Zippy87

I also hold no ill will toward him, but I will also say KD deserved this type of response from more people here when he left.

From ABJ: The NCAA transfer portal will open for college basketball players on April 7 and remain open for 15 days. Guards Eric Mahaffey and Sharron Young are notable Zips players with remaining eligibility whom Akron hopes to retain. With Ford taking the torch from Groce, at least UA has a head coach its players know. “I think it helps, right?” Ford said. “But in today's climate, you never know. I think it'll clearly give us an upper hand on retaining some guys. I've had the ability here to meet with the majority of them, some of them over the phone, some of them face to face. “We've had good conversations. Our guys know where I stand and what my expectations are, and I think that'll help. But, obviously, guys have to make a decision. At the University of Akron, not only the athletic program, we want guys who want to be here.”

Kent State had two enter the portal today...list is updated.

I believe Toledo will lose 4 of their 5 starters to graduation or the portal.

Bowen's IG announced he signed with an agency for NIL representation. I would take this as he was awarded that additional year of eligibility.

What I heard - budget was cut last year and was going to be again this year. Travel budget, in particular, was an issue to Groce.

Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston. "I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together." Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor. Here are highlights from those conversations: Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston? Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move. Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce, losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. "The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Anrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts. "They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things." Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year. Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025. Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question. Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball? "I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful." Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA. "I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said. However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does. "I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true." To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White. "When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true. "When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football." University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay. No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron). "This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later." Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group. "The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million." Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere. "No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it. "If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters." Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach? Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston. "He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'" Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26). Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff. A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades. "We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team. "As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs." Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees. Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process. "He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box. "In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family." Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey. "Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."

Not that it means anything, but I looked at who is following the Charleston Basketball IG after yesterday and the only current players are Halligan, MMK, and Groce (obviously).

I wonder what type of offense Ford will have the Zips run. Will it be the fast-paced "All gas, no brakes" style, or, given his expertise in developing bigs, do we go back to a more similar style to when Freeman was the centerpiece of the offense? Obviously, if he intends to shift back to that, we'd need to add some serious front court talent in the portal.

I snapped this photo of Groce during warmups prior to the MAC Championship game. He sat alone for most of it, watching his players, but also looking around a bit, seeming to take it all in. Maybe he has done this before other games and I missed it, but he seemed to be different. I even told my wife it looked like a man who knew this was his last time playing Saturday in Cleveland.

Just received this email: Dear Zips Nation, Today, I write to share some bittersweet news about our friend, John Groce as well as lay out the plan for the future leadership of our beloved Men’s Basketball program. You may have heard that John made the decision to accept another coaching position. It’s true that we will miss his smile and positive attitude which helped us have so much success on and off the court. We are incredibly grateful for everything that he and his family have done here at The University of Akron. We understand that seasons pass, times have changed, and we wish him and his family the absolute best as he continues his basketball coaching journey. As we look forward, I believe the future for Akron men's basketball is as bright as ever. Built upon the success of the Dambrot era, and now the Groce era, we look forward to the next era of championship level basketball. We acknowledge and understand that rules regarding transfer portals and revenue share budgets have changed the game of college basketball, but principles like work ethic, preparation, and the drive to play for others and something bigger than ourselves remain the bedrock for championship programs. As we seek our next trusted leader, we will place a priority on finding someone who loves Akron, who has a demonstrated history of winning championships, who loves working with young people, who listens as well as he leads, who continues to help us raise our standards, all the while maintaining an unyielding belief that anything is possible at the University of Akron when we all work together. Luckily for us, we found that person right here in Dustin Ford. Dustin’s impact on our men’s basketball program is immense. Our Associate Head Coach for the past nine years, Dustin helped craft our championship winning strategies, assisted our young men develop leadership skills on and off the court, and has proven to be a great teacher of the game of basketball. Dustin along with his wife Marcie, have developed a great network of friends in Northeast Ohio and have robust recruiting ties throughout the State of Ohio. While Dustin is the perfect person to take us to the next level, he will not be able to do it alone. As our peers in the MAC aim to end our championship streak, their fans are investing more and more in season tickets and gifts to their revenue share and operational budgets. We implore you to join us and “MAKE THE CLIMB” as we aim to not only continue to win MAC Championships, but to earn NCAA Tournament victories as we continue to dream big championship dreams. A formal press conference to introduce Dustin will be scheduled at some point in the near future so that he can focus his time, efforts, and energy and developing a roster, hiring a staff, and mapping our fundraising strategies with our friends at Fear the Roo, and internally with the Akron Competitive Excellence (ACE) Fund. Best wishes and Go Zips! Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich Director of Athletics at The University of Akron

Which high-major teams did we beat during the JG Era? Personally, and I can't speak for others, I'm OK with being a program that is at or near the top of the MAC every year. A tourney win would be incredible and while I don't agree with people who say it isn't possible anymore, I do think it is far less likely than the pre-NIL era of college basketball. Being one of the last two teams left standing in Cleveland on Saturday night is still a thrill to me, and I think turning the program over to Ford - if he wants it - may be the best way to do that.

The LeBron hate is so tired. The man does tons of wonderful work in the Akron community. I'm not going to hate on him for not donating to our NIL fund. I would be surprised to see Dru leave Duquesne, too. And honestly, while I respect him as a great Akron player, I'm not really impressed with him as a head coach.

I think KD is the most important coach in Zips basketball history. But I don't think his style works at all in today's game. I also think he ended his career in the best way possible.

Groce's teams were really fun and I appreciate the high character of the guys he brought in. The last 5 years have been especially fun. He didn't do what everyone said he would, though, in taking this program to levels KD couldn't, so that is disappointing. I often wonder what the program may have looked like if a skinny kid didn't decide to attend an open tryout...but you also have to credit the player development, too (Ford seemingly had a huge role in that). He's a good man and I wish him the best.

Did we? What did Groce accomplish that KD didn't?

He was grandfathered in with the old walk-in rules, so he didn't count against the 15 roster spots. I don't think that transfers to a new school, though.