Wally B

Oh, FOR THE LOVE OF G**, PLEASE STOP!!! MAC Daily Points of FACT: Toledo was competitve until the 4'th quarter They lost their top defensive player on the FIRST play of the game Then they lost their star running back in the first quarter. Their opponent was #17 Utah State, not a lower tier fbs team like say #111 Kentucky, or #112 Illinois. Source - Congrove BTW - Following the game, USU's coach accepted Wisconsin's offer to lead their team Those are hard pills for any team to swallow. They have NOTHING to do with Akron's ability to compete in the MAC or d1a. If you hate this program and the MAC as much as you purport to and find it so dreadful to follow then move on. Your excessive use of irrelevant and poorly researched facts lends me to belive you know nothing of which you speak. If the pastures are so green in the lower fields, why are so many migrating this way? Temple, Cincy, and Memphis were not upper tier material. Then again, neither are Duke, WA St., IA St., Vandy, AZ, etc... The delineation isn't as percise as you imagine it to be. Back to the Topic at hand: Yes the MAC deserved its 7 bowl bids. No a 6-7 team didn't deserve a bowl game over LA Tech, simply because the Sun Bowl couldn't wait for an answer. Yes, it truely is all about money. But NO i don't wish to see a LOSING team in a Bowl Game. I'd rather watch two good teams like Utah State and Toledo

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If the players feel they're getting a raw deal and being used; then they're free to leave said institution and play for Akron, where their likeness and jerseys will not be sold or marketed...... Further ro the point, how many players constitute a college roster anyways? How many teams in d1whatever? How many actually make it to the NFL? Average lifespan of an NFL career? 3-4 years at best? Yeah, majoring in football that's a good idea. Here's the truth, athletes are already permited to go to an institution that offers a sports management degree. I would think, like any other student, they are welcome to have outside employment. However, regular students are burdened with a reduction in grants and loan assistance based on outside income. It stands to reason this would apply equally to athletes as well. Legally however, all students and athletes are representative of said institution. As such, the schools have a vested interest in how they conduct themsleves on and off the field. Unfortunately, an additional burden is placed on major athletes due to their visibility. If they choose not to take advantage of the incredible opportunity their talents have provided, well that's life.... it isn't fair.

Steering this back to canference affiliation, one could surmise that the MAC is perfectly positioned to p/u Uconn or UCinn, or Temple or whoever from the BE. The contraction of of talent into power conferences has only elevated the MAC's overall position. THat and we have a storied history of taking in football-only programs. So the UC's don wanna bring all sports? Fine, bring your football, maybe only for a few years, but bring'em over. Then take your bb to the a10 or MVC.... Theoretically, this works. Sure the bottom of the MAC sucks.... but so does the bottom of newCusa, and the newSunB simply isn't an option. The next question is whether the BE will actually collapse. The basketball prowess of the league augmented their football/conference payout. As the $ goes so do the programs. Boise and SDSU will eventually see the light and stay where they are, as the MWC becomes a solid western conference again. the MAC takes the midwest and NE, while Cusa leads the SBlt in the south/west..... and regional conformity returns

Ummm..... actually, USF, Memphis, Temple, SDSU, UNLV, and UCF are not "better" than the MAC. UCF was horrible during its tenure in the MAC, and recent success is largely associate with violations that resulted in sanctions. In fact, Memphis, Temple, and UNLV have been some of the worst d1a programs over the last 20 years. Lets keep this discussion based in reality shall we One could also postulate that UC a program with a historically marginal record against the MAC at best, and the current state of BYU would place them in the middle of the MAC this year as well. Remember, we're talking about football here. That's what's driving the train!

Actually, short of the collapse of the ACC, USF and UCF are sol so to speak. The SEC is out, and Florida State is not interested in sharing the ACC with either program. Actually they are hesitant to share it with Miami (FL) for that matter. The only way USF move in, is if FSU leaves, and UCONN is already in. You have to feel for those old CUSA teams though don't you? I mean, UC had to point out that they finally made the big time and left all of us behind. They were BCS baby! Had a great year, rose to the top of the rankings, and nobody questioned their presence becasue they were in the BCS! Oh wait...... actually they did. Oh, and now, their AQ status has been revoked, and they didn't even have a say in it. Hmmmm I wonder how the recruits will look at that BWHAhahahahaha........ Pure Pwnage!

Actually, a Big East collapse could potentially benefit d1a football and all non-aq programs in general. - NCAA rules dictate that a school must have an invite from a d1a conference before making the jump from d1aa. This was designed to limit the number of schools making the jump. However, as the aq conferences expanded, many non-aq's simply scrounged up a few d1aa's to fill the void. Add to that the expansion of 8-12 team rosters to 12-14 (ney 16?) and d1a has grown from 106 in 1993, to 124 now. Even though that number continues to grow, it's been limited by the collapse of the WAC which eliminated a destination. Now imagine if the Big East/Cusa or some combination thereof follows suit.... It effectively reduces the availability of d1a slots again. Why is this important? Well, as some have suggested, there could be a push by AQ's to break away. Yes, this is a concern, but imagine if there were an additional 32 spots made available by two conferences that had been effectively pillaged.. AFterall, just look at the make-up of the Sun-Belt after Cusa pillaged it. I'm not so sure if any of their programs have been d1a for atleast 15-20 years. Don't quote me on that, but I think it would be harder to build any sense of legitimacy without some form of history to back it up. Afterall, what do you call a conference entirely made up of d1aa teams (no flame intended towards aspiring programs)? Back to the point at hand. If the BE does, in one form or another, collapse and the remnants join up with another conference; it would effectively cap the number of d1a teamsagain and appease the gods/naysayers to some degree. On the other hand, I can't imagine the big 4/5 conferences breaking off at this point for the simple fact that they need non-aq programs. Their fans would never accept the risk of playing 4 big games out of the gate every year. Hell, at this point cosces can get fired for going to a lower tiered bowl. Yes, as detestable and occasinally annoying as we are, they need us. back to your regular programmng

Burried deep in the dregs of d1a football (along w/ Akron) Southern Mississippi finds itself winless and ranked #124th. So how does one deal with the situation, espeically if your department is broke? Well there's this! Deadspin: Southen Miss sells home game to buyout coach!

I'm curious, w/ FAU's move to the CUSA, are we now down to 7 MAC soccer programs again?

I seem to remember Cincy fans gloating about their emergence as a national power once they obtained BCS status. Funny, now that they've seemingly lost it, all I hear is crickets!

We're now talking winners and losers here. The MAC and MWC are winners in my book. The MAC by virtue of stability and performance is garnering deserved attention. Ofcourse, 2 ranked teams in the championship dosen't hurt either. The MWC wins by virtue of goegraphical cohesion and the BE losing its AQ status. To be perfectly honest here, I think 14 full members is ideal for the MAC. It staves off injuries from defections and helps maintain the MACC. Losers? I think its fairly obvious. The BE seems to be graspoing at straws here. Did they contact UA or Can't State? Do we really care? The latter says it all, and now they have what appears to be a very unstable combination of programs across the county that selectively play the sports of their choosing. More to the point, this is exactly opposite of the MAC and MWC (where only Umass and Hawai'i are satelite members respectively). CUSA? With this years record, they've gone down even before ECU moved. FIU? I'd run back to the Belt asap. The real ? though, will these conferences be able to get enough programs to move up before they collapse like the WAC. Honestly, I think we'd all be better off if one did. One would think that a select few will still migrate over to the MWC, but they don't seem to be in as big of a hurry as everyone else.

Placing my natural bias aside for the moment, I still see NIU coming out on top. Their tenacity seems to get lost in all the talk surrounding kents amazing run this year. Yes Can't toppled impending b10 Rutgers, they also lost to UK by a lot more than NIU's 1 point miss vs Iowa. While I'd like nothing better than to see a fellow MACster go to the Orange Bowl, my gut says to go w/ the Huskies...

Anyone know which players are not returning next year, through either graduation or running out of eligibility? Best returning players that show promise?

Game Day!! Go Zips!!!

I dunno, look at time of possesion? Average shots on goal? Other statisitical evidence that suggests a greater chance of scoring more goals than the other team? It may have been a 1 goal win against Mich, but those stats suggest we had a better chance at winning the game.

Skipped 1 too many analytical thinking classes did we? It's as though a select few on here have completely ignored the wealth of information discussed on this board and in the media over the last several years to make a stement such as this.

"Role E E E E E E E E E E E ..........

It's always fun to look back and see what the experts thought ESPN Nov. 14

Well.... besides the aforementioned numb3rs, there's this linky After what? 39 YEARS?? Only 2 years since they suggested droping the program... Hard to believe that's possible given this 2012 review from Presnap Read... Yet where are they today? (sorry, i just threw up a little in my mouth) but hey, good for them.... The pieces are there. IT will take time to build and further evidence will emerge during the offseason. trust me, I'm more optimistic than I have been in years. Just relax and enjoy the ride. Someday soon things are going to be all right, and I'll buy you a beer as the Zips retake the wheel

Unfortunately personal interests have nothing to do w/ being right or wrong. they wont care, because there's no penalty for their behavior. Except motivation for Akron!

We crushed Michigan during our title run.. what 7-0? Then they came back and played us tough in the tourney! We should be pumped for this team!

Of course it does. Saying that is just a convenient way for the UConn rep to cover his ! In soccer, every team is ranked, not just the top #25 Are they suggesting that playing the #26th best means nothing, and playing the #25th does?? I have never commented on anything regarding TW on ZN.org. But I truly hope he calls this out for what it is Aw C'mon, that's a bunch of........ We came here to win the , now we've gotta a new reason, kicking UConn's

You don't say? You mean James Harrison's repeated concussions from using his head as a battering ram is going to come back and haunt him ?? Quote.. Unquote... "knocking people out of games" has been a long standing practice in the NFL.. The cat's out of the bag, and the style of play at all levels will have to be altered. I wonder though, how our version compares to Aussie Rules. Their style of play is more fluid, where a player can suddenly decide to kick a field goal or punt if he runs out of options, and there isn't a formal stoppage of action between plays where everything is reset. In that sense it's like Rugby, but I can't imagine Rugby players experience fewer concussions. Hell, soccer players get concussions from heading the ball. Football will remain, but liability issues will change how it is played and governed. The broader issue is whether or not the fans will come to appreciate the nuances of a gentler game, or continue to watch football like their waiting for a crash at the Indy500.

It's almost as though you are yelling at yourself. You keep repeating simple and ill-informed statements that few if any on here are willing to legitimize, and loudly repeating yourself won't get us to listen. Dude, it won't work, We're not deaf. We simply refuse to drink your koolaid. Your attempts to legitimize your feelings by focusing anything negative you can extract, ignores the greater truth's we've already discussed here ad nauseam. Like any program, our successes and failures are the product of multiple factors. Institutional support, economics, stadium issues, recruiting, gambles on players with questionable backgrounds (Harvey?)..... etc.... It's as though we've been remodeling a house. At this point, we've gotten through the worst of it, and most everything is new. Recognize that we're on the right track, and give it time to mature. Still, you have a talent. If you wish to continue with your hyperbole, i suggest heading over to the MAC board and check Louis Kitton's posts, he's the master. You may also recognize him as OUfootball, Kit-Cat, Airport KC, etc..

spot on GT! Even though we're talking about soccer has (as opposed to football or basketball) there's a huge fairness issue here that should resonate nationally. If I've read correctly, UConn had a representative on the selection committee! Not only were the zips ran #1, with a fantastic rpi, any notion of fan support that would carrry weight in a FB or BB discussion is entirely moot with one of the attendance rates in the nation. Our matches have been broadcasted on FSC, and our program is widely respected and recognized by the MLS! THere's a word for this.... SCANDAL!

Wow is right! This essentially turns the BE into a mid-major. One has to wonder what Boisie State and others are thinking now. For awhile there, the MWest was looking like a great conference. On the other hand, this formula also puts ND and BYU in a hard spot. As the Irish are already finding out this year, without a conference championship game, your team is automatically shorted a crucial game at the end of the year. Will a one loss team from the SEC or PAC/Big 12 make it in over the Irish. The magic 8ball says - It is very likely .