kreed5120

The MAC released it's preseason poll and All-MAC teams. Akron was picked first getting 11 out of the 13 first place votes. Miami received the other 2. Tavari was given first team honors. Evan Mahaffey and Shammah Scott were picked for 2nd team. https://getsomemaction.com/news/2025/10/21/mac-announces-2025-26-mens-basketball-preseason-poll-all-mac-teams.aspx Edit: I believe coaches aren't allowed to vote for their team to win so Akron received 11 out of a possible 12 1st place votes.

I don't think bringing up last season is that useful for these rankings. What matters is what each team has returning and what new pieces were brought in. Based off of that Miami looks like the better team on paper. That said, there is a reason they play the games so who knows how things play out.

I've been critical of Akron football, but this statement might actually be true. Not because our offensive line is good, but because in prior years it has been far worse. At the very least they have been able to open up some running lanes for Gant and Patrick. We're on pace to run for about 300 more yards than any other of Moorhead's Akron teams.

The Franklin firing was especially egregious. He inherited a program that was still recovering from a national scandal and hadn't won a national championship since the 80s. He turned them into a perennial national contender. He literally had them in the semifinals last year, but the boosters said that's not good enough. That's another problem with NIL. Now that schools are going to alumni to fund their $20 million rosters the alumni are feeling entitled to titles now. Only one team can win a national title every year. Not even Joe Paterno (scandal aside) would survive in this college landscape.

The MAC deal with ESPN ends after the 2026/2027 academic year. There isn't any cause for concern. I'm fairly certain television coverage for MAC football was fairly late to be listed for ESPN+ coverage.

My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.

Dambrot took a far worse Duquesne program to the big dance while playing in the A10. Martin shouldn't be given a free pass at UMass. The success you're saying Martin had was ~15 years ago. An eternity in the sports world. UMass is spending serious NIL money for a mid-major. Probably 50% more than Akron and 2x-3x (maybe more) that of many other MAC programs. Even with that they finished #222 in kenpom last year. He's greatly underperforming given the resources he has at his disposal. IMO he's an old school coach and the game has passed him by. Being a hardass worked 15 years. It doesn't work today. In this day and age where players can move more freely, player friendly coaches, like Groce, are in a much better situation to succeed.

My distaste extends long beyond Akron. College football just isn't entertaining. So many lopsided games. The saving grace before was the regular season was like a 12 week playoff before so every game in the regular season mattered. With the expanded playoffs each regular season game matters less. Let's use OSU as an example. 10 years ago if OSU got upset by Rutgers that would mean OSU season would be on life support. Now it might just mean the difference between having a first round bye or hosting a 1st round campus game.

This is solid advice. I pretty much gave up following Akron and college football 6-7 years ago and my Saturdays are now much more enjoyable.

The main difference is the NFL is designed for teams for teams to average 8-9 wins over the long run. The Browns being as bad as they have been for as long as they have been is pretty unbelievable. College football is a completely different animal. Bad teams aren't rewarded by getting the option of having first dibs at the best high school players. Good teams aren't constrained by a salary cap. Edit: Partly why I feel the NFL is so much more popular than college football is most fans think their team has a chance. The Browns this year might be an exception as it was a clear rebuild year, but you have the Jaguars and Patriots who both picked in the top 5 of this past draft now sitting at 4-2. Last year the Commanders had a similar turn around.

Kenpom.com I personally wouldn't place too much stock in preseason ratings. Especially since we see so much roster turnover these days.

You can always call up the athletic department and offer up money to help pay the buyout if you want it so badly... This board seems to love spending others money. Crying about wanting a coach fired, but expecting other boosters to pay for it...

I would say we tried with a $60+ million stadium and whatever we spent on the fieldhouse as well. We have poured so much money into football, far more than any other sports, but it continues to be throwing more good money after bad.

Not directly, but indirectly. The athletic program relies on institutional support to make up any shortfalls in the athletic budget. If we have to come up with an extra $1 million that wasn't budgeted before where do you think if would come from? If no booster steps up it would likely need to come from the general fund.

This is even above the ADs head. The University is in financial distress. We're financially incapable of competing in FBS any longer. The cost to compete has grown exponentially over the last 5-10 years. In that time our enrollment has been nearly cut in half. Even as an Akron fan I can't support throwing away more taxpayer money to support a team that has no chance of competing. This isn't the NFL. There is no billionaire owner to eat the cost.

Are you volunteering to pay the $900K+ buyout? If so, I have no objections.

Any one who thinks simply paying close to $1 million to buyout our coach to bring in someone new will magically solve our problems is insane. We've gone down that route with how many coaches in a row? We have much deeper issues that need to be worked on. At this point it's probably way too late unless 2-3 deep pocketed boosters step up to carry the program like Bud has done with basketball. I say 2-3 because the costs to compete in FBS is several times that of hoops.

Any tidbits worth sharing for those of us unlikely to ever read it?

I guess I'm just more puzzled on how this is going to work. The fall semester started ~7 weeks ago. Is he just taking a few 1/2 semester courses to eligible for this fall (is that even an option) or is he just joining the team for the spring semester?

The more talented you are the more people are willing to put up with. It's pretty much too across all levels of sports. If a player is All-MAC caliber a coach is going to give him a longer leash than if he's a second string depth piece.

Yes, I don't see why we would have to deal in absolutes. When a player leaves you can leave the door open for them to possibly return, but at the same time make sure they're aware there is no guarantee their roster spot would be available if they want to return. Coaches would still have to look to fill openings, but if player A decides to want to return and you still have both an open scholarship and a need at that position why wouldn't you take them?

If Akron can stumble to 5 wins that way it's good enough to take pressure off firing him, but not good enough to extend would likely be the best case scenario.

Couldn't that be said about athletics as a whole? They haven't even made it to the NCAA tournament for men's hoops since 1992.

That's good to hear. I would still be nervous entering the season with only 2 bigs if Barre misses significant time. Another injury or even foul trouble suddenly places you in a bind. Hopefully he can return to the court soon. Nice to hear Amani expanding his range. That would allow Groce more flexibility if he needs to adjust his lineups in certain situations.

And if your team wins you do both