GJGood

What is on the side of Fir Hill across from the Chapel that cannot be replaced and put somehwre else on or around campus? I know the alumni office and Early childhood development buildings are there but could they be relocated? Just a thought.Personally, I am fine with the current location of the JAR. I just would like to see it upgraded and possibly expanded. Marketing needs to improve also to get bodies in the seats/bleachers.

All true but let's keep in mind that it takes an agreement between two parties to schedule. If bigger name programs see us as extremely dangerous but we at the same time lack national noteriety then scheduling the Zips is really a "no win" situation for them.That is why I personally think the Zips need to concentrate on getting into the best neutral site tournaments they can get into every year and then hopefully play their way into a very good BracketBusters matchup also. I'm not saying to give up on more competitive scheduling in addition to that but I think that is the area where the biggest strides can be made without just throwing the team into a gauntlet like Miami runs every year.

Just wanted to post a link to an article I found locally here in Columbus for those of you who may be interested in some of the activities of Zip gridiron alums currently playing in the NFL. I think its cool these guys will all be there together.http://www.snponline.com/articles/2009/07/...06_1054am_1.txt

I could handle the MAC moving something to Columbus, which is still fairly well centrally located. Of course, that is just me being selfish since if, for example, the men's tourney were held at Nationwide Arena it would be a 5 minute walk from my work.

I'm all for more home games, especially since we will now have a home truly worthy of them.But I'm more than glad to have the BCS games as well... for several reasons:1) Kids who commit to playing in an Akron uniform deserve the chance to play quality opponents.2) Playing quality opponents makes your team and your coaches better over time, and sends the right kind of message both to fans and to potential recruits.3) I'm much more interested in seeing how the team I cheer for stacks up against a Penn State or Michigan State than I am in watching us play Morgan State, a game that excites me about as much as a tuna salad sandwich.4) And finally, as the most expensive athletic program--by far-- football bears the responsibility for generating revenue to at least help offset its tremendous cost. The new stadium will sure help attract better draws at home, but it also means you've got to be willing to go get paid on the road, too. If you want to continue as a D-1 program, this is just the reality. And, frankly, I'm okay with it.Anyways. My two cents.I pretty much agree, but I wouldn't just limit the quality opponent tag to BCS schools. There are some well thought of non-BCS schools out there that just may be willing to give us a home and home series, whereas most BCS schools won't travel to InfoCision. I'd love to see a home and home series with teams that regularly finish in the top half of conferences like the WAC, Mountain West, or even C-USA. Schools like Fresno State, Utah, Tulsa, East Carolina and Air Force come to my mind.Ideally, maybe a mix of a non-BCS you should certainly beat, a big money BCS road game, and two games that could go either way (BCS school or not) one each at home and away, would be the best scenario for my taste.

I'm with bigzipguy on this one. Baseball as a sport is very hard to figure out sometimes. There is no other major team sport I can think of where teams at the bottom of the standings get wins over teams at the top and its not seen as a big deal. I know in college baseball specifically it is a bigger deal if a northern team beats a good southern team than it is if the 9th place MAC team beats the second place MAC team. In baseball, it is more common that the "better" team doesn't win than it is in sports like football or basketball.As far as a lacking of fan support because of how good they are, I understand that to some extent. I was an undergrad at UA though in 1996 when Akron won the MAC title and I have to tell you there weren't many more fans attending games that season than there are today. So, while performance and record may be part of it, they could probably still do some better marketing on the team's behalf.

when is the school going to stop being referred to as Akron University, at least by the media?

So basically since EMU and CMU are playing each other and two of the three get spots, Akron taking two of three or all three at BG would likely get them in the tournament? Either EMU or CMU automatically has to lose at least two games in their three game series.I wonder why there isn't more support for the baseball team. I mean from this point on now every game is about as important as it can get and yet virtually no chatter.

Any chance the Zips still make it to Chillicothe this year? I keep looking at the conference standings and it would seem possible to me assuming the conference takes the top 8 records. I'm not exactly sure how it works though. Plus, no article or post I've read anywhere has even mentioned what the Zips must or must not do to make the field.Can anybody fill me in here?

Quite a day indeed. I am simply amazed at the softball team. Three wins in one day in the conference tournament and all three against teams that were seeded better. That is amazing in any sport! I don't know what will happen today but if the Zips can win another 3 against higher seeds they go dancin'! I realize that may be too much to ask since these ladies have got to be running on fumes today.I hope a buzz has been generated about what they have accomplished already this weekend though and the future of this program certainly looks bright.

I really like this commitment, I have always thought there is a lot of talent that seems to slip through the cracks to FCS or lower division schools because the prospect is coming out of a very small, and often rural, and much unseen, high school. A dual threat guy at QB that has led winning teams might be just what the offense needs for the incoming class of 2010 as it may provide options for the coaches and an interesting competition for the QBs that will already be on the roster at that point.

I wouldn't even be that against the BCS if it just included the champion of every conference with equal payout an had a set criteria where the BCS rank of each conference champion, and not the name of the school or conference affiliation determined the actual BCS game matchups.That at least would be a step in the right direction.

Orr with his BCS coaching background, leading of BG to the #1 seed in the MAC and Cincy ties actually could get in the mix I believe. I'm just not sure how much interest he would have in leaving BG right now. Although, if he were likely to go anywhere, wouldn't it be to "go home"?

I just want to see the MAC get better and us be a perennial power within it. Everybody keeps talking about jumping for another conference. I'd rather the conference we're in become more nationally prominent. That way we're not only good but we're loyal too.There needs to be a major shakeup and reoganization within the MAC offices and get some pepole in there that are going to take this conference to the next level and beyond.

That does look good. You make a great case.I still think it should be 24 teams with 8 getting a bye. But the 16 scenario that you showed actually looks better than I imagined it would.My 14 one would look similar and would not allow the very topped ranked teams to rest their starters at the end of the regular season because they'd want one of those top two seeds and a bye (in fact I would propose that those two universities host the national semifinals even if their teams get defeated prior to that round). It also wouldn't allow so many teams that didn't even win their conference in. 16 teams likely means you can finish second in 5 of the 6 BCS conferences. My way is only 3 of 6, or two if an independent qualifies.My first round would have looked like this (using the pre-bowl BCS rankings)1 Oklahoma (first round bye)9 East Carolina at 8 Virginia Tech13 Alabama at 4 Utah12 Texas at 5 Penn State11 Buffalo at 6 Boise State14 Ohio State at 3 USC10 Troy at 7 Cincinnati2 Forida (first round bye)I think those aren't too shabby and it allows a school like Utah or Boise State to get a home game, allows a northern school like Penn State to host a southern school, and creates marquee matchup potential like Ohio State-USC and Texas-Penn State in every round.

I say a 14 team playoff with the top two seeds getting byes (for those who like the chase for the top 2 the BCS now creates)...the 11 conference winners and three wild cards. Seeds 1-11 (or 12 if an independent reaches a certain level) go to the conference champs and the wild cards are seeded at the end. At least the first round would be played at campus sites. This allows for marquee matchups every week as the wild cards are liable to be national powerhouses AND would result in some non-BCS conference champs getting the opportunity to host a game since seeds 3 thru 8 (all conf champs) would start at home.That is just what I'd like to see. I think it creates a more level playing field that way and emphasizes winning the conference no matter what the name on the jerseys may read.

I want to be somebody like a Utah. Always near the top of their conference in the major sports and still able to be somewhat of a player on the national scene. I think there's is an overall athletic program we can model ourselves after, at least for now. the difference is Akron is situated in much more fertile recruiting ground than they have in Salt Lake City, so if we ever reached the Utah level we then may be able to look even bigger at that point.

Because it allows the MAC to get TV time. We aren't getting on TV on Saturday, that's just how it is. Friday, and mid-week games, allow us to get a game or two on ESPN network. That is a big plus for the school. I don't understand why so many people cry about a game behind on the weekday. You have to get up the next morning...ok?...You aren't going to be out there til 1 or 2 am. Im all for whatever gets the school, and this great new stadium, more exposure. Putting every game on Saturday would mean absolutely no national exposure. Which hurts the program.Buddy, I get that. In my scenario, we get 2 games on National TV (though many don't have ESPNU!!!). And then, hopefully 2 more with MAC Champ and bowl game. Throw in the fact that PSU might be on the main ESPN networks (or Big 10), IU game will be on at the very least Big 10 Net., etc.= plenty of exposure.Andy why do people "cry"? Well, it depends on your situation. I happen to have bought tickets for my family of 4, and it is a heck of a lot tougher to go on a weeknight, especially if it is cold. And, I live 1 hour away. Not to mention, there is nothing better than a college football SATURDAY!!!! There are PLENTY of reasons that weeknights, even Friday nights, suck!!!I don't know about the Indiana game being on the Big Ten Network. I don't know if anyone lese has notived this, but I have NEVER seen a live sporting event on that network that wasn't a home game for a Big ten school. It is like they are only allowed to broadcast from the 11 campuses and nowhere else.

As has been said by coaches and administration alike..."We have to think bigger than the MAC."I think the MAC just has to think bigger.

I agree about the best way to start off in the new stadium being with a solid 'W" but not against an FCS school. No FBS school should play an FCS school unless there are special circumstances involved. I am happy to see an opponent we should beat coming in for game one, but there are FBS programs (that carry the same number of scholarships as Akron's program) that can fill that bill. Why not play a bottom feeder from the Sun Belt, C-USA, or even the WAC?Oh well, at least we have the Carlton Jackson story. I just hope the game isn't competitive because we really are in a "no win" situation with this opponent. If we win people will say (and deservedly so) that we only beat an undermanned FCS school, if we lose or the game is even close then what will people say?Overall, it will likely be a landmark day for the University but it would have been with an FBS opponent as well.

In the Columbus and Central Ohio region I was forced to watch online at March Madness On demand. They showed the Clemson-Michigan game here. If you ask me something just wasn't right about that. I mean here I am in the same city as Ohio State and I have to watch Michigan when an Ohio school is playing at the same time.This fact is even worse when you consider that Linhart, the McKnights, Hitchens, and Ronnie Steward are all from central Ohio and some of their biggest and longest tenured fans had only a sporadic chance to see them.Somebody capable of showing multiple games on the tube without an extra charge needs to get the rights to the tournament, whether it be ESPN, NBC, FSN or whatever.

We can say the exact same thing. When we don't play well it seems that we are fundamentally sound but just half a step slow on defense. Our primary achilles heel, though, is cold shooting. In our first round game of the MAC tourney we went for an incredibly long stretch where we didn't make a single field goal yet somehow we ended up with 93 points after 45 minutes of play. That wasn't the first time by any means that we went on a prolonged scoring drought either.Our other issue at times has been rebounding, especially offensive rebounding. That problem seemed to go away for much of our run in the MAC tournament. In fact at times during the last week we looked pretty formidable on the offensive glass. That being said I think we will have problems in that area on Thursday simply because of Gonzaga's size. We went into this year considering it a rebuidling, or I guess I should say reloading, year. I think I can speak for most of us on here when we say we wouldn't have expected to be dancing this year any more than in the prior two years or in the next few years to come. The key for us will be taking care of the ball and shooting well along with playing our usual good defense. Anyway, you look at it though the Zips really have their work cut out for them in this matchup.

While we are carrying the mantle for the conference on the main stage, other MAC schools will continue playing as well.Bowling Green recieved a #8 (out of 8) seed in the NIT and will travel to Creighton.I have also seen that our arch nemisis from Portage County was selected to play in the inaugural CIT and will be travelling up to Oakland University in Michigan for a Tuesday night game.I would have to think that Can't State's inclusion in the CIT means that Buffalo will be in the CBI field and that there is a good chance Miami will be as well. As of this moment, the CBI website says nothing.So, will you all be cheering for all of ur MAC brethren or just pick and choose who to root for?Personally, I'll be cheering for Bowling Green because a good MAC showing in the NIT could garner some attention. I will root for Buffalo because I like their program as a whole as much as any of our MAC rivals. With Miami and Can't State it depends on who they match up with. I have no strong feelings either way about Can't State @ Oakland.

If we do in fact win tonight is there any way we could get Frenchy's call of the last 10 to 15 seconds or so posted on here. I live out of area but would still love to hear that. That being said, this will be a tough game tonight.

Actually I believe it is 32 for the NIT and 16 each for the CBI and CIT for a total of 129, but your point is well taken.I do know, though, that the CIT (run by the people who do the mid-major Top 25 poll) has said that they would rather not take teams that already have more than half of their conference in the postseason. I take that to mean they'd rather have a pretty good mid-major team over a 9th, 10th, or 11th place team from a "major" conference when they are making their selections.