DannyHoke

Akron paid $100,000 to Collegiate Sports Associates to hire a guy as AD who has no football experience. https://collegiatesportsassociates.com/

Well, the Good Lord did not listen to your prayers. Akron paid BIG $$$ to Collegiate Sports Associates to hire Guthrie. CSA is led by Todd Turner who has been fired as the AD as Washington, UConn, NC State and Vanderbilt. https://collegiatesportsassociates.com/

https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/sports/2021/05/03/uwgb-athletic-director-charles-guthrie-expected-take-akron-opening/4930071001/

The University of Akron has selected Charles Guthrie as the new Director of Athletics. Guthrie comes from Wisconsin-Green Bay where he's been the AD since 2017. Prior to Green Bay, Guthrie completed three and a half years as Director of Athletics at SF State. Guthrie arrived in San Francisco after serving as the Director of Athletics at Clark College. Prior to Clark, Guthrie served as Associate Director of Athletics for California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA), supporting the overall planning, direction and management of the CSULA intercollegiate athletic program. Guthrie came to CSULA from Cal State University, San Marcos (CSUSM), where he served as Director of Alumni and Parent Relations beginning in December 2004. Guthrie previously spent four years as Associate Athletic Director External Relations at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he developed and implemented the marketing, alumni and ticket programs for Triton athletics. A 2004 graduate of the NCAA Fellows Leadership Development Program, Guthrie served as Director of Marketing, Tickets and Recreation Gym Memberships for the department of athletics at Columbia University in New York City prior to joining the UCSD staff. Guthrie also worked in athletics at Colgate University and the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC). The Albany, N.Y., native earned his B.S. in Political Science from Syracuse University and M.S. in Education Administration and Policy Studies from the University of Albany. If you are keeping count, Guthrie has not worked with a college football program in more than a decade. https://greenbayphoenix.com/staff-directory/charles-guthrie/126

Arth is not going anywhere. San Diego informed him on Saturday he is no longer being considered.

The smartest move that could be made is hiring LEE OWENS to be the head football coach. Lee was getting things done at Akron before he was dumped by Mike Thomas for his cousin JD Brookhart after Lee led us to a 7-5 season. Lee never had facilities but had great relationships with the high school coaches in Ohio. He's 64, and could lure back Charlie Frye to be the Offensive Coordinator and groom him for 3-4 years. Owens has won 251 games in 36 years as a college and high school head football coach (251-147-2, .630). Since taking over the Ashland job Lee has won 122 games in 16 years (122-54, .693). If you need a refresher course about the total excellence that was Zip football under Lee Owens keep reading. The Owens Era at Akron was one of the most thrilling tenures in school history. Under Owens, the Zips became a team that could reach the end zone from anywhere on the field. Owens led Akron to a 34-20 win over Marshall in 2002, Akron’s first victory ever over a Top-25 team. He was on the sidelines for one of the biggest wins in school history, a 35-29 conquest of Navy in 1999. Akron trailed in that game, 23-0. That’s the largest come-from-behind win in school history and the greatest lead lost in 100-plus years of Navy football. Owens guided Akron to its first consecutive winning seasons since the school became a Division I-A member (1999-2000). In 2000, Akron won a share of the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division title. He also coached the school’s first consensus All-America, Dwight Smith, who played on the Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His last several seasons at Akron saw the Zips offense flourish to the point where in 2003, the Zips were sixth in the country in pass offense (311.3 ypg.), ninth in total offense (470.25 ypg.) and 11th in scoring (36.25 ppg.). In 2002, Akron was 28th in the nation in yards per game. Quarterback Charlie Frye rewrote the school record book for completions, attempts, passing yards, total offense and completion percentage. Frye was regarded as one of the top signal callers in the country and was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 2005 NFL draft. Owens’ success at Akron extended to more than just records on the field. In 2000 and 2001, the Zips led the MAC Academic Team and in 2001, the AFCA presented Akron with an academic achievement award for a graduation rate over 70 percent. In 1995 when Owens arrived on campus, the football program’s graduation rate was 17 percent. Upon Owens’ departure, Akron averaged 58 percent on the NCAA graduation report. Six members of the 2003 senior class had a grade-point average that exceeded 3.0. HIRE LEE OWENS

Charlie has been a college coach for 2 years, plus a pandemic season and he's a "coordinator" in name only as Jim McElwain calls the offense for the Chips. Ashland (2018) > Wide receivers coach Central Michigan (2019–present) > Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach I am no Arth fan, but at least Arth had been a college coach for a decade (5x Frye's experience), including six years as a head coach before he was hired at Akron. John Carroll (2010–2012) > Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach/assistant recruiting coordinator John Carroll (2013–2016) > Head coach Chattanooga (2017–2018) > Head coach Akron (2019–present) > Head coach Akron has made some iffy hires over the years for head coaches, but choosing a guy just because he wore the Blue & Gold is a really questionable move. The real questionable move would be allowing Larry Williams & George Van Horne anywhere near this long term hire. Football has enough problems on campus right now before allowing these two chaps to make a 5-7 year decision when they will likely not be around to support the hire.

The inability to tackle, or even appear to give a damn on defense is a telling sign.

20 straight losses.

MACtion is the death nail of MAC football. It's killed off student and fan interest. We were much better off in 2001 or 2005 than we are now with a following, and that was playing in the Rubber Bowl 8 miles off campus.

Playing a spring home and home with Kent State would likely not draw much. I think this is trying to force something that is already a dead issue. Made for web programming as no one is putting Spring MAC Football on television. ESPN+ stuff at best.

So you would propose having a SPRING FOOTBALL GAME? Doubtful that drives big bucks as no one will travel to play a spring game without some sort of financial guarantee, meaning you will have to do more than one game - home and home at least. All that work and expense for one revenue shot, in cold weather months of February and March plus perhaps 2-3 weeks of April? Doubtful. Most real football programs do a Spring Game, but it's not for Seniors as no one with NFL aspirations is going to play in the Spring, begging the question what is really to gain from the player perspective, or that of the school. To the NCAA, Basketball is the most important sport as the NCAA has no skin in the football game. March Madness funds the NCAA and they will not allow this to be cancelled again, or it's lights out for the NCAA. Game, set, match. Found this data online - was on a FOX News Slide MAC Football By The Numbers: — The average MAC school spends $8.7 million on football. — 39 Power 5 programs were slated to pay $65 million for 49 guarantee games, including 18 against the 12 MAC programs. — $850,000 to each MAC school from Television Contract

MAC Football By The Numbers: — The average MAC school spends $8.7 million on football. — 39 Power 5 programs were slated to pay $65 million for 49 guarantee games, including 18 against the 12 MAC programs. — $850,000 to each MAC school from ESPN, or around 10% of the overall football budget

Cutting the 3 sports was a topical cut at best, as all were low scholarship sports and low head count. Several full time positions were cut as well, which is where more savings took place.

Where are the buy games this year? Who says they come back? The MAC Television Deal is not separated out by sport, so ZIPS FOOTBALL is not earning anything there, the SCHOOL earns something as part of the MAC membership. Per those articles on Football Spending.. 2015 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/20/faculty-members-urge-u-akron-decrease-football-spending 2018 https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-business/university-akron-tries-tackle-sports-dilemma 2019 https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2019/03/how-university-of-akron-raised-and-spent-money-on-sports-in-2017-2018.html Revenue: $34,601,000 Football Budget: $7,500,000 Ticket revenue: $1,381,580 (All sports) Contributions: $1,757,161 (All sports) NCAA: $1,289,476 ($0 from football as it is not NCAA sponsored at FBS level) Conference: $1,827,299 (All sports) Subsidy from non-athletic department sources: $24,289,339 Expenses: $34,873,226 Scholarships: $6,976,674 was spent on 213.05 scholarships split among 362 student-athletes. Even if you give football credit for all ticket sales, all contributions and all conference distribution (includes TV deal with ESPN) that's only $5,000,000 bucks and leaves a gap of $2.5m to break even. The only person that says football breaks even at Akron is the MAC Commish. The President and AD will never state that as it's simply not accurate. "Akron's athletic department budget of $33.1 million in 2017-18 included operating expenses of $11,174,159 and a total payroll of $10,181,747. The figures were a respective $1,230,159 and $173,747 above the original projections. But the Zips' athletic revenues — a theme that is all too common throughout NCAA Division I — account for only a quarter of the department's costs. That leaves the university to pick up the tab for the rest, via student fees and other institutional support." 2020 https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/05/01/budget-cuts-render-university-of-akrons-football-program-increasingly-indefensible There are 65 schools that are realistically eligible for the College Football Playoff - the power 5 schools plus Notre Dame. The GROUP OF 5 will never even have a chance to be a part of the Playoff. If a power 5 school goes 13-0 they will be in the CFP, guaranteed. One could easily extend the argument that spending $300K on a head men's soccer coach is insanity. Add in his state benefits at 42% of that figure and it's easily 10x the season ticket revenue for men's soccer. One could easily make the argument that Akron should aspire to be more like Creighton or Wichita State, basketball at the forefront and no football. The very argument being made by Gary Miller & Larry Williams about keeping athletics at the D1 is the marketing value provided to the campus and additions to the campus culture. Students would disagree if polled about their over $1,000 per year in fees to provide the playing opportunities for other students. Athletics is an extracurricular activity and not a mandated part of the academic mission of the University.