GJGood

I love that they are trying to make a name for themselves here in Central Ohio. There is a lot of high school talent down here. The Zips aren't generally one of the first MAC programs I hear mentioned by top high school players in my part of the state despite the fact that both Chase Blackburn and Domenik Hixon are from Central Ohio.

With 12 teams it is certainly the format that makes the most sense. I think its a good move.

I am against eliminating the A-Roo. If the 'Z', which represents the nickname more than the school in my mind, is what people want as the primary logo then so be it. Who am I to challenge the masses on that topic? That being said I see no reason why the A-Roo should be totally eliminated. It can be a secondary logo, can't it? I keep hearing the "'Z' is unique" argument but Akron is one of only two schools in all of division 1 athletics that use a kangaroo as a mascot. Akron is certainly the only school that uses the letter 'A' and a kangaroo. That makes it every bit as unique as a letter 'Z'.

I love that we are playing both Villanova and Arkansas. If we win those it would certainly look good on our resume at the end of the season even if we have no chance of winning the preseason NIT championship. Hopefully we can pull off these upsets and at least make them consider alternate 'tournament' formats in the future. I do wish the Green Bay game was at home though. I could see that game being a letdown game playing it on the road after playing two good P5 squads just prior to that matchup.

When it comes to Akron baseball no lead in the 9th inning is safe, whether it be the Zips with the lead or their opponent. What a crazy two games. 8 runs in the bottom of 9 to win game one followed by giving up 4 or 5 in the bottom of nine in game two to lose in walk-off fashion. I've never seen, or even heard of, any team having a day quite as dramatic as that.

I like teams getting rewarded for playing good defense. Most of these rules seem to be geared to helping the offenses. I don't mind the change in the shot clock but I thought the restricted area was fine the way it already was. As far as timeouts go I think they were fine the way they were before. It seems like everyone is trying to make sporting events take less time. I mean they even have a pitch clock in minor league baseball now. Am I the only one who enjoys sporting events enough that I want them not to be over so quickly? I enjoy going to see games. I find them entertaining and have a good time. Why do so many want to decrease time for entertainment and fun? Are we as a society now so busy or rushed that we must spend less time relaxing and recreating?

I agree with this. I am glad that they didn't do anything ridiculous or obnoxious but I still would like to see color in the lanes and the official school colors being represented a little more. Maybe either blue or gold in the lanes and the other color behind the baskets. still simple and clean but also representative of the school. I have to admit I do like the Roo at either end of the court though.

The thing I don't like about the new floor is the lack of color in the lanes. I hate hearing announcers talk about points in the paint when there is no paint. I know a lot of people like the 'clean' look but I have always thought of it as being a great opportunity to display your colors with pride.

Big series. Go out and get some wins! I think they are legitimate contenders in Avon if they get there either way. I think this year's team is better than last year's and they were a win away from the title in 2014.

Understood and I agree but in the old format preseason NIT you could've pretty much bet on playing two pretty good, probably P5, teams as well even if you lost the first or second game. It, along with the Maui Invitational, has always been one of the premier early season tourneys with a pretty loaded field.

I think that format would be great. The odds would be stacked a little more against teams having to go solely on the road and neutral floors while others got a couple of home games but at least there is a way to earn advancement and the playing of top competition as well as some hardware attainment potential.

I agree that this event will be a great opportunity for the Zips. I just wish it was still like it was in 1994, namely you win and advance, you lose and you go to the consolation rounds. In the new format the semifinalists are already named and guaranteed before the event begins and no true mid-major is going to be one of those given a free pass. For what its worth... while I don't like them playing in tournaments with this type of discriminatory format if the Zips have to play in one this is probably the best one to be in given the level of competition you will play. Now if it could be on neutral floors that would be even better. I'm not knocking KD or anyone for getting Akron in this event. It should be a great experience for the team and fans. I am just knocking the event organizers for changing their format.

I agree that who you play has now become more important than what title you can or can't play for. I just don't like the trend and as long as top mid-majors continue to submit to the discrimination it will continue but I understand they can't afford to turn down the games either. I just don't get what is wrong with the idea of a mid-major EARNING the right to play for a title? The Zips played in one of these things a few years back and beat Mississippi State (if I recall the opponent correctly) in the first game, only to see MSU win that tournament championship. I remember thinking then how much better the Zips OOC schedule would have been had they advanced to play the teams that their defeated opponent was able to go on and play in the event. At least it sounds as if the Preseason NIT will provide a substantial schedule win or lose. I just don't like the precedent that is being set.

Plus, it could be that someone like McFadden may see his dream job as being the eventual heir apparent to his own former head coach at his alma mater. I don't know that for a fact but it is a thought that could be there.

Didn't the preseason NIT change their format last year? While I love the opponents the Zips could potentially play I would not be for them playing in a tournament where it is already predetermined that they cannot make the semifinals or finals. When you play in a tournament you should at least have a chance (no matter how remote) of winning that championship. Predetermined semifinalists in an 8 team "tournament" does not sit well with me. It feels too much like discriminatory bias. We get enough of that in football.

My argument isn't that the MAC always deserves to get in multiple teams, my point is that teams that finish 6th or 7th in their own conferences shouldn't get in over top mid-majors. This year the MAC champ may not have proven themselves to be a top mid-major, there are many other years where the MAC regular season champ may be though. I do think schools like Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, and Colorado State would have been good invites this year over barely .500 in conference P5 teams though.

So, basically the Browns are ditching all unis with brown numerals? Or are these shown in addition to the traditional white with brown? The brown in these photos looks awfully charcoal to me. Is that just picture quality or an actual official color change? I'd like to see the orange pants with either the white or traditional brown tops. It would be like the days of the Cardiac Kids again.

I agree with this, but I agree with this because of the way the landscape is now. That is the problem. We have teams finishing 7th and 8th that either are, or are at least perceived to be, better than champions of other conferences. Putting in a conference cap rule for participants in the NCAA tourney would give extra opportunities to schools outside the autonomous Power 5 and thus make a wider variety of destinations attractive to potential recruits. I see that as a good thing, not just for the non-power schools but also for the sport overall.

I was not talking about which teams are better. I was talking about which teams had better seasons. That is a big difference. I am not against power conferences getting their top three or even four in but when teams that lost nearly as much as they won in their league I am not for them getting in. Probably the wrong thread for this but...I always hear the argument that middle of the pack teams in power conferences are better than top teams in so-called 'mid-majors'. I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment but I do think we should question why that is and how change can come about. To me if you limit the number of at-large teams any conference can get in it would create more opportunity to mid-majors, and to a lesser degree low-majors. If more non-power teams got in annually you would then see the talent level and recruiting abilities of those programs and conferences rise to create a little more parity. While some say we should be glad a bone is thrown our way I say that if there was more inclusion then no bones would need thrown in the first place because the level of competition would slowly become more equal. That's not saying that it would ever be completely equal in perception or talent just that it would be much more so than it is now. To me that would be a 'win' not just to the non-power schools but to the sport overall since more than just a few dozen of its 351 programs could be nationally viable in any given season or few seasons.

The alternate argument to this is if the team would have had a somewhat decent defense he may have had a pretty good win-loss record as a QB.

I agree with this but only because sometimes you can finish 5th, 6th, or 7th in a power conference and still get a shot at winning NCAA tourney games. They need to put a limit on how many teams one conference can send. If you can't finish better than 5th in your own league and you don't win your conference tourney then why should you get to play in the tourney for the national title?

I agree Hurley may have done some good at UB, but lets not forget that their program was pretty decent in the MAC before he got there. He may have raised the bar some but its not like they were all that far from doing what they did this year in some years prior. I know I can remember two MAC Championship game losses for the Bulls pre-Hurley. I know its not the same as the championship Hurley finally got (partially with his guys, partially not)for them but they haven't been that far from it for a number of years now.

Didn't say anything about winning. Just that they'd never come and I'd like the chance to see them in person. It is one of the primary problems in CFB. Schools like that act like they are somehow entitled. It should be a level playing field (maybe not in terms of talent but at least as far as rules and scheduling go) for all schools but never will be.

Hurley at ASU?... now I have a team I can really root against in the Pac-12. Some coaches schedule familiar opponents when they take a new job, I wonder if ASU will be scheduling any MAC teams. I doubt it.

Maybe not, but I sure would like to see the Sooners come to the Info. Oh wait, that would be college football blasphemy.