kreed5120

A former Akron football player spending 3 pages arguing how a public University should be able to use tax dollars to subsidize a football team made up of non-student players tells me all I need to know about the culture surrounding the football program. As others stated 'they aren't here to play school.' This isn't the first time Akron football has faced sanctions for poor grades. In the early to mid 2000s on two or three occasions we got hit with scholarship reductions. One was a 4 scholarship reduction another was 5. Bad APR performance has plagued this program for a while. We normally just managed to do well enough to stay above water. With Moorhead now we've yet to even see a season over the 930 so we've just gone from bad to worse.

Attending class and maintaining eligibility is literally in the job description. If it's something they don't want to comply with, they shouldn't apply. They won't be able to transfer "to another job" if they don't maintain grades. Look at all the players over the years that have been forced to do a year of JUCO because they failed to meet academic standards. Erick Howard committing to Akron, but not being able to attend because of grades is one that comes to mind. If you can't meet grades, you will quit getting paid.

I would find a new job. These players can do the same if attending class is such a burden. Nobody is forcing them to be here. Perhaps they could work the grill at Arby's until they work themselves up to manager. After all you pointed out earlier no degree is required for that.

Thanks for sharing. This kind of confirms what I shared yesterday. This will end up being a 2 year ban minimum as it will take both this year and next to cycle out that 2021-2022 score.

Take your complaint up with the NCAA. Edit: Part of being an adult is complying with what your employer instructs. If my boss told me that they need me to be in the office and I tell them I'm not going I'm quickly going to need another job. Part of their job is to attend class. They aren't holding up to their part of the bargain. They're failing to behave like adults.

Many professions require college degrees. Many even require continuing education after obtaining a degree. You act like that's abnormal.

My original comment, the one you responded to, clearly stated that they will end up going pro in something other than football. If after their college eligibility dries up and they need to find a new profession, what I said would still be factually accurate. The only way it wouldn't be is if they're able to make enough from football to retire. You can claim that they're professionals now, but they will still need to become professional in something else long-term. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

How much money do you honestly think they're making on Akron's roster? Do you think it's enough for them to live off of for the next 40, 50, 60+ years? Odds are if they aren't disciplined to attend class, they're also not disciplined enough to save for retirement. They will be working 9-5 jobs like the rest of us.

Exactly, odds are 84 out of the 85 guys on scholarship will go pro in something other than football. This isn't like basketball where there are dozens of overseas leagues they can professionally play in.

If a players main prerogative is to make a bowl game why would they choose Akron regardless? Akron has been in the MAC for 30+ years and has made 3 total bowls. That equates to 1 every 10 years. They would have better odds of making a bowl game at literally any other MAC school. The players we're getting IMO are coming for a variety of different reasons such as; they have limited options, they want an opportunity to see the field, want to play locally, like a coach, etc. I would add money to the list, but I'm not sure if the NIL for the program is really in a place to win bidding wars.

I used to believe Akron could consistently be competitive in football and that was true pre-NIL era. Now our enrollment has shrunk considerably and even programs like EMU are getting 7 figure donations for their collectives. We aren't going to be able to win in a system where our competition is able to pay $100k for a starting OL, but we can only afford to pay $30k (numbers are made up, but inputed to emphasize a point). Unless some massive donors come out of the woodwork, I just don't see how Akron can win, at least to the consistency of someone like a Toledo.

I wouldn't be surprised if Akron strongly encourages Joe to take an OC position elsewhere next offseason. Whoever we bring in next will be coming in handicapped as our practice time will be reduced 20% and no postseason for at least 1 year, maybe 2. Shockingly he might leave this program in a worse place than the one he inherited from Arth. I wouldn't have thought that was possible.

I saw somewhere on the internet that we're almost certainly going to be below the multi average again next year as well. We would need something absurd like a 999 APR to bring our 4 year average to 930. Apparently 1 of the 4 years, I believe it was the 2021-2022 our individual year score was in the 880s.

Men's track dangerously close to falling below 930. They will have to improve or risk facing a similar punishment as football.

Below is how other MAC football programs performed.

For those curious, below is how all of Akron's sports team performed.

With all the recent conversation about Akron football APR scores it makes me feel even more grateful to have Groce running a basketball program that we can be proud of. On numerous post game interviews over the years I've heard him talk about players getting their degrees and praise individuals success in the classroom. He's the embodiment of what a college coach should be. He could be looking to cut corners and bring in unruly characters in hopes of adding an extra win or two, but he's not. He genuinely seems to care about his players and their long-term futures.

I'd tell you to wake up from your dream.

I couldn't imagine. It's not like we're in the financial position to pay a buyout while also paying another coach.

What about if the team is a combined 10-38 over this 4 year look back period? What if the program has only had 1 winning season in the last 15 years? This isn't a Vanderbilt or Northwestern issue where we're missing out on quality players because they don't meet academic standards. We've been admitting anyone who has a pulse and have still been the dumpster fire of the MAC.

Because there are actual students at Akron who are attending classes and doing assignments in worthwhile majors like; accounting, engineering, finance, computer science, etc. Are you just going to allow anyone playing on a 0-4 win football team get a guaranteed 3.0 in one of those majors when they didn't put forth any effort? Not to mention they will be competing for jobs in those fields with other Akron graduates who put in the time and effort. In fact, even against the TAs who were the ones completing their assignments. Not all majors are a joke and not all players are enrolled in worthless majors. Akron isn't OSU or Alabama. Attending here isn't getting a degree to become an NFL player.

All publicity is good publicity /s

If we were sending 10 players to the NFL annually, like OSU, I might see this argument. Why would we want to devalue our Akron degrees by just handing them to random athletes on a 2-4 win MAC teams who have little to no chance of going pro?

When Buffalo plays NIU someone will have to win.

That to me looks like the name of the tournament they will be playing in. It's a 2 day event.