zippyrifle32

Is it really punishing success or is it leveling out the playing field?

How does your proposal create more competition when it is limiting a league/division/whatever to a rigid list of only 40 teams? While there is a ton of money in college athletics and that is the main reason the government wants to step in, that is not the only reason for collegiate sports. Saying paying players $1000 is peanuts doesn't address the Title IX issue or how it would affect other teams. Title IX isn't an NCAA thing either, it's a US law affecting schools accepting federal funding.

The reason why schools choose to be affiliated with and conform to the NCAA has everything to do with the money going back into the programs. There are other "lesser" leagues out there that schools could join instead of the NCAA, but choose not to. With the GP1 idea, why would the non-top 40 schools want to be a part of it when they don't get a piece of the pie? I also strongly disagree with paying the players in addition to scholarship money. For an all or nothing scholarship sport (like football) the scholarship athletes already get a living stipend on top of tuition and books. Some spend their money on food and rent and others on xbox 360's and plasma tv's. If you were to pay one sport's athletes for performance (bonuses) then what about all the other sports and Title IX? While I don't like the government putting their hands into the NCAA's business, I strongly disagree with GP1's proposed system. I'm not too familiar with the D-II playoff format, but why can't D-I copy that?

Well as being someone who was "in-the-know" and not really giving a shit anymore about keeping department secrets (and it has been a few years)... from the best of my memory there was a big house part an an athlete's house. I think it was a b-ball person's house, but to which sport they belonged I do not remember. There were several sport teams represented in addition to wbb including wsoc, v-ball, and a few football players. As the night was getting fun a few (three?) individuals crashed the party. They were not invited and no one knew who they were. One of them (girl I think) got jealous about some flirting between a soccer player and her man or something and a fist fight erupted. They were told to leave and refused. A couple of the football players were able to throw them out of the house and once outside one of these strangers drew a gun and fired shots into the air. The athletes, scared of being caught and in trouble for underage drinking, drinking in season, and whatever else the department/coaches would did not call the police. Neighbors did and the police came, but the athletes continued to try to hide in the house. Obviously it got back to the department and there were numerous suspensions and punishments. The most obvious were the wbb ones because they were still in season and lost some of their better players. From the fight on of the soccer girls had her face (cheek or eye socket) fractured and one of the footballers had a black eye. Not all athletes got into as much trouble because each coach creates their own team rules. Somehow the press didn't get a hold of the story, which made it easy to keep hushed. Again this is from my memory so the minute details are not all there, but that's the jest of the story.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

I would say that "Zips Soccer Guy" describes about .01% of the Akron Alumni/Student population. MOST Akron Soccer fans are first and foremost Akron basketball/football fans and that's why this argument is pointless.I hate this discussion because I hate people speaking on behalf of me. Of the people that are true Akron fans (follow the team and go to the events) the percentage of soccer followers is much higher than your .01% just for the fact that the majority of Akron Alumni/Student population aren't fans of Akron's sports teams. I like soccer and basketball and football. The greatest success a team can achieve is a national championship. Has men's bball even come close to the attendance of men's soccer this year? If they were able to add more seats, you know those NCAA playoff games would have had even bigger crowds.

+1

I'll take national titles over anything else any day. It doesn't matter what sport it is in. After that, I would want to see bball wins, then a bowl game. To those who are now saying "who cares about soccer" - I do. I was also able to get several of my coworkers, including the VP to come to a few games. Even more people around the office were talking and asking about them.

I wholeheartedly agree with every part of this statement. But I'll wager everything I have that the outcome on March 5th is entirely different; as well as the mac tourney. I just have that deep down gut feeling that Akron Basketball is gonna finish everything the right way this year. I agree. And on March 5th, let's hope the AK rowdies use some originality and wit and not something on the order of Can't State SUCKS or regurgitate, "why so quiet?" We're counting on you AK rowdies. You help make a difference.Today wasn't original enough for you? We had 30+ tickets in the middle of their reserved seats and kicked about 15 people out of their seats who were sitting in them when we all went down a few minutes into the game. You should have seen the faces of the usher and cop who tried to stop us and realized we had every right to be there.really? they didn't revoke your tickets and threaten to throw you out and keep your money if you didn't move like they did last year at the women's bball game?

why does their mascot (a bird) have teeth?!

Have you ever been to a large sporting event? It doesn't seem like it.Here's a radical, never-before-tried idea to help fund the T-shirts - Get a sponsor. I know...I know...crazy talk. But just humor me on that one.Here's another one - Sell shitty-quality white T-shirts at the entrance for $2.00 each. Shirts that say something clever...like "Beat K.e.n.t." Think that $2 could make a dent in the price of a crappy T-shirt? I see guys selling crappy T's outside of concerts for $5.00 all the time. They must be making money on it?Hey...how about beginning to sell them a few games prior to the K.e.n.t. game? How insane is that?I saw Dambrot's salary in the paper a few days ago. I also saw where Proenza justified it by quantifying the millions of dollars the University received in exposure during March madness. Obviously the money is available for such a simple promotion. And if the University is really committed to looking good on ESPN...they're collectively insane for banking on Joe Akron to bring his wife-beater to the game.But I can't expect to explain that to a group of people who think selling Zips basketball jerseys in the JAR team shop is a bad thing.CRAZY TALK!!! I'm going to have to ask you to hush up now, cause we don't take too kindly to your kind around here... talking all logical and making sense...

Not anymore.then what does Bryan Huettmann do?Was that a serious question??? Bryan's a talented guy, who's spent most of his time keeping track of inventory and sales at the store -- something that should have been farmed out to an accountant or business manager long ago. Better question would be: "Who's creating the vision for the future of athletic marketing for the U?"I thought he was in charge of the team shop and the type of things they order to sell.

Not anymore.then what does Bryan Huettmann do?

How much do MAC refs make per game?I believe the number I head last year was $800?As of 2 years ago the head refs for men's bball games was between $900-1100 a game. the other two would make $100-200 dollars less than the head ref. On the women's side, the head ref would make $700-900 a game and the other two were in the $600-800 ballpark. A nice little side job if you ask me, even if they have to drive in from MI or IN to ref a game.

There has always been a significant subset of coaches in all sports at all levels who see intimidation or humiliation as legitimate tools of motivation or discipline. I think perhaps the question is one of degree. Are there circumstances where yelling at a kid not only can be wholely warranted but entirely constructive? Sure. Nearly all of us probably can relate a story where getting an energetic earful proved helpful in our development as human beings.But there is no question in my mind that there are a great number of coaches who cross the same blurred lines that some parents do, where what might be intended as something constructive escalates into something that can only be described as abuse.Where those blurred lines lie is not something easily described or agreed upon, but I will say that the coach or the parent that leans more than rarely on the intimidation/humiliation crutch is treading some very dangerous territory when it comes to developing young people in a healthy and constructive way. And if they don't have other effective methods for motivation and instruction in their toolbox, then they can only be described as incompetent boobs.Just my two cents.I totally agree. And in some respects, I can't wait for a player to take a swing back at his coach.

All I've wanted since coming to school at Akron is a pair of replica b-ball shorts. Not the shitty mesh ones, but the uniform dazzle shorts just like what the guys wear on the floor.

another coach hitting a player

Thats a travesty of society in my opinion. If I'd ever been asked to line up across from a woman and get violent with her, I would've walked off the field and refused to play. If my son is ever asked to do that, he will not play in the game.And then your coach would have grabbed you by the face mask, asked you why you're too much of a pussy to play against a girl, then stuck his foot up your ass before you planted it on the bench. But THAT part would be ok... and a comment like that makes you sound a little vanilla ( ) and for that I feel sorry for you.

I will admit I will never understand a boy's development into a man, but I did play and letter in football in high school. D line too, not as some pansy kicker.

uh, yeah. That's an abusive coach.Growing up to be a woman isn't such a bad thing either.

That building needs to go and fast. Just graduating from sports science this past fall, the college of Ed needs a centralized home bad and Memorial is really showing it's age. Sports science made due with what they had, but putting them in the new stadium is a great fit since many of the student trainers and managers of our athletic teams are in a sports science programs. I'll have to stop by this semester to see what I'm missing.

just barely beat me to posting TEAL WINS!!

Hmmm... there's a lot of "Adam James is a whiny pussy" talk on the internet, but I've seen a lot of quotes from other team members not supporting the coach either. There is no reason a coach should lay hands on an athlete. Not saying that athletes are always harmed when it happens, but there is no reason to do so. There are other ways good coaches can get through to their athletes. That being said, yelling and screaming (different from speaking in a loud voice) are rather unnecessary too. Those tactics were used on today's coaches when they were athletes, so they use them on their athletes. It happens and I'm not saying it's always negative or needs to stop, but coaches don't have to be that way to get their team to win. I believe there is a lot more abuse happening in college athletics then what is being reported and I'm happy that some of it is at least being investigated. I don't know enough of the details to know if Leach deserved to be suspended/fired or not. I don't believe the one side I get to read in the press.

It's tonight. Honestly, I don't think Bunbury is going to get it, but I hope he does.