MDZip

MAC website pointed out that this is the fourth Akron MAC title of the year. Along with the tennis program, Akron Athletics teams have claimed the men's soccer tournament championship (also regular-season champion), men's basketball tournament title (played in title match each of the last five years), and men's indoor track championship (first in program history) during the current academic year. Didn't research it but I'm betting that is no worse than tied for the most MAC titles we've ever won in a year.

According to the Plain Dealer article, turns out UMass is going to play their home game in Gillette Stadium (Patriots home) in Foxboro, far east of Amherst. "UMass will play its home games off campus in the NFL Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. nearly 100 miles away from its campus. UMass AD John McCutcheon said Gillette will be “our primary home for quite some time.”

If I can get those odds, I'll put $20 down and come on up. I'll watch the Zips spring game for $20K.

Xavier soccer made the NCAA tournament last year, so they do have some talent. They would have been the Zips first opponent had they beaten WVU.

Guess that does mean a picture is worth a thousand words. Guess that will teach you not to post pictures of your nipples too.

Awful performance, Butler picked a bad time to go cold. On the bright side, nice closeup on Zeke during "One Shining Moment". Too bad you couldn't see Akron anywhere but cool for him to be included.

I just got an e-mail about this years soccer season ticket renewals. The Athletic Dept. is striking while the iron is hot. The chairback seats will now require a $50 Z-fund donation in addtion to the ticket price and reserved bleacher seats will be a $25 donation. Not that I'm complaining because I still think it is a bargain and its a heck of a lot better than the way they used to do it where the season ticket holders were pretty much fighting with everyone else for seats. A scarf will once again be included with every season ticket. One other kind of cool thing is that every season ticket renewal (or maybe new ones too it wasn't quite clear) wil receive a piece of the net from one of the goals in Santa Barbara when the Zips won their title.

The last 25 champions of the NCAA mens basketball tournament all have enrollments of at least 14,000 (including Duke - Wake has about 7,000, just don't recall them winning a title) but having a school big enough to have the resources to do that probably is statistically insignificant. No big deal that a small school like Butler with lesser enrollments, resources and much smaller endowments might be able to do it. All of the staff, adminstration hours and potential funding are all irrelevant, all you really need are 15 people. I think you've hit on it. I suspect Muskingham college will be moving up to D-1 to win the title soon. They have 15 people. But you're right it is not high school. In general, high school playoffs pit schools of equal size against each other. I think what Butler has done is one hell of a feat.

In other years I think Butler winning it all as an 8 seed would be labeled a fluke, but in this year and the fact that they made it to the title game last year, they would no doubt be considered a worthy national champion. A 4,500 student school. Wow.

Thought he grew up in Kenya? 30% of Republicans would probably believe it. And if it's reported on Fox Noise, that number jumps to 80% of Republicans believing it. I blame you, MDZip, for taking this one off topic. Yeah, I'll take the hit on that one. Trying to stretch from Hawaii to Kenya/Kenyon might have been a little too much.

Miami was a #1 seed again in hockey but got knocked out, unfortunately. Zips and WMU remain the only two MAC schools to ever win a national title. I was rooting for the RedHawks.

Would be pretty cool to see VCU beat Kentucky in the final which would mean that in this tournament they would have beaten each of the BCS conferences (plus the Horizon) and won 7 games to do it. This is a pretty damn impressive list. USC - Pac-10 Georgetown - Big East Purdue - Big 10 Florida St - ACC Kansas - Big 12 Butler - Horizon Kentucky - SEC I also wouldn't mind Butler winning it since they were so close last year (would remind me a bit of a story I saw on a soccer team recently)

Does this mean we'll have to change the Forward section in the book on Akron football?

Thought he grew up in Kenya?

Wow, one of the last teams in takes out Kansas. Not a single #1 seed makes it to the final four. If Kentucky beats UNC it will be the first time ever that no #1 and no #2 wil make the Final Four. Great job, Shaka!

Here's a sign for the whole league. According to these stats, MAC competition went 1-28 against top 50 teams this year. Can't and Buffalo (our top ranked teams) only played one each. Zips had two. Miami 7 (with the lone win).

We have Tim Carroll.

Article from Sports Illustrated showing the fate of each mid-major coach over the last decade or so who was hired by a BCS school immediately after a sweet sixteen run or better. Not a very encouraging list for Tennessee. Year Coach Old Team (NCAA Rd.) New Team Verdict 2010 Steve Donahue Cornell (S16) Boston College TBD: 21-13 first season, NIT 2009 Sean Miller Xavier (S16) Arizona TBD: Pac-10 champ in Year 2 2008 Darrin Horn Western Ky. (S16) South Carolina TBD: 50-42 in three years, no NCAAs 2007 Todd Lickliter Butler (S16) Iowa 37-58 in three years, no NCAAs, fired in ’10 2005 Bruce Pearl UW-Milwaukee (S16) Tennessee Six NCAAs/one SEC title in six years, fired due to NCAA violations in ’11 2004 Trent Johnson Nevada (S16) Stanford Three NCAAs in four years, then left for LSU 2002 Stan Heath Can't State (E8) Arkansas 82-71 in five years, two NCAAs, fired 2000 Bill Self Tulsa (E8) Illinois 78-24 in three years, three NCAAs, then left for Kansas 1999 Dan Monson Gonzaga (E8) Minnesota 118-106 in eight years, no NCAAs, fired 1999 Steve Alford Missouri St. (S16) Iowa 152-106 in eight years, three NCAAs, “left” for New Mexico

Apparently, the Zips have offered Larry Nance a scholarship according to Mike Rasor. That makes things a little more interesting, but he looks like he is going to have plenty of offers to choose from.

Careful - you may wake the sleeping Jake.

And the last time SI did this when the Zips were in the tournament, it was a dunk over Steve McNees. Poor Steve. At least he always is working on defense.

I searched and couldn't find another post on it, so here is your Zips Championship banner hanging in the NCAA Hall of Champions!

Tickets were great. I had the last row in the 100 section, right up against a loge of trust fund baby ND fans. They were whining when I was standing most of the game, but whatever. I was in the same spot pretty much, right next to JohnnyZ84 behind the rail for the exit ramp that mean nothing blocked my view. Nice seat. I didn't get back everything I paid for the original tickets but I got back most of it. The Zips tickets were in section 111, the original ones were in 308. Did much better with the Zips tickets.

Building - just for GP1 since he started the topic.

On my way back from Chicago, I came through Indianapolis and stopped by the NCAA Hall of Champions. The Zips Championship banner looks great! (Of course I did speak to them because the accompanying picture on their past champions kiosk showed a picture of Blair Gavin face down on the turf for THIS YEARS team), but in any case I seem to remember someone posting a picture of it before, but I can't find it. If no one did, I'll put the one I took up.