kreed5120

We can't offer what Miami (OH) offers either if the $8-$10 mil reported roster spend is to be believed. I think the bulk of the MAC teams are around $3-$4 million. That would be achievable, but will take work.

Tavari Johnson to College of Charleston.

I would expect high roster turnover until the federal government passes legislation that regulates college athletics. More money will help some, but even programs that are spending substantially more face major roster turnover.

I'm on mobile so can't copy and paste it. I asked ChatGPT to summarize it for those of you who struggle to access. AKRON IS PRODUCING OUTSIZED RESULTS ON A TINY BUDGET • University of Akron spent $33.8M on athletics in 2025-26, the smallest budget in the MAC and second-lowest among public FBS schools. • Despite that, Akron had arguably its best athletic year ever: seven conference championships, men’s basketball went 29-6, won the MAC Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament, and the department finished 104th nationally in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. • Huron ranked Akron No. 9 among public FBS schools for athletic value/efficiency. FINANCIAL CHALLENGE Akron faces about a $700K budget hit in 2026-27: $500K less in institutional support plus roughly $200K in employee-raise costs. University funding makes up nearly two-thirds of athletics revenue, making new revenue especially important. FUNDRAISING IS IMPROVING • Athletic cash contributions increased 109%, from $1.7M to $3.6M, just $129K short of Akron’s single-year record. • The ACE NIL Fund raised more than $664K in its first year. • Akron also balanced its budget. SPONSORSHIPS AND NAMING RIGHTS ARE A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY AD Andrew Goodrich is actively pursuing football jersey-patch sponsors, along with naming-rights deals for James A. Rhodes Arena and the soccer stadium. The InfoCision Stadium naming-rights agreement expires in 2028 and currently pays $500K annually. Goodrich wants to replace it with a deal worth roughly $1M per year. Akron is pitching potential sponsors on its reach, including 2.5M unique football viewers, 880K unique basketball viewers during March Madness, and its social-media audience. ATTENDANCE REMAINS THE WEAKNESS Football attendance averaged 7,729 per game, up 21%, but still last in the MAC and second-lowest in FBS. Goodrich wants to sell out at least one game, pointing out that more than 3M people live within 45 minutes of campus. GOODRICH’S VISION Hired in 2025, Goodrich wants Akron to become the “pound-for-pound best athletics department in America.” After just one year, Akron has already reached the top 10 nationally in athletic efficiency, giving him some evidence that the ambitious vision may be achievable.

This article is dated August 3, 2026, but Zips social media just shared it and I saw no mention of it. Lots of good information. I would list some bullet points, but frankly there is a lot of things worth discussing. https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/ccl-akron-budgets-20260730/ It's behind a paywall, but if you go to Akron Zips facebook page and click the link I was able to view the article in its full length.

Temu version of Barstool was also the vibe I got. Speaking of which, I think Barstool would be a fantastic jersey sponsor if we didn't sign with a local company.

I wasn't really equating physical people showing up. Just average tickets sold per game. If anything basketball having 15 games makes basketball have even greater value for season tickets as you get 15 games for $100 vs football where you get 5-6 games for $75. Edit: I think in basketball you only have to show up to about half the games to get your money's worth. There are all kinds of other metrics that show college football is more widely watched compared to basketball (TV ratings, NIL spend, coaching salaries, etc.)

Never heard of them so I wouldn't believe. Assuming they signed an FBS deal it would have to be G5. They look like a social media sports company so the fact Akron's promotion went viral I think it makes them a real possibility as it gives them marketable content. I would have preferred Goodyear or something like that, which is still a possibility, but if the check clears so be it.

Snapback Sports has announced that they signed a jersey patch sponsorship with an FBS school and they will announce who on Monday. Possibility it's Akron. https://x.com/i/status/2087953525330325861

A player regressing in a step up in competition wouldn't be a first time occurence. I think it's a solid addition for Kent. Not a league winning move, but they added a MAC caliber starter. All that said, I'm fully expecting another season sweep of them.

Probably the best selling point. As a fan it doesn't feel like much of a prize to have an 11 AM tip-off on a work day where many can't attend in person nor watch on TV.

Top 8 format is what I saw. Why does it need to be easy for a seed 5-8 to be champion? It should be a challenge for them if we want the regular season to have more meaning.

I'm fairly indifferent to it. They can still play 4 games those days. It will just be 2 men's, 2 women's. In fact, it's probably what they're doing. I haven't looked at the women's tournament to validate.

Throw the records out the window. The rivalry alone gives it plenty of stakes.

I'm sure someone will post Zips schedule graphic later, but the MAC released the conference schedule today. There will be 22 games. https://getsomemaction.com/news/2026/8/12/mac-announces-2026-27-mens-basketball-conference-schedule.aspx