Zippy87

Need one of these PGs to step up.

Thank you! Any idea what "Holiday Pack" is?

Per Facebook it is "Hoops for Heroes" night, where military and first responders can get in free. First I've seen of marketing or any type of promotions for this season (can't find a promotional schedule anywhere on our site).

I'm interested...it wouldn't let me DM you. No worries if they've been claimed already. Thanks!

I'd be fine with Tribble initiating the offense with so many scorers around him.

An eventual Hunter-Ali-Freeman-Dawson-Tribble starting lineup is pretty damn exciting.

Scott/Thornton combined for 2 points and 3 turnovers in the first half.

Should I be excited that Tavari won a starting job or worried that Thornton and Scott didn't?

Joe Biden won, so bad comparison.

I saw them post a "deal" for $10 GA tickets lol

I do want to say I was making a joke - I have no issues with Miller.

I'm not sure I agree this is entitlement, it's looking at the value for what you're paying. For what amounts to $100 per game, you should get tremendous value, and if that isn't coming via the product (the team), you'd expect it to be made up in other areas.

Gary Miller would never

I just saw the Akron-Kent football game is listed as Youth Sports Day, perfect for a weekday school night game with a 7:30 PM start. 🤦‍♂️

Tickets for a Wednesday night game between two awful teams (Akron and Kent) are currently listed as $19 for GA and $31-38 for reserved. Our ticketing team is completely unserious.

Double-post, sorry

My biggest issue is the lack of engagement from athletics to its most loyal alumni and fans. The only time I hear from Athletics is when they're asking for money. Fundraising is obviously vital, but if, every time you hear from someone, all they're doing is asking for money, you're eventually going to ignore their calls/emails. My second biggest is the complete lack of marketing/promos/ticket specials. Don't tell me you need a huge budget to do it when the Rubberducks kill it every summer with a limited budget. It takes creativity and effort, two things our athletic department has lacked for years.

Plenty of schools who have had success without a successful (or any) football program. Depends what you invest in.

I didn't know where to put this in the forum, but I'm curious about everyone's thoughts on the state of Akron Athletics, in particular progress made under Charles Guthrie. Men's basketball, men's soccer, and swimming and diving remain strong. Football remains a joke. Fan engagement and marketing is about the same. The rebrand was poorly executed, and I still see "old" logos on "new" items when looking to purchase Zips gear. Does anyone feel we are moving in the right direction?

I'd be annoyed by the required "2023 Zips Athletic Fund Investment" myself.

Has anyone ever attended one of these? Curious what to expect.

Should we be worried that Ali hasn't been in any of the media day photo shoots? (From what I've seen)

We have the full schedule and final roster. Hopefully no major preseason injuries impact us like losing Dawson last year. I'm fascinated to see who gets minutes and how they're divided up. Freeman, Ali, Hunter, and Tribble will play a lot. They may manage Dawson's minutes a bit early on, but he'll play a lot too. I'd assume Thornton and Scott didn't transfer here to sit. Nate Johnson was 6th in MPG and started a few, so I'd expect him to play. That leaves: Tavari Johnson - averaged 15 MPG and started 9 games. I viewed him as a potential transfer last spring because there's so many backcourt players on the roster. The talent is there, though. Amani Lyles - Didn't play a ton last year. Would love to see him add to our frontcourt depth. Darrion Baker - Most freshmen are redshirt candidates, but Baker doesn't seem like a typical freshman. Will be watching this one closely. Ryan Prather Jr - Already used his redshirt. Good size for a guard and was an excellent scorer in HS. Marvin Musiime-Kamali - Defensive-juggernaut in HS. Guessing he's a redshirt as a freshman.

I'm going to push back on this. First, we have an example in-house to show winning doesn't necessarily = attendance (MBB). Second, there are glaring weaknesses this athletic department has had for *years* that have held it back. There's no creativity, no fun, barely any marketing/promotions - these are things you have to do to draw fans even when you're winning and especially when you're not. Different sport, but we go to quite a few Rubberducks games. It's not because they win - I couldn't even tell you their record this year and quite honestly, don't care if they win or lose. It's because they are super-creative with marketing/promotions/ticketing, they engage with their supporters and make them feel valued, and their in-game entertainment is fantastic. We always have fun at those game. I was so bored Saturday I probably won't go back. We do none of this well, and it's beyond embarrassing for a D1 Athletic Department to be so bad for so long.

I was there and aside from it being a tough loss, the game was incredibly boring. I'm not sure what the answer is, but the gameday experience as a whole just isn't anything that is going to bring people out.