football.

I appreciate your posts, so please don't see this as an attack but isn't the "in-game experience" THE GAME! This isn't like going to a movie theatre...yeah, easier just to watch at home. The excitement is in seeing the last second shot, etc and being there. The entertainment is THE GAME. What has sucked forever and happens at every MAC school is the administration's inability to convince the pep band to be there for some of the games over break. I know I sound like an Ohio U person when I say that but it seem, from the posts on here, that folks want the traditional game atmosphere. Maybe I'm a different breed, but I've been to almost every home game for the last 25 years and, even in the early years, a promotion wasn't what got me there. I may have arrived earlier if there was a "first 500 fans receive..." My mother collected a bunch of taylor made jewelry balls and lots of t shirts at these games before she died but that wasn't why she attended. I do remember some dollar hot dog nights but, you know, times change. What matters is the product on the floor. And if that isn't driving people to the JAR giveaways aren't going to do it either.

I've said it before on here, but UA doesn't prioritize sporting events (other than football) for students. Students honestly don't even know games are going on most of the time. I think the focus on social media this year has been good, but if you ask 10 students on the Tuesday that classes resume if they are going to the game that night they will say "Oh, I didn't know there was a game tonight" from more than half. I think how bad the football team is does discourage some students from attending other sports simply because they think we are bad at everything. If the school did more things to excite students about sports more would show up

Nobody here is going to stay away from games because of lack of promotions, ticket prices, concessions, lack of engagement. If you're posting here, you're a die-hard that's going to go no matter what. But some can't step outside that fandom to see things from another type of fans' perspective. I love the Zips. And I love them so much that when I see them not reaching their potential as a program or as Athletics as a whole, it frustrates the hell out of me, especially when so much of it is effort-based. If promotions, marketing, and ticket deals didn't help bring more people to games, nobody would do them. So we can plug our ears, call people insane, tell them they should be happy with what they get or we can have a real and honest conversation about this program, this University, and how they can help grow a program with a coach and players who deserve a better effort from everyone involved.

I'm think I should start a thread on this rather than have it in this BG Game thread.

I guess the question is "why not both?" Frankly, George Van Horn an Larry Williams were notorious for only courting the biggest of donors. However, they did have assistants, Brock Kline and Tim Faix, who did reach out to the smaller donors and developed relationships with them. Guthrie on down are imports, and you know they aren't going to be here long. On the other hand, Tim and Brock moved on as well. The Summit Circle and name recognition for larger donors is important, and they should be recognized for their commitment. Most of the Summit Circle members are successful Akron grads. Which leads to my next point: The focus should be more student outreach. Gets the students hooked now on Zips basketball. Of course, the basketball schedule falls smack in the middle of holidays and Winter break.

Let's be frank. When in the history of Akron athletics, other than for Acme Zip games and a rare and brief run of an individual team, ever engaged the average Akron area sports fan? You'll find greater allegiance to the Browns, Indians/Guardians, Buckeyes, Cavs, college alma maters, Notre Dame and high school teams among the average Summit County folk sports fan than you'll find for the Zips. One place I see an improvement that may help a little is the Beacon's new approach to Zips athletics. The basketball coverage this year has been a vast improvement with great coverage. Actually providing the average area fan with relevant info about the team can help spark interest. Is it going to fill the JAR or Infocision, no, but maybe it will get dad to grab his son and head down to the JAR some night to see the good things that are happening.

Why can’t we at least do this???

I think part of the issue lies in the inferiority complex psyche of the area in general that bleeds over to the University. The residents of Summit County never much appreciate what they have here, looking to other areas' cultural attractions and sports. Part of that is an underlying propensity of Joe Akron to think it's "just Akron basketball", not "real" D1 basketball like they have in Columbus and Cincinnati.

He’s my GOAT

I love your Thought 1. In fact I think the ignorance is deeper than you describe because even high school athletics attendance is down. Since fans don't have an in person baseline to draw from, they cannot draw a comparison in their minds when they see it in person. I'm always shocked at how hard D1 BB players are playing defense. It's something high school players could never come close to competing against. MAC football is also very good. There isn't much difference between a bottom 25% P5 football program and Toledo or Miami this year. Wake Forest isn't much better than the OU team I saw Akron play after Thanksgiving last season. We have the transfer portal to thank for that. Humans are the only animal capable of convincing itself of things that simply aren't true. If everyone remembers when the Browns were struggling a few years ago, there were a lot of people who I'm sure never attended an NFL game in their life, would say Alabama or OSU could beat the Browns. I work with a guy whose brother is a well known defensive coordinator for a team that will be playing this weekend. When people were saying this he asked his brother what he thought. His brother laughed out loud and told him Cleveland would beat either Alabama or OSU 77-0 and the college team would have trouble getting a first down. It would almost be cruel.

Love how steep it is. I can only imagine what one of those Euroleague teams with the supporters sections playing in this place would be like

Sadly, for this season, the marketing department should have been laying the groundwork in August. Everybody knew they would be good. But looking back does no good. This team has a heck of a highlight reel thus far this season. They need some slick videos that get blasted out on social media and sent directly to season ticket holders, alums, faculty and students. Promote EF as one of the best players in country (which he is). They should be running an all-american campaign for this kid. He is treat to watch. Throw in some ticket deals - Buy one, get one 50% off for January home games, whatever. Send good quality video highlights to the cleveland tv stations after every win. When they 'do' show highlights, it's grainy espn+ garbage. Get people in the door and show them a good time. They will be back. This is a good product and has been consistently for years.

Just like we're of rare few that show up regularly the polling numbers tell us we're in the rare few willing to support a levy for a new arena.

I was looking at the NET rankings today and see that 14 out of Akron's 18 MAC games are against teams with a NET of 200+. This is the worst I've ever seen the MAC.

Could it be that "Joe Akron" doesn't care about the games of what some consider to be the 15th to 20th ranked NCAA D1 basketball conference? I'm the rare guy that wants to see the Northern Illinois Huskies on a cold Tuesday night in February. We ZipsNation folks are the diehards. I'd like to see this program get the attention it deserves and has earned, but at the same time the grumpy old man in me is content with my $60 ticket and space to spread out at the game.

It makes me so mad that we cant get easy highlights to any ESPN+ games. How hard is it to post clips with audio in a decent quality that YOU OWN

Another great article by Michael Beaven

Serious question - if giveaways and promotions don't work, why does every college, minor league, and professional team invest so heavily in them? If you've been to every game for the last 25 years (which is AWESOME) then I'd say you are, as you said, a different breed. As I said in my earlier post, it's hard for diehards to see it from any other way than, "Zips hoops is awesome, I'm there no matter what." But that's not every fan or even the majority of them IMO.

Let me add: yes, anything will help. Do what they can to get more people involved and present. Creating an overall game day experience would only benefit the team and fans. More social media and promotion of these amazing players would help. Comes back to the product. Make people want to see them. They should send out clips of the big plays . Get those up on social media with sound and editing. Something we can share and get some interest.

Pretty sure the arrangement was a leaseback deal with the port authority. UA gets the cash, to pay off debt, the port authority gets all the parking revenue via a long-term lease deal to pay back the bonds. The new parking operator is there to make sure the port authority gets all their revenue( minus their fee). I've been to many Rubber Duck games and have always paid for parking. YMMV Seriously? A guy for the SB's takes an at bat while on stilts!🤣

I saw the school worked with the County and the port authority (it has a new name now that escapes me) to sell about $85 or so million in bonds. Part of that plan is outsourcing the management of the parking lots but I don’t think the U is getting an 8 figure payout from this. If so, the parking deck fee will be a lot more than $10 moving forward. They are planning to raise parking permits prices for the students so I hope the additional revenue outpaces enrollment issues. As to the thread, the increased cost of parking may help the school (I hope it does) but I do think it probably hurts attendance. When I cannot attend a game and give away my tix, the parking pass is always appreciated. The Rubber Ducks offer free parking (or at least used to in the Roetzel deck across from Canal Park) so it is not unheard of. Lastly and unrelated, I love the Bananas and saw them twice when they came to Akron. The dances and pranks are scripted but both the Bananas and Party Animals play to win. The Animals actually won the series last year (and both games in Akron) so do not invoke the Washington Generals when discussing them. Go Zips!

Akron is the final team in the MAC to not lose a game at home this year

Exactly. Minor League Baseball is a good comparison to Mid Major college sports. Both have some die hard fans, but a majority of the people that go to MiLB games go for something else. Whether its a theme, giveaway, or whatever, the entertainment is what makes people come out. We can do more entertainment at games without taking away from the actual product on the floor. The in-game experience hasn't been the same since Covid, and that really does make a difference, especially if casual fans came back to one game after covid, and went home with the mentality of "I can just watch this at home"

So should we put Tribble on stilts? Is that how we get 3k in there for a directional on a Tuesday? Or Freeman tik tok dances when calling for the ball? #ThinkLikeABanana

Explain?

Our IOL recruiting has definitely been on the shorter side than our OTs, but most of them seem to have a fairly long reach. I expect to see Blanchard at LT, K. Davis and Seymore at OG, and T. Williams at C. If Chambers returns, he’s probably our RT. Kindred and Shor definitely have more athletic ability and upside, but neither have proven anything at this level. If one of them can claim the RT spot, that should be a substantially better OL than what we’ve seen. I’m still concerned about quality depth for an extended period of time. Would like to see a at least one more portal transfer with experience. I expect we’ll add another HS lineman in the 2nd signing period too.

Post of the year of the day!

Post of the Year!

In essence, the athletic depart is subsidizing the cost of parking through cheap season ticket prices.

Comparing Savannah Bannas to UA sports is not bolstering your argument. SB is a scripted theatrical production. The baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the cost of a basketball ticket to Hudson High School. It costs $8.00 for an adult to attend a high school basketball game. The quality of play at the mid major level shouldn't even be compared to a HS, but some think tickets should cost less. It's utter insanity.

They used to at least try. I remember game day promotions, t-shirt giveaways for students, unique ticket deals. This Athletic Department seems apathetic toward anyone who isn't a wealthy donor.

The lower bowl used to rock at Zips games but now it is mostly blue hairs that don't bring the energy they used to. I'm thankful that they keep coming out to the games and that they put their $$$ into the program but the JAR is nothing like the rocking little band box it used to be. Also, I would love it if some of the lower bowl fans would stop heading out early even when it is a 3-point game with 3 minutes left. The better seats get the closer lots, but a lot of those fans are not going to fight the 1200 fan pandemonium as the JAR empties.

Well I mean, you can. SC just did, hence this discussion. If I had lower season tickets, I'd welcome some fans near me instead of empty seats.

My first daring prediction of 2024. The only way Finley is still with the Zips at the start of the season is if JoMo does not announce until shortly before game 1 that Wasil (or a new, as yet to be named, stud from the portal) is the game 1 starter.