Zips fan

I think people are overestimating Syracuse. They got lucky against Minnesota in a season opener. I think PSU will anhilate the Orange. I am rooting for PSU to win by a score of 45-10.

I believe the fieldhouse was around 14-15 million and the rec center is not part of the athletic department. I think athletics are make smart, necessary improvements, but that article is very misleading as to commitment by various schools.

We would struggle to fill 30K with that schedule if we had Syracuse's team. The city of Akron has not bought in that The University of Akron is worth going to see unless they are winning(even then support is not where it should be). If you put a pathetic Syracuse team here they would not draw anyone either. Syracuse built a fan base that is sticking with them(to some degree) through their down cycle. Akron needs to build that type of fanbase, people who are die hard Zips no matter what.

It bugs me to see our rankings hurt because of open enrollment. These generic rankings (world news reports and others) are just looking at certain numbers and don't even try to evaluate schools beyond acceptance rates, retention rates, alumni giving, etc. I think that Akron is a great school and is being viewed differently within certain academic communities. I don't know if I would want to eliminate open enrollment with the sole purpose of increasing a pointless ranking system. I also don't want people ending up at our university as a safety school because they couldn't get in anywhere else. I have not seen any push from our current administration to change this policy. If Proenza was pushing for an admission standard and not being allowed because of the state, I would whole heartedly agree. Right now, I am on the fence. I think the school has been working to get their enrollment numbers up. If we put a restrictive standard on admission, we would be changing alot about the mission of the university. I would like to know if the school is considering this policy.

That is so fast! I am guessing that he would be the fastest player on the Zips team currently. I am glad that we are taking chances with an unproven player with talent compared to proven players with baggage. If this guy can catch, he could be a huge addition for the Zips.

This great! I don't remember top level talent committing to the Zips early. It seemed that the Zips would get some great talent that would slip through at the end. I like the fact that these athletes are ready to commit early. Great pick up!

Is there an option to go back to 12 football schools? If Temple is not really in the MAC, then they shouldn't park their football team here. I would be fine returning to 12 and avoiding the concept of adding another school.

When institutions report this information, they allocate money from the student fees to make up the difference between revenues and expenses. If you look at all the MAC schools except Buffalo, the revenues for basketball and football are exactly the same as their expenses. Akron did not bring in 4.7M in football. It is marked at 4.7M revenue after they realize the expense each season. There is no sport within the MAC that is profitable. Football gives alot of benefits to the school and athletic program but it is and always has been the largest money loser.

I don't think you will really see the bump you are expecting. Football does not really bring in 4.7M. The revenues and expenses are the same because of the student fees that are brought in. Revenues will increase but the books will only show a matching number to the expenses (unless we would actually make a real profit, which is highly unlikely).

I guess I don't see the issue. She is a United States Senator and wants to be called as such. Ok? She is entitled to correct someone and asked that she be addressed as such. I don't think she is out of line or disrespectful of the general. I agree with the courtroom anology, it is her title in that forum and should be addressed as such.

I went with the next rising star. I think the university needs to take look at what is available nationally. I thought they hit a homerun with Mike Thomas and did a solid job with Mack. I would want to see who else is available before handing the reigns over to someone in house. I think Hunter is good guy with qualities that will eventually lead to a AD position, but I don't think he is a homerun type guy either.

I don't think a stop in C-USA will help us in any way. Marshall made this mistake and is probably regretting their move. C-USA lost any geographic benefit to northern schools when they lost UC and Louisville. Akron would be spending millions of dollars on travel that will not benefit our programs. We are currently spending money on facilities and that is the right step for now. Next, those improvements will need to translate into a better product on the field. When we have the best facilities(just about there), the best product(in football and MBB), and can average over 20K for football and 5K for basketball, then serious inquiries into the Big East could be brought up. Right now a move to C-USA would reduce what we spend on facilites, coaches, and hurt any visiting attendance we currently enjoy. We would be sinking money into airlines tickets and hotels that will not further our final product. We need to focus on things that will make Akron better(facilites, stablized coaching staff, marketing). We need to improve our final product and if the time comes, the only move that would make any sense is the Big East. If conferences fragment and realignment occurs, then obviously we would be in the mix for where the top programs are heading.

I like JD, but he gave up his business job to pursue a football coaching career. I can't imagine that he gets to a DI-A head coaching position and then changes directions back to business/AD. The thing I remember about Waddell was his incredible work ethic. This guy was in the office before 6AM many days and was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. I liked the combination of Mike Thomas, who was more polished-well spoken-front guy, and Mike Waddell-hard working, high expectations from himself and his staff. Since we won't be able to bring Thomas back, I think Waddell is a great choice. He knows the school, many boosters, the president, and many of the challenges our programs face. This would be Mike's first head AD job but I think his past experience and work ethic make him a great choice.

As I understand it, McFadden will take Boals position and Peters will take over McFaddens vacated position.

If you have ever made the trip to Huntington and spent time on Marshall's campus, I don't think there is any way Mack would leave Akron for Marshall. I thought Houston might be a possibility based on Mack coming from Texas, but I would be absolutely shocked if he was seriously interested in Marshall.

I agree that we are in a questionable situation for soccer but I don't think Akron would consider leaving our own conference while we sponsor the same sport. C-USA might be a better fit for the soccer program but it would be a large increase in travel and budget. Also, the loss of Akron to MAC soccer would be a huge blow to those programs left behind. I think we need to stay and strengthen the MAC.

I voted for Walt Harris. If I truly look at the question of impact, Okruch makes sense because he has the most room for improvement. I voted for Harris because I think that CJ is ready for a marketable improvement over last year.

I am actually happy to see the city shooting for a 10K arena. I think that gives the Zips room to grow while not being so large that we would feel dwarfed by the new place. I remember when Akron played at Cleveland State, thinking how they could not generate any atmosphere with their facility. We would really need to push attendance up over 6K per home game at an off campus site to give the real home crowd feel. I think our crowds could come to match what Dayton has done with time and a couple of NCAA bids.

Basketball and football are considered head count sports. Coaches are allowed to give a certain number of players any amount of scholarship money. If a coach gives a player any money toward scholarship, it counts against their scholarship number limits(football is 85, m-basketball is 12 I think); hence it is rare for a football or basketball player to receive anything other than a full ride. If Faust gave someone less than a full ride it was probably a penalty of some kind. Other sports are considered equilency sports such as track and swimming. Their coaches are given a number of scholarship that can be divided up amongst many athletes.

Impressive roster for team USA! Good luck to Zeke! I am looking forward to watching the live streaming event.

I believe the deck is more stacked than top 42 for non-BCS schools. I am pretty sure Miami and Buffalo both recently got snubbed with RPI's in the low 30's. I think the Zips have only one real shot at getting to the tournament next year and that is winning the MAC tournament, again. The regular season guarantees the NIT, MAC tournament gets the NCAA tournament and 20 wins gets you into one of those tournament that no one follows except the schools that are in them.

I think that the MAC will secure a 12 seed or better next year. We were as low as we could get this year. Our conference, specifically the West, did not win enough out of conference. I think the MAC does return alot of players and should move back to our more normal rankings of being a 10-12 ranked conference.

I would have no interest in C-USA. They are primarily based in Texas. Outside of Marshall, all other trips would be flying. I think we are still battling attendance issues and C-USA would provide almost zero travelling fans. I don't think the MAC is our final destination but C-USA is a lateral step with tremendous downside. Let's dominate the MAC before making any moves.

I am really excited about Payne visiting campus. We have a great young group currently that should be in contention for a MAC title year in and year out. The addition of another national level player would establish the Zips as team above the MAC. We would be able to discuss our NCAA seed during the final weeks of the basketball season rather than see if we win the tournament.

I agree that Akron has a ton of potential. We have a university that is committed to improving it campus and athletics. The biggest difference between an Akron and Cincinnati currently is conference affiliation. We belong in the MAC until we can prove we have moved past the rest of conference members. Cincinnati ran into some luck with a great run with their basketball team, improvements in football, and the Big East looking for replacement members. I think Akron will need to move beyond the MAC for us to ever get on the national scene. If the Big East does look for new members, we need to not only be the top MAC program in football and men's basketball but competitive with regional CUSA programs(Memphis, ECU, and UCF).