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The disappointment of Travis' mom having to watch her son still throwing public temper tantrums at 44 years of age is better than any fine.

We didn't get home games versus Miami, Ohio, or BUGS this year, both our Buffalo game and our Toledo game were on Tuesday nights, and our UMass game got pushed to 9:00 on a Friday night. I don't like so many of our Saturday games being pushed to Fridays. I suppose it's worth it for the tv exposure (CBSSportsNet does a great job), but all season we only had two marquee home games on Saturdays - Princeton & Milwaukee - both fairly early in the year. (I took some friends to the Princeton game & they said, "Oh, it's basketball season already?") Is it asking for the moon from the MAC to give us Saturday home games versus Kent, Miami, Ohio, BUGS, Toledo, and UMass? Every year. Potential season ticket holders should know these matchups are a given. Isn't it common sense that the league's marquee programs should face each other on *Saturdays? Leave the directionals & Balls for Tuesday nights. *When at all possible.

Article from CBS Sports on the NCAA tournament. 68 things to know about the conference tournaments and big dance. 49. Akron (24-5): John Groce has Akron zipping along. Akron owns a deep backcourt that can really get it going from 3-point range, and it has switchable forwards like brothers Eric and Evan Mahaffey, who can help snuff out advantages. Akron versus Miami University in the MAC Tournament title game would be insanely interesting.

A big part of why our games get pushed to Fridays is the lack of compelling matchups in MAC play. If UMass was competently run there would be at least 3 intriguing teams in the MAC. Meaning on weeks that 2 of the 3 didn't play one another one of Miami, Akron, or UMass would keep their Saturday game since only 2 games get flexed per week. Majority of the time it was Akron and Miami getting flexed even when they played MAC bottom feeders. Personally, I think if we call sell out Kent at a 6PM start time on a Friday then we can't really make an excuse that our other Friday games don't draw better. Not saying they need to all be sell outs, but it's disappointing we can't get 3000+ to show up. It's not like we're in Athens where only a small number of alumni live in the area and most have to drive in a far distance. Under the current format you only host 9 MAC home games. You have to remember half of those would automatically be on a Tuesday. Meaning at most you get only 4-5 weekend home games. The MAC could do a better job guaranteeing 2-3 of those are against your rivals, but it's not really possible to guarantee 5-6 games, especially since many teams would want to host an Akron or Miami but not everyone can. For Akron I'd say our two top rivals are Kent and probably OU. After that it kind of just fluctuates based off who is good at the time. Buffalo was up there a few years, then Toledo, and now Miami. Edit: When the MAC used to have divisions we were guaranteed to play all the Ohio teams (besides Toledo) twice. Along with UB. Many complained back then because it wasn't fair that Toledo got an easier schedule than us because the MAC East was so much better. It seems no matter what people will find something to complain about.

Awesome display of basketball on Friday. That was poetry in motion. Nearly a perfect game.

Cuse will be looking for a basketball coach this offseason most likely

Yeah, there's no consistency or even an attempt to be consistent. That's the athletic department's fault, not Under Armour. Even with their social media, they use too many colors and fonts.

Mitch has signed with Pittsburgh!

He did jump in the pool at the swim championships

If Syracuse were stupid enough to hire-away a Zips AD who’s accomplished nothing, good for them. Then again, Fordham hired-away our Graphic Designer, so anything is possible.

Is it our fault the MAC office didn’t want its top teams playing each the twice?

The place will be packed if those are the four teams in the semis!

I met RJ's dad at the Zip-Kent game as we were walking to the arena. Great guy. I told him that Groce recruits not only great basketball players but also athletes that are good citizens and willing to learn and that says a lot about his son.

Or suspended.

Call me crazy but i'm not actually looking to be entertained at the MAC Tournament. It's survive and move on. An Akron/BG final (for example) would be much more fun.

The general public will be out to see Miami imo

Akron vs Miami in the final would be the most anticipated MAC game in a few years

He was at the PCCC game and the swim meet.

So we're getting 50% attendance for opponents who give 50% effort for building a solid basketball program. Math checks out. Per Google, Miami's 5 year average prior to this year was 1500-2600 in a 10k arena. The sweaters should really be careful about throwing stones in a $281M glass house.

Yes he's a moron and a big part of Boals' difficulties this year. Bad locker room chemistry. I'd say it's 50/50 Boals gets canned this year. If not, he'll be forced to start over with an entirely new staff and roster. It ain't working.

Saying a team isn't better than you when they've beat you 11 straight times is crazy. 😂

That’s what some of the coaches have said. Curious was he at the Swim and Dive Championships at his own pool? Did he jump in to celebrate as the previous AD did … coaches chatter about these things? Was he at the T&F championships? I genuinely don’t know the answer about his presence at either Championship but as someone said he hasn’t been as boisterous on SM lately but is retweeting a Syracuse reporter tweets about Miami OH-same reporter who recently listed him as a potential candidate for the Syracuse job, nothing on the many promises he’s made like the fan board, I hear from some in the dept it’s been eerily quiet. His name is out there as actively pursuing the job.

https://x.com/i/status/2028169584834990277

He should be thanking Jason Preston for their one fluke good season

I don't really know the scoring system but I feel like they have it wrapped up. 🤣

I could care less who the contract is with. What I would like to see is moderately priced merchandise in Walmart, Target, Meijer, etc. I did find a decent long sleeve t-shirt at Giant Eagle on Howe Avenue that doesn't look like all the others, but that seems to be a one time thing. Still waiting for a gold hat with the new A and Zips on it.

This is a bit extreme, but I do miss the days of the MAC rewarding the top 2 seeds with byes.

Great context on the current state of the conference vs prior with the 8 teams. Sounds similar to the decline of MAC soccer and the decision to disband all together. Seems like there should be more pressure from MAC schools on the MAC commissioner and leadership as it appears to be in major decline across so many sports. The other thing I think about as we’ve seen this run of success (in the conference) by Akron non-revenue sports (lacrosse, SB, T&F, S&D) is how the state of affairs in the NCAA and the UA enrollment / budget crisis will continue to impact positive momentum and progress. I think the good news is the coaches in place don’t seem like a bunch of whiners and will do what they can with what they have. But I have to imagine Coach Mitchell had a different (not saying easier) opportunity when Akron was at its height of enrollment. I heard or read somewhere there’s been close to a 50% decline since 2014 - staggering. Then you also factor in the cuts made during Covid that have never been reinstated. Different times - sad state of higher ed and college athletics for purists like me.