a-zip

It is a "live or die" situation right now. I think UoA made a play to become a player and it does not appear the community is supporting it. Until the community does, we should not build arenas, cut our losses and move on. Say bye bye to Dambrot, Bowden eventually. If you are not a part of the new super conferences, you are going to be f&cked from a sport standpoint. So somebody tell me how UoA is going to flourish after that?

This is what i have been trying to say with regards to my disappointment in attendance at our sports teams game. I initially thought is was a great idea to make a play to gain recognition through success on the playing field. It can pay off if there is support. Lets face it OSU is a fine school but they are a preferred choice because of sports programs and the recognition they get from that…..I promise you their buildings, labs, teachers, research are funded through the sports programs (alumni), it is great way to become self-sufficient. Ask young kids what they think is a better college - OSU or Northwestern…..they would likely say OSU. I said it before and I will say it again…if UoA does not prosper, the city will stagnate. How are we going to attract the top professors, student…..by waiting for the state to give us money?

This is what i have been trying to say with regards to my disappointment in attendance at our sports teams game. I initially thought is was a great idea to make a play to gain recognition through success on the playing field. It can pay off if there is support. Lets face it OSU is a fine school but they are a preferred choice because of sports programs and the recognition they get from that…..I promise you their buildings, labs, teachers, research are funded through the sports programs (alumni), it is great way to become self-sufficient. Ask young kids what they think is a better college - OSU or Northwestern…..they would likely say OSU. I said it before and I will say it again…if UoA does not prosper, the city will stagnate. How are we going to attract the top professors, student…..by waiting for the state to give us money?

This is what i have been trying to say with regards to my disappointment in attendance at our sports teams game. I initially thought is was a great idea to make a play to gain recognition through success on the playing field. It can pay off if there is support. Lets face it OSU is a fine school but they are a preferred choice because of sports programs and the recognition they get from that…..I promise you their buildings, labs, teachers, research are funded through the sports programs (alumni), it is great way to become self-sufficient. Ask young kids what they think is a better college - OSU or Northwestern…..they would likely say OSU. I said it before and I will say it again…if UoA does not prosper, the city will stagnate. How are we going to attract the top professors, student…..by waiting for the state to give us money?

Wow, you really got me. The reason I was not there is because I live 8 hours away. I still go to as many games as possible. BTW - just because I pointed it out on gozips does not mean anything, way to miss the point dude

Butts in seats, how many high schools in the area have higher attendance? Canton Mckinley? Does the athletic department have to schedule around them too?. Watching the recap of the Toledo game on GOZIPS.com, in the highlights of the game there are a couple of plays where you cannot see a single person in the stands.

If my recruiting trip was during one of our home games (empty stands) I would not be impressed……I know, I know…I have beaten this comment to a pulp but couldn't help it.

If I had a solution, I would dial it in so I guess that means I am venting. I think OUR University has done everything I would have thought of to get people to support our teams and I think it is sad the 5th largest city in the state of Ohio can't get even 10K to a game. They have committed to what I think is most important; 1- Bringing in and keeping top coaches - seriously we currently have Terry Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Chuck Amato, Terrell Buckley, Jim Tressel, Jim Dennison, Keith Dambrot on our campus……..unreal!! - our other coaches are pretty impressive too, but these are BIG names I just mentioned…….lets not forget Lebron and unfortunately we lost Caleb (not any fault of the administration) . One of my original posts years ago on Zipsnation talked about the key to success being keeping top coaches - they have done that. Seriously folks, these are some impressive people dedicating their lives to UoA. 2- The facilities are top notch - The excuse used to be the Rubber Bowl was off campus and falling apart - problem solved. The Info is beautiful and on campus, Stiles Field House is gorgeous. Cub Cadet is one of the best. These are fun/top notch facilities. 3- Is it money?? season tickets are a steal!! You can get a season ticket for less than a single OSU game it think. 4 - School pride - Dr. Proenza has built a beautiful campus and it keeps getting better. Something to be proud of. I like being there. 5 - Winning - most of our teams do very well, in fact we were at the top of the Sears Cup challenge a couple years ago. Yes the football team has been terrible but if anyone doubted they would get better under TB, they are crazy. The Toledo game was exciting, JMU game exciting, Can't game exciting - ALL WINS, nobody was there. The mayor and the community should be kissing Proenza's ass. If these investments fail and UoA does not prosper the city will rot. All I hear are excuses and bitching - bad weather, not winning, black fridays, uncomfortable seats, the AD sucks, Lebron is a traitor, etc etc. I just don't want to hear it anymore. These people have done more than enough - time to look in the mirror Mr and Mrs Akron. What else is there to do? I am at a loss….. People want a new basketball arena? Why bother. Am I expecting 100K to our games….no. Am I expecting the Info to sell out……would be nice but not getting over 10K is pathetic.

Yes, in a way I am. 110,000 + people can go root OSU no matter what the weather or what color the day is - our school built a beautiful new stadium and we can't get 10K…….pathetic. Weather and lack of wins was the excuse for our rivalry game against Cant State Game (on Jim Dennison day).

Yea, looks like Ohio State is having the same issues When do the excuses run out?

I just hit the "like" buttonj

We lost and we were outplayed. The better team won. The only thing I will say about our 2013 post season is once again we were screwed by the NCAA. If we were properly seeded, we would not have been playing on the "frozen tundra" of Marquette. That is a tremendous home field advantage for them and it showed...... our players did not seem to have their feet under them as well as the Marquette team. Seriously, the way the NCAA handles the seedings almost makes the regular season and conference tournaments moot. They can use the fact that we play in the MAC against us but our SOS is still high. Hell, they say we play in the MAC but if you include post season; 2013 - we played 6 MAC teams, 5 Big 10 teams, 3 Big East teams 2012 - we played 8 MAC teams, and 7 Big 10 teams, with additional games against St. Louis, Creighton, St. Johns, South Florida Do we really play in the MAC? No disrespect to Marquette...........Congratulations, well deserved result

I think the NCAA knows exactly what they are doing……and they are corrupt. It will continue until someone calls them out. I think our seedings in the last 2 years warrant some sort of an appeal. It will not help us this year (our team will take care of that) but hopefully someone, like us, will call these morons out.

LZip - you are very diplomatic, I appreciate your comments..

NEXT

I realize it is about what we have done this year but at some point our recent history has got to weigh in at some point. In the last 5 years we have ended the season ranked in the top 11. 2008 - ranked 9th 2009 - ranked 2nd (tied in national championship, but lost in PKs) 2010 - ranked 1st (won national championship) 2011 - ranked 11th 2012 - ranked 7th

We got hosed last year too (even worse) by getting a 5 seed after being ranked in the top 4 in both RPI and Rankings. As of last week we are currently ranked 8th by adidas and coaches poll, 18th in RPI, then we went on a tear through the MAC tourney...............again, how does this equate to a 24 seed!!!!! F*^?!! corrupt NCAA. Seriously, why do they even bother having rankings and RPI.

Too funny, early in the year - people were complaining about TB, people were complaining about Embick, and now it is gloom and doom for KD and the basketball team. Do your usual Akron……..bail on the team, don't show up and cheer them on.

We won!! Be happy~!! Who cares about the margin…we won. TB is the man! We won!

Based on attendance, why would they think anybody cared.

OUCHER!!!!!!!!! RPI 144 Hartwick Mid-American 5-8-4 1-4-3 0- 1- 0 4-3-1 0-0-0

Me too!! I certainly hope I am wrong with my speculations but it IS frustrating the community can't get out and help the cause for ONE game. The impact for a recruit to see a full, energetic stadium is huge when weighing where you want to play in your next 4 years. Also, I played for Coach Dennison and remember how pissed we all were in his treatment by UoA. It would have been nice to atleast have folks show their appreciation for him.

Actually, I am not sure I would agree with that. Where in our history has there ever been consistent sellouts regardless of the winning streaks or quality of the facility? As we all recognized, this past weekend had a lot to offer - Wagon Wheel, Can't State (10 miles away), a likely win, former players there and last but not least the honoring of Jim Dennison. Hell, the place should have been filled just to honor Coach D. It WAS the best weekend to bring recruits in. The expectation here was that this game at Infocision would be electric as it gets and the celebration after the win was going to be fun (since it has been a while). I am just saying I was disappointed, did not find it to be electric, and nobody outside of the players/coaches seemed that overjoyed about a win we have wanted for a looooong time. If I was a recruit - I would not have been wowed (outside of meeting Tressel and the Bowdens) and left my recruiting trip scratching my head a bit. The school is pulling out all the stops - building beautiful facilities, bringing in great coaches, using Bobby Bowdens and Jim Tressels, Lebron James, Terry Bowdens for their experience and name recognition. Seriously, these are extremely popular/influential people at UoA and I have to imagine 90% of the schools out there would KILL to have one of these guys let alone all of them in one place. In my mind, I think the administration are doing everything they can and doing it in a smart fashion. They are playing the cards they are dealt. All the players and coaches work just as hard as any other program in the country (if not harder). Why can't a population like Akron fill Infocision (29K) for ATLEAST one friggin day to at least make it look good to the recruits we all want. If the place was 3/4 full, loud and electric, choosing to play football at UoA is a pretty easy decision, especially compared to ANY MAC school. I am not trying to argue. My fear is this............when do the fickle Akron fans run out of excuses to not support the teams? When does the University say "we tried, it’s time to cut our losses". When do the Bowdens, Dambrots Tressels say.........I am out of here, this place is a graveyard. Then we are left with these state of the art facilities rotting in the middle of this beautiful campus that is being built. And, people want a new basketball arena ?

I think you are supporting my point ;-) A big beautiful EMPTY stadium does not help recruiting.