Zipsrifle

I thank Lee for what he did for the program. I think he took us up from the bottom to the next level, we were just got stuck at that level. I also believe that LO had a lot of input on the fieldhouse. IMO, LO couldn't hold a lead, or win when it counted. Maybe that's his fault, or maybe it's the players. All I know is that JD has flipped that coin, we are winning games we never would and we now are a team that can comeback on people. In the end, we're MAC champs and we went to our first Bowl, I'm happy with those results! I find this very hard to believe. Peggy couldn't get the concrete steps in front of the student center repaired for an entire YEAR, let alone get a $40 million fieldhouse built. Besides, anybody would plan to build a rec center/fieldhouse next to the ONAT! Proenza is the man! He's the dude that asked for all or nothing at the Ohio Board of Regents. He's the guy who hired Thomas. Proenza is dragging an entire city to bigger and better things.

I'm with Dr. Z and Cap'n. The Beacon has sucked on the Akron coverage since...... the beginning of time. I'm not letting them off the hook. Now, that we make a bowl, have a top ranked Soccer Team, and have a decent BB team, they decide to write some articles. I think everyone is looking at this the wrong way. The Beacon isn't doing UA a favor by writing about us.....UA is doing them a favor by giving them something to write about. They never gave us a lick of coverage when we sucked, now they are are best buddies. F 'EM!

Go for it CK! It's too unhealthy to hold in emotions. Too FUNNY!

Well, that just about puts the dome idea to rest.

I like that Option 1 LAZF! It may not be a palace, but it better not be a piece of $#!+ either! I hope we don't just throw something up on campus to throw something up. At some point, I imagine they will be selling bricks or something. Buy a brick for say, $250, it gets put in a plaza just outside the stadium. I'd imagine they'll have something like that to raise money. Here's another question....Do you prefer bleachers or seats? I'd imagine there will be bleachers no matter what, but will the reserved section have individual seats?

I know we don't consider the University as being in Downtown, but it couldn't get any closer and NOT be in downtown. If it's on campus, it'll be close enough to downtown to have an economic impact.

Welcome aboard RobC2! Have you been nosing around for a while or did you just find the site? I think you'll find this is by far the best place to get info on the Zips! Now, I'll say it again, I believe a stadium will be built, but I'm only gonna believe a press release when it comes to the final location and the timing. Why? Well, over the past year there have been many, many posts that say an announcement was imminent. I have to believe that the proposed computer image is probably what will be built. I don't have a good reason for this other than the location and likely construction costs make sense to me. I like the Clock Tower idea. Though it may be a bit far from the center of the "educational campus" to really inform the students of the time, it would be a good for gamedays! I'm not worried about the stadium being asthetically pleasing, they've done a great job so far and I have confidence it will do it right. Proenza is THE MAN! I think we should name the field or the stadium after the guy!

My wife thought of this last night, and I'll only charge a small fee to use it. What someone should do for Z-Fence is to put the "Fear The Roo" kangaroo looking OVER the fence! :blink: Pretty good Idea huh! If someone does it, PLEASE post a picture!

Thanks for the info.

OK guys, as you know, I'm not a big BB fan. But, I'm going to make an effor to hit the CMU and EMU games this year. Since I've NEVER been to an Akron BB away game before, I'm hoping someone can give me an idea what to expect. I would like to sit with any other Zip fans, if any, so what is the best way to do that? At BIG OOC football games, I just go through UA and that automatically puts me with other Akron fans. For MAC FB games, hell, I just walk up to the gate, get tickets, and sit down where the Akron fans are. Is it the same in BB? I guess another question will be, will I be the only Akron fan there? Do BB fans "Travel" for mid week games? Finally, since I don't really follow BB, how good are CMU and EMU? I think they are both pretty good programs right? Thanks for the help!

I agree that Toledo will be an easy game. Penn State and NC State will be tough games, and we'll need a pick me up after those two. A blowout of Toledo at the start of MAC play will put us on a roll and be a confidence booster right before the battle in Can't!

Never apologize for your opinions Zipsrifle. Thanks Dad

I'm liking the '07 schedule right now. I'm confused, do we play OSU first or Indiana? Indiana is first and OSU is second, but Indiana is on Sept. 15th and OSU is on Sept. 8th. In IU is first, and WHEN we knock off Indiana, there will be pleanty of press leading up to the OSU Upset!

If Derr couldn't make it in the NFL, Swiger isn't gonna cut it.

Though a win against OSU would definately get Akron attention across the country, it would be discarded by nearly everyone as a fluke. We beat NIU twice this season, and I bet a majority of MAC fans RIGHT NOW would say NIU had a better football team than Akron. I'll be at the OSU game, you can count on that, and if we win, I'll get my @$$ kicked as I walk out of Ohio Stadium rubbing each and every Buckeye fans face in it. Unfortunately, we'll need to win big games for a number of years before ANYONE outside of the diehard Akron fans considers us playing on a Big Ten level. I think a grassroots effort is what will put Akron at the level we all hope for. GP1 is right, we need to get Akron students hooked on Akron Football. They'll come back when they are alumni. We're not going to convert anyone over 30 who is a currently an OSU fan. It'll take a while, but I think this is the most realistic vision of how to build the support we all desire! On the BG vs. Wisconsin game at Browns Stadium, I think it will have good attendance ONLY because there will be a Big Ten team playing in Cleveland. It wouldn't matter if it were BG or Can't, I think the draw would be the same.

Don't put me down as a hater. I hope Charlie makes Tom Brady look like a looser, but I'm just stating what I saw. Nobody works harder than that guy, and he'll improve, but how much can you improve arm strength? Isn't one of those god given talents? Better supporting personnel would help too.

I would put even more emphasis on the Defense. I know we were top ranked in the league, but it became very apparent this season that the MAC is a confrence of good offenses and bad defenses. I think the same is true for CUSA. If we can put together a great Defense and maintain the current Offense, we'll dominate the MAC. Outside of that, I would like to see some more rotation of younger players in the upcoming season. Depth killed us and with last seasons recruiting class, lets get those boys some playing time and wear down the opponents.

Looking at the list, I guess the best way for me to lend a hand is in the following areas: - Finding Zip Athletic related articles - Assemble news items on a timely basis. - Try out new features.I'm not overly computer savy, not a recuriting guru, live about 250 mi from campus, and about 160mi from the roundhouse. Maybe we should have a tailgate warmup on South Bass in August. We could spreadout, stumble around town and I bet one of us would stumble into the Zipman!

Another advantage the on campus stadium will have is it's location to other forms of entertainment. Most everyone here likes to tailgate. What about those who don't want to tailgate, and want to simply get drunk in a bar and walk to the game? What about people like me who want to hang around in the city, go downtown and party after the game? The Hotels in town will be packed on gamnights! You can't do that at the RB. Though it is debatable if the RB may keeps fans away, it definately doesn't attract fans. WHEN WE build the new stadium, on campus, the only drawback I can see will be.......where will we tailgate????

I was able to watch Chuck as a Brown on TV for the first time today (Normally I'm stuck watching the Lions and listening to the Clowns on the radio). I'm glad he got a win, but his weaknesses were glaring IMO. They weren't that evident in MAC play, but what a difference it makes in the NFL. I think with additional playing time and watching tape, he'll be able to read the Defenses better and make better/faster decisions. I hope continued work will improve his accuracy and arm strength. Nice win, good confidence booster to push him through the offseason.

I'm not much of a BB fan, so now that FB season is over, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the moderators for this board. Obviously I'm addicted to it! I don't think the impact of this board should be underestimated! Because people are able to come here, get info on the Zips, and engage in discussion that otherwise is nearly impossible to come by on a day to day basis, you have IMHO, made a HUGE impact on Akron athletics over the past two years. Though it is impossible to measure, I know there are many, many more people following the Zips than if this board weren't around. The board traffic has increased drastically over the past few months, and we are snagging more and more fans. It's apparent that some very influential people within UA have this page bookmarked, as well as some of our buddies in the press . You all deserve a huge pat on the back and should be recognized for your contribution. THANK YOU!!

Great post as usual CK. There is one point I disagree on, and I hope I'm wrong! Doubt it. In 11 years of following UA, I have never been to a sellout. Unless OSU, Michigan, Penn State, ..... comes to the RB, it won't sellout. It will be a huge crowd, but not a sellout. If we get screwed by the MAC again and are forced to whore ourselves out to ESPN this year, I'm going to be VERY pissed! We did more than our fair share of taking one for the MAC this past season. We suffered terrible attendance for both the OU game and the Thanksgiving game. In addition, we were even bumped from ESPN on Thanksgiving, and how are we compensated???? We get bashed for a poor showing on national TV, and we lose all the revenue from fans, like me, who can't make weekday games. Add that to this the weather for the Army game and I'm sure we had abysmal home attendance this year. Everyone talks about building the fanbase, but this crap with the MAC making us play games on weeknights is only going to alienate fans like me who have to travel to home games. I hope Rhoades and UAM tell the MAC to shove weeknight games up their I love it, but I still can't get my hands on any stuff!! I think UA needs to put up a few billboards up in Cleveland!

I voted for the smaller stadium, but it needs to be expandable. I hate going to the RB when it is empty. Dispite the great showing at the MCB, I think we all know in the back of our minds that the RB won't be packed for 5 games next season. I would rather be in a small full stadium than a huge empty stadium. I also agree there should be something incorporated into the stadium. It could be Dorms, stores, etc. A stadium is a huge waste of space/money. An indoor stadium would be nice, but is it practical??? If you build it, you better make it as big as you're ever going to need it. Also, I don't think an indoor facility can be justified at this time. What else would it be used for? Remember, you have to heat and cool it. Here's a thought, build it small, and if you want to expand, have the plans so you could dome the thing once it reaches it's proposed maximum size. I think I would like a very nice 20,000-25,000 seat stadium that has plans for expansion from day 1. Put dorms in it and have one side of it on a main street (Exchange, Market) with spaces to rent for stores or restaurants, just like Canal Park. Whatever the final plan, the most important thing is to JUST BUILD IT!!

I was amazed at the number of Zips driving down the Ohio Turnpike on the way to the game. The exit at I-75 was packed with Zip fans. The crowd at the game was even more amazing! Not only were there tons of fans, but it didn't take much to get them cheering! Many other have said it, and I have to agree, I don't think Bowl attendance will keep us out next season. Everyone is whining about the call on the snap at the end. What everyone is forgetting is that we would have had to go about 60 yards in 35 seconds with no timeouts. Memphis was the better team, and deserved the win.....but it would have been great if we would have won after the Gatorade shower. Jabari had a huge game. Luke looked a little too nervous through the middle of the game. He would start scrambling even though nobody was pressuring him. Why do we throw the ball on 2nd and 2??? Kennedy got a lot of playing time and showed a few sparks of brilliance. Their special teams killed us. We always had a long field. In the end, though it was a loss, I think 90% of the fans came away happy. It was a good game and a good atmosphere. I hope we made a few hundred new die-hards this month. There is a lot of excitment about next year already!

My brother from Miami (O) went to the game with me and he was really impressed with how UA pulled out all the stops for this game. He said that there was no way Miami would have paid to put up billboards in Detroit! You know there were thousands of cars driving by with people honking and cheering.