ZipsBBjunkie

That's for sure definitely sounds like old school coach Bob Knight-like approach along with team hazing that is no longer tolerated this day and age! Teammates kicking a teammate tossed out of practice! I wonder if there were just no strict guardrails like Akron Children's has in place at UA now at her previous programs including Case. I would have thought athletes at a school like Case would have been even more sensitive to these types of bullying tactics then DI athletes and it doesn't appear she had any of these types of issues at Case where she was incredibly successful. Definitely came in without the DI experience but other than that her resume was quite impressive and she is known to have deep ties with the local clubs though maybe the reputation was more known locally as those ties never did pay off for Akron. https://athletics.case.edu/sports/womens-soccer/roster/coaches/jen-simonetti/245

Great context on the current state of the conference vs prior with the 8 teams. Sounds similar to the decline of MAC soccer and the decision to disband all together. Seems like there should be more pressure from MAC schools on the MAC commissioner and leadership as it appears to be in major decline across so many sports. The other thing I think about as we’ve seen this run of success (in the conference) by Akron non-revenue sports (lacrosse, SB, T&F, S&D) is how the state of affairs in the NCAA and the UA enrollment / budget crisis will continue to impact positive momentum and progress. I think the good news is the coaches in place don’t seem like a bunch of whiners and will do what they can with what they have. But I have to imagine Coach Mitchell had a different (not saying easier) opportunity when Akron was at its height of enrollment. I heard or read somewhere there’s been close to a 50% decline since 2014 - staggering. Then you also factor in the cuts made during Covid that have never been reinstated. Different times - sad state of higher ed and college athletics for purists like me.

First, overall I'm just teasing a bit. Jousting on the board with insights and opinions is what it's all about right? Second, I'm not delusional, I'm simply making sure these student-athletes and the coaches get their due - the joy they are obviously experiencing in those glitzy photos and videos is REAL and winning a title matters. Absolutely, a MAC title is not as 'prestigious' in T&F as other accomplishments, rankings, and Nationals appearances. Maybe the squad is lacking those with Mitchell gone, but the reality is if MAC Titles were easy Mitchell would have won them every year, he didn't. Mitchell had 16 men's titles (8 indoor/8 outdoor) over his 27 campaigns per his bio. If it were easy, he would have won the Cross Country Championship with Clayton Murphy, etc. He didn't. In 2023 the school won it's first ever Men's CC championship. MAC Championships mattered under Coach Mitchell. He won 33 of them! I would argue, Conference titles are perhaps considered the most important accomplishment for a NCAA TEAMS year in and year out no matter what NCAA level and the quality of competition in the conference itself. A conference title is a title for the team. Last I checked only those 'nationally' ranked athletes and the coaches get to truly bask in the joy of qualifying to go onto Nationals, it is not as team-oriented as a conference title is. I get T&F could be considered more of an individual sport vs. a team sport in terms of what matters more. I know to some extent this is comparing apples and oranges and T&F enthusiasts like yourself and 72 Roo will argue you can't compare at all... but think about some of the other Akron's sports that win consistently in the MAC and move onto higher levels of competition and rankings. Swimming & diving for example - would Akron and Peresie have 11 out of 12 titles if they weren't competing in the MAC? Once Peresie's team celebrates the MAC title, jumps in the pool etc. you don't hear much after that about the athletes that move on and qualify for Nationals unless you're a specific fan of that sport. In MBB, the MAC is not even in the Top 20 of Conferences - this year MAC MBB could have been dead last at times Nationally based on the horrendous level of competition. For Akron fans does the weak level of conference competition take away at all from the MBB team result winning the regular season MBB title? Did it matter to the coaches or athletes? Do they add an asterisk by the title based on how bad the competition is? The past 3 of 4 yrs they've made the NCAA Tourny - the MBB equivalent of the 'Nationals' so to speak and lost in the first round, yet Akron fans celebrate Akron and John Groce for what they do in the conference, despite how horrible it is. Seriously, help those of us less informed about T&F understand, what do you have against Coach RG? Is it just the lack of success outside of the MAC, at the Regional and National level? Back in 2022/23 you were ranting about all the wins fueled by mostly leftovers from Coach Mitchell and here we are again with you pointing out that Garretson is a Mitchell holdover. I guess next year we'll see where things stand as you can stop crediting Mitchell holdovers for the team's success. If Akron is at the bottom of the MAC once Mitchell's lone holdover is gone, I promise I will be right there when you ask where I'm at in your post and I'll take the heat. Finally, I am also realistic, Coach Mitchell had a 27-year career as Akron's T&F HC -- phenomenal! This isn't a comparison and shouldn't be of Mitchell vs. Gonzales head to head, but you seem to want Coach RG to boil the ocean in her brief tenure at Akron based on what Mitchell achieved across 27 years at the school. Coach Mitchell is a HOF coach no doubt but it took John Groce time to come behind the footsteps of Coach Dambrot. The reality is many times it's impossible to ever replace a HOFer. I'm just happy to see our Zips student athletes celebrating conference championships as a team! Go Zips!

Where you at @zippy-claws?

Maybe AD will make a run at keeping him which could be a good thing to keep momentum.

Uh 'whoda thunk'? I would. How much do you know about Randy Moss - post NFL playing days? Hall of Famer Randy Moss is almost 50 now and has been a well liked ESPN analyst for almost a decade now ... why wouldn't his children have their heads screwed on straight? Not to mention his children also have something called a mother. He had five children with his high school sweetheart. His oldest daughter who he had while still playing at Marshall is going into her third season as the head women's basketball coach at Wilmington College, a small private school right here in Ohio. A friend of mine who lives near Dayton has seen them play and has talked about Randy attending games to see his daughter coach. Great article from the Dayton Daily News which also details his recent battle with cancer: https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/archdeacon-sydney-and-randy-moss-share-daughter-father-bond-like-no-other/EN2HXLZOJFCMFGGIWTWZNYIHA4/ Appears more than one of his 'kids' have their head screwed on straight.

Heartily agree with @ZipsVoice These are two coaches I really hope we can hang on to! They operate the Akron way and if given time and some resources I believe they can create some momentum for the Zips in each of these sports.

Heard there’s been quite the exodus of Guthrie’s LT / hires from the staff side including Marcus Jennings, Camden Stockton and Candace Smith. Should set up Goodrich nicely to quickly bring in his own people and get to work.

This is where my curiosity is centered as well because that’s the year that tumbled the entire average - you had guys on the Arth roster like Teon Dollard who after the gun incident I don’t believe ever played another down of football even though UA kept trying to give him a chance to remain in school? I don’t know. How many defectors would it have taken that first season to cause the 880 and what could have been done differently at the outset to course correct even slightly to get over the minimum? Hindsight is 20/20 but who knows if this staff would have done anything differently as I’m told there is a through the roof level of stubbornness at the core of Moorhead’s program.

Worth wondering if this outcome actually helps their intentions/cause?

This was an exceptional gesture by Zips BB

Zips sure have had quite the haul of Championships!!! We are a lucky alum and fan base, sure hope everyone appreciates it.

Picked to finish last and now going to NCAA Tourny! Great job by the coach and these young ladies. GO ZIPS! *That Guthrie what a clown 😂 I jest!