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We should honestly rename the walk on try outs as "The search for the next Enrique Freeman"

What you really need to work on is your puke in the trash can game!

That would be cool if the Akron players could have found the end zone

That's well refined. I do that after about 30 seconds of exertion!

Walk-on tryouts are 8 AM to 9 AM on the 18th. I need to start working on my shot.

Why would you do that to your free minor league?

it's gonna take me a while to figure out which Mahaffey is which

Minor League baseball isn't much more appealing. Knowing the product isn't elite makes creating a memorable experience all that much more important. Prior to the Wyoming game, they had the area youth football teams behind the endzone that Wyoming was warming up in. The Wyoming players were high fiving and interacting with the kids the entire warmup. The kids were LOVING it and will remember that for a very long time. Focusing on what's controllable and making memorable experiences for fans - especially kids/families - isn't very difficult. Instead, the University seemingly loves to cater to those already invested in the program(s). There isn't even a family ticket option. I bought a season ticket just to consolidate 4 other games into 5 tickets for Wyoming to make it more affordable for my family (I'm not sure that's a publicly promoted offering, either, but it saved $8 per ticket). We could make an entire thread of suggestions with ways they can make the games more appealing for people, especially families, regardless of the product on the field. The fact of the matter is, until the suits in charge start thinking outside the box and caring about more than just the donors' experience, Akron will continue to struggle with marketing.

One can contribute in the football forum out of overall love for UA, recognizing the damage that keeping the status quo in football is doing to the university and every other institution in the MAC and G6.

In any country outside North America they don’t have college-associated sports. Talented kids play in professional leagues. Yeah, some would come here for a free education, but it made more financial sense to stay in Germany, Israel, Serbia, etc. Now that there’s serious money being doled out by colleges you will see an onslaught of foreign kids crossing the pond to play basketball.

I thought Brophy played for Buchtel. Maybe he was from Kenmore.

Story time: Dominick Raiola the QB's dad is a friend. 30+ yrs ago I sat at many U of Hawai'i baseball games with him and his two sons, both of whom went on to play center in the NFL. Dominick played football at the U. in Miami and when he learned I was from Akron he talked all about his former teammate Jay Brophy from Kenmore High. They were very close in college and maintained contact for a while after, when Jay played for the Dolphins. Well, I discovered Brophy in a Facebook discussion a few years ago with another friend who may or may not be here on ZN.org. I started a side talk with Jay, telling him I knew his former U of M teammate, and asking if he had any stories about Dominick Raiola. His only remark back was that because of the number of times he was hit in the head in his playing days, he could not remember ANY of his teammates and has difficulty even remembering anything about his football career without being prompted by his friends and family. This reality about what happens as a result of our National Passtime makes me very reticent to adopt any emotional closeness to the sport.

Returning Minutes: Sharron Young - what leap can he take as a Sophomore? Returning Redshirt: Rich Brisco - does he have the ability and athleticism to go with the 6'8" 240 lbs frame? Newcomer: Big Stank - how does his game transition to the US?

He's showing now. Roster size is at 16

Classic Zips. Do they not think a better connection with Akron football could have been facilitated by putting the kids in the Akron endzone and the kids interacting with Akron players?

Earlier in the off season it was Eric Mahaffey but over the last couple of weeks the Serb has really piqued my interest. Groce is gonna have his work cut out for him experimenting with all the potential lineups. He probably won't play much this year but wait till you get a load of Josh Henderson 🔥🔥

Evan Mahaffey is going to be a menace in the open court. I think he's going to wreck havoc against MAC caliber players in our fast pace offense. He won't be our best player, but I think he will have the best highlight reel and most electrifying plays.

16 players are listed, which is 1 over the limit. 4 players 6'8" or taller. We had 2 guys at 6'8" last year. I'm also realizing most of the team wore platform shoes for measurements day. Tavari and Sharron are magically 6' this year.

My guess is one of the walk-ons gets moved to equipment manager or something.

4-2-3-1 is our base system, and has been so throughout Embick’s tenure. Over the years, Zips increasingly switch on the fly to a more offensive 4-3-3. The ability to switch formations while in game is the hallmark of a professional squad. Not many collegiate teams are coached to do that. Zips switch formations in more than half their matches, usually when substituting personnel, so as to not draw the opposition’s attention. Now, a 4-4-2 is a new (outdated formation) wrinkle. I would like to see us try it again, with same personnel. It’s like an NBA team running The Weave or NFL team running the Wing T. Ha!

Missed this game on Labor Day. Zips have won 3 of first 5 and are 3-0 at home! No matches until next Friday when they head to Dayton to play a very strong Flyers team that owns a win over #12 Michigan State. Strong competition on the road (West Virginia and Dayton) and very beatable opponents at the Cub Cadet Field. So, it's hard to tell just how good this team will be when MAC competition starts in two weeks. But, there's real hope we'll exceed the coaches prediction (last place) 🤦‍♀️!

I've written a lot about this. Based upon my experience as a Wake Forest season ticket holder, making an experience that benefits the athletes students alumni fans and general community isn't difficult. I've seen some really bad football at Wake. What I also see is a good tailgate area that is clean and toilets are clean. Akron has a better stadium, but does nothing with it. Wake has multiple team shops open with good merchandise you would expect for an ACC school. The beer is good enough. The stadium and bathrooms are clean. They have many food trucks with a wide variety of food. They sell tickets as family passes for their grass hillside under the big scoreboard and children have a nice time with their friends and family. When I go to a Wake game, I know they are doing everything possible to create a nice environment for me to watch a game. They can't guarantee a win, but they put their best foot forward. My only beef about Wake is they are starting too many games in the evening and on weeknights. It's making going to the game unappealing, but they can't control that. There is nothing Wake does that I describe in my second paragraph that Akron couldn't do. Akron does do some of those things, but not all of them. They need to do all of them, all the time and then some. It isn't hard.

Because I love my Alma Mater. I'm a diehard for my alma mater, despite having degrees from two other universities (one incorporated into my name) that I could easily get more joy from following. Akron was my home for a decade+. But at some point you have to call out the bullshit. If we actually give-a-damn about something, at some point we have to call a spade a spade. The Football Program IS NOT GOOD for the University of Akron, it hasn't been a good investment, it will never be a good investment, and we're kidding ourselves. It's time to stop pretending it's ever going to be anything other than a joke.

Dude I was done with the Football program when they fired Terry Bowden. Bowden was a Nationally Recognized Name, and you fired him the same year you beat your only Big-10 team in history, a year removed from a MACC appearance for a no-name coach from John Carroll. Paying them both at the same time. Please stop defending this BS.

Part of the issue is that it's challenging to market a sh** product. Nobody wants to watch 3 1/2 hours of bad football regardless of what free giveaways or extra amenities are added.

This. Akron being so bad at marketing/fan engagement has never made sense to me. They have one of the top marketing franchises in all of minor league baseball 2 minutes down the road. Figure it out.

"Most valuable" DOES NOT MEAN Most Profitable. If you have to be subsidized by $15,000,000 from non-football funds in order to be solvent, you are a net negative. Yeah this list =/= Profitable, and just because 74 other programs are in worse shape doesn't mean you're in god shape. I swear do you ever critically think about this stuff before you post? Did you get a degree in marketing? Because you're pretty good at peddling bullshit.

Well, that's because the Rubber Ducks try.

Only one game into the season & we're already so cranky 🤣😭😭😭

And you continue to be a dumb ass overlooking and discrediting what it took for a Mid Major to make it to the CFB Playoff as a #3 seed. Go ahead and continue being a clueless jackass clearly making up a bunch of bullshit

Tuesday September 2 only 1 game tonight involving a Zip opponent Campbell went on the road and battled to a 1-1 tie at VCU Wednesday night, there are 2 huge games that could have big impact on opponent strength of schedule for the Zips Zips future opponent number 16 ranked St. Louis will play at number 4 ranked Indiana 13th ranked Gardner Webb will play at number 6 ranked West Virginia

Zips up to 11th in the coaches poll. Ohio State is not even receiving votes going into the big matchup on Friday. Looking ahead to next week, Vermont is currently 9th. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-men/

Let me guess... the over under is also 34.5?

Zips get a 1-0 result.

Another win! I need to start tuning in more

Yet the football team is the only one bringing in any revenue. Didn’t they bring in close to 4 million last year by playing Rutgers, SC, and Ohio State? Where is the athletic budget without that cashflow? Yet the football program has no training table, no money to recruit, etc etc. Appears to be a sinking ship

What if they tell Akron to leave and take their basketball program with them? How do you plan on paying off the MAC for the breach of contract lawsuit Akron would be almost guaranteed to lose? The major problem with Nihilism is the is never a consideration for what comes next. Your second paragraph isn't in the world of reality. The answer for the MAC is not to abandon football. The answer is to find ways to make it financially viable for the members that will benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general communities around the schools. Start with no more weeknight games and start games at times that make them more family friendly considering games last 3.5+ hours now. Make it a college athletics experience and not a television show. The answer for Akron is to use our new AD to help influence a new direction for the member institution.

I get it. He's underfunded. How about giving the school and the Akron sports fans some reason to provide you with more funding? Awful football and making zero effort to engage the community, while alienating donors, won't bring you more money. John Groce is 53 years old. Joe Morehead is 51. I see a hell of a lot more energy and efforts at engagement out of Groce. As a result, his program gets my money, not the losing program that acts like it couldn't care less about my fandom.

He was making similar comments last season as well. To me it just comes a crossed as he's incapable of adapting to the changing landscapes of college athletics. Kent also has a poorly funded football program. Sean Lewis found a way of turning lemons into lemonade. He was too busy finding ways of making due with what he had to make excuses. Perhaps Moorhead is just at a point in his career where he no longer has that drive.

Great question. I'm guessing the answer is yes. I didn't think this until I read Captain Kangaroo's report of the event held in west Akron before the season. When a coach openly bellyaches at a public event about all the things he doesn't have, he's finished. If you give a crap about how the program is viewed publicly, you don't do that.

Are they playing their games on a day of the week and at times that would make it attractive for someone to attend? I would say no. BG had a great crowd last night, but Eddie George creates more interest than $2 beers and scholarship give aways. I'll be interested to see if they can keep it up. Is Akron a mess? Hell yes. Last night was a disaster. There is no positive spin that can be put on a 10-0 loss to a bad team that had to travel cross country. I think the entire league is a mess in terms of football. After a couple of decades, the rot created by weeknight games has taken its toll. I'm so disgusted by it all I can barely bring myself to watch it.

While I would normally agree 💯, but we are trying to help someone who will be spending less than 24 hours in NE Ohio. The ride back to DC could be extended a couple of hours with all of the bathroom stops after a trip to Swenson's.

Number 13 Gardner Webb got a 1-0 road win tonight at number 6 West Virginia Number 4 Indiana earned a 1-0 win at home over number 16 St. Louis.

Folks like you can go to hell. I will NEVER give up on my alma mater. It will be yo ass ready to come back outside when the suns out (winning) Folks like you are the worst. Do us a favor and go kiss ass on one of Ohio State's forums.

Believe it or not the over under is 47/5 or 48 depending.... Maybe the Zips offense will break out... Honestly, I hope that something positive can come out of the game for them to build on. If the Zips can go 2-2 the first four games then I would still consider that a success heading into conference play.