Zippy87

The halftime GOAT

I wasn't aware of this, has he had ongoing health issues?

A promotional night would be so easy. Do a trading card, a t-shirt, a poster...SOMETHING.

Group rates are: Upper Reserved: $15 non-conference, $20 MAC games Upper GA: $8 non-conference, $10 MAC games Groups get to pick between a spirit tunnel, halftime performance, halftime scrimmage, or a post-game photo on the court. They also get recognized on the jumbotron. (My son's team looked into it this year)

I took my son when they sold the student section as GA over break. The team coming over and giving them high fives after the win was so incredibly cool to him. He's a fan for life.

We're going to need Groce to add impact players in the portal and/or some young guys to step up in a big way.

One of the best ways to grow a fan base is to connect kids to it at a young age. I'd love to see free admission for kids with paid admission from an adult.

I didn't know that either. Cool to see him connected to the team.

With Freeman, Ali, Tribble, Thornton, Hunter all graduating and Prather, Tavari, and Lyles all transfer candidates, there could be a ton of turnover this offseason.

Freeman is now at 1,483 points and 1,162 rebounds. He needs 9 points to pass Travis and move into 8th all-time for points. He needs 10 rebounds to pass Bill Turner and move to 4th all-time. Special player!

https://medina-gazette.com/news/377730/boys-basketball-close-bond-with-dad-informs-maxx-bosleys-life-and-basketball-game/ Nice article on Jami Bosley and his son Maxx, a senior at Wadsworth.

Effort and creativity can go a long way.

It's interesting to see the varying opinions shared here. I used to think, "If people don't want to come, what can you do?" But as I've gotten older and seen other teams in various sports/leagues grow their fan base in creative ways, it makes me push back on that. Akron can make a better effort to draw fans. Akron can make a better effort on promotions and ticketing. Akron can most certainly make an effort to get better gear available to fans. Keith Dambrot outperformed what this program would have done without him. We hit the jackpot in replacing him with John Groce when the time came, who is also outperforming what the program would do without him. My biggest fear with Zips basketball is that if/when Groce leaves, we won't be so lucky to find another elite coach. Athletics need to be better. Those involved with GameDay experience need to be better. I know they're tied up with a crummy contract on merchandising, but find ways to be better (remember when they sold black jersey, shorts, shirts, and "Tree" socks and they all quickly sold out?). I absolutely refuse to accept mediocrity for the program and university I love so very much, and I hope others do the same.

It is stupid and unfortunately not at all surprising.

Offer some of these ADs a big enough check...

I think this would actually be Kent lol

I told my son, who is a young athlete himself, how Tribble is the definition of hard work. He was 11-66 from 3PT in his first four seasons combined and is 11-34 this season. He's never going to be a sharpshooter, but just hitting them at a respectable clip and not allowing the defender to cheat in is HUGE for the entire offense.

Some interesting numbers so far in MAC play... Tribble 13.3 PPG 68% FG% (17-28) 55% 3PT% (6-11) The only negative to his game is he's fouled out now two games in a row. Hunter 3.3 PPG 12% FG% (2-17) 22% 3PT% (2-9) Safe to say Sammy is in a slump. Also worth nothing Dawson is 7-12 (58%) from 3PT range over the last two games and hopefully starting to break out of his month-long slump.

We're losing to a team that lost to the Little Rock Trojans by 26.

I dig this

Agree 100%. I stopped at the Team Shop attached to InfoCision over winter break. I asked if they had any Nike fitted hats and they did not. The employee told me new Nike fan gear was very, very delayed - they had expected it last summer. He said they now expect to get it in February, but that I'd have to go to the campus bookstore or buy it online because "they were probably going to close that particular Team Shop until Spring". The best Zips gear is at Rally House in Fairlawn.

I agree, but I also think the university/athletics do things that make that seem accurate. Our family went to a Friday night game (7 PM start) and my son wanted a snack with about 9 minutes left in the game. Went out and every single concession was closed and the workers were long gone. I mentioned another game we went to a few weeks before Christmas that the team shop wasn't even open. Can't ask others to take your athletics seriously if the people overseeing them don't treat them that way.

Serious question - if giveaways and promotions don't work, why does every college, minor league, and professional team invest so heavily in them? If you've been to every game for the last 25 years (which is AWESOME) then I'd say you are, as you said, a different breed. As I said in my earlier post, it's hard for diehards to see it from any other way than, "Zips hoops is awesome, I'm there no matter what." But that's not every fan or even the majority of them IMO.

Nobody here is going to stay away from games because of lack of promotions, ticket prices, concessions, lack of engagement. If you're posting here, you're a die-hard that's going to go no matter what. But some can't step outside that fandom to see things from another type of fans' perspective. I love the Zips. And I love them so much that when I see them not reaching their potential as a program or as Athletics as a whole, it frustrates the hell out of me, especially when so much of it is effort-based. If promotions, marketing, and ticket deals didn't help bring more people to games, nobody would do them. So we can plug our ears, call people insane, tell them they should be happy with what they get or we can have a real and honest conversation about this program, this University, and how they can help grow a program with a coach and players who deserve a better effort from everyone involved.