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I hate what college football has become. I want to root for our players for 4 yrs. But that is over. As a fan, you have to adjust or find another activity. So- why invest your support for a player like Mumpfield who develops with the school that gave him a shot and then leaves hoping to be in the 2% that makes the pros. Maybe he makes it but the other two likely will not. The Portal offers Akron a better chance as the rules are at the moment. If they find good players with multiple years of eligibility, those players actually have more loyalty to the program as they likely can’t move again. We should see this as an opportunity if the coaches pursue the right player options. Over 2000 in the portal- not all will get solid options- some have made a bad choice.

Reed Case- head football operations according to football scoop

Feature story about Matt’s unique journey to the Olympic games in Monday’s Wall Street Journal! Nice piece for him and UA

Realize, to most of you, that this is really a new sport, but you might want to take a look at an exciting addition to The University of Akron sports scene. In their first full season, the women's lacrosse team is really improving in significant ways. They are currently 7 & 7 on the season. They posted two wins this week including a virtual beatdown of Kent State. Women's lacrosse is not as physical as the men's game, but still quite exciting IF played on a high level. It contains elements with parallels to basketball and soccer. You can score with individual athletic talent and/or team play. The University of Akron's team has some excellent "dodgers" (those who can create their own shot as in basketball) as well as team oriented goals ( as in good passing among team members similar to basketball and soccer teams). They can create opportunities through excellent stick skills (again akin to soccer foot skill and basketball dribbling skill). In today's game a first year UA player scored on a behind the back shot- a high level skill not even tried by many players! This Akron team hustles and is relentless in their effort. They are true student athletes- the roster is full of pre-meds, engineers, speech pathology, nursing, and business majors among others. They have accomplished a great deal in a short period during a pandemic. They have done all of this without scholarships! So, if you have a chance, check them out next year. Their last contest is against an established Central Michigan team that has been around for years. That will be a tough way to end the season but even here- they will give their all. UA played CMU even for a half the first time around before they pulled away in the second half. But, given Akron's heart, who knows. Next year, with another recruiting class and added experience, their level of play should continue to develop. Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the U.S. I believe. Give them a look- they represent The University well.

I also did not play soccer but am a real fan of the Zips and their style. So- my layman’s view- they look better. I think the move to return Strachan to middle back is a positive. Last year’s effort to put him at outside back and defensive mid robbed Akron of an offensive player. In Akron’s scheme, all of those positions need to be offensive threats. He did not have an offensive mindset and perhaps the skills/speed to be as effective as others. Milanese, on the other hand, would occasionally display more offensive instincts even from the center back position. What the team really seems to need, as another poster mentioned, is a goal scoring threat from the midfield. It will force opponents to spread out their defense and create space for all our players in the offensive third.

Akron announces 10 new players for Spring, 2021, including freshmen and transfers. Noteworthy is that the list includes no international players. Perhaps showing the impact of the pandemic and perhaps fewer recruiting trip dollars.

The fault could be on the coaching staff rather than the sports communications staff. The university has posted announcements not only for football but also most other teams. I know they have announced 2021 signings for men and women’s basketball, volleyball, women’s soccer, softball, lacrosse, and swimming/diving. I believe several of the 2021 soccer recruits will enroll next month. Given that the university has found the time to put out publicity for most of the teams, I doubt they would fail to do so for men’s soccer if they had the information and the coaches permission to send it out. I think I remember Wyatt Webb wanted to keep recruits “under wraps” until forced to reveal them.

To JZIP- the credits from Akron are quite transferrable. It is not difficult to transfer credits. Akron accepts credits routinely from institutions where the education is no where near as solid as Akron. The University of Akron is a strong institution of higher learning with many outstanding programs- too many to outline in this post ( I do not currently work for The University although I did). In fact, it is stronger today than it has been in earlier eras. The University of Akron's "image" suffers from a lack of ambition on the part of some University leaders (and some students) in telling its story. Hopefully that is over. Its "image" will improve if we can win some football games. Its a shame that football wins figure into this but it does. Akron grads are often preferred by employers because of their pragmatic attitude, strong work ethic, and their solid knowledge. No sense of "entitlement"- no excuses just a willingness to work hard and a get a job done. I believe GP1 has the right outlook on the athletic issue. The pandemic has forced the issue as he points out. This is not a problem at The University of Akron- it is a national issue that affects scores of institutions. There are hints that collective action is being considered by groups of colleges. Hopefully they will come to some common solution that will have to be considered by the NCAA. When the NCAA allowed Central Michigan a TWO YEAR waiver on the minimum number of male sports, it suggests a necessary crack in their absurd policies.