Captain Kangaroo

LeBron is a cash cow for NE Ohio. Without him, the Cavs are back to Brevin Knight, Shawn Kemp... and 4k people coming to downtown Cleveland on any given night. He's the difference between the downtown bars and hotels being packed for 45 - 50 nights per year, and them being at 20% occupancy. If LeBron departs, downtown Cleveland will be a ghost town ... once again. Turning around the Cavs took one guy. Turning around the Indians takes 12 guys. And the Indians are no where near close to having those 12 guys. The Indians are WAY closer to being the Pirates than the Yankees. Or the Twins for that matter. Go Zips.

Puerto Rico...Canada...JUCO...transfers...it appears a paradigm shift in recruiting has taken place? I like it. I think the previous approach had a limited ceiling, unless we got lucky. Looking forward to our new small forward(s).

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the thread. It looks like the vast majority of those affected don't really care for the decision. I'll close this out, on my end, with a short story -- My wife graduated from UA both undergrad and from UA's School of Law. A couple years ago I introduced her to Gary Bogue, who does fund raising for UA's Law School. Afterwards, she decided to become a law school donor. Maybe three months ago, my wife said to me: "You know, I really enjoy donating to the law school. I would never have thought to do it if you hadn't introduced me to Gary." Fastforward to the beginning of April. My wife gets an invite to a symposium at UA featuring a NY Times writer who covers decisions of The United States Supreme Court. Invitations, she was told, we're only sent out to a select group. She immediately responded, and said she'd "...be honored to attend." We then went on vacation for 1 week. When we returned, my wife wrote an email to the woman responsible for the event asking for information on UA parking. The woman responded - "Oh, you can't come to the symposium. We had too many people respond. We took you off the list." That's it. As cold and inconsiderate as that. Without even the courtesy of a phone call or an email stating "I am so sorry, but the response to this event was overwhelming and..." My wife was furious. She wrote Gary, who is a solid guy, and voiced her disappointment. He did what he could to make amends, but the damage was done. This year, my wife will not be donating to the School of Law. Maybe the following year, we will re-visit the decision. Time will tell. How does this tie into the Football forum? At the Cadillac Ranch @ the MAC tourney, a person involved with UA Athletics approached me and stated "Hey, I just found out what you give to the Law School. We need to find a way to get your Z-Fund donation up to that level!" I assured the person that one day it would get there. Fastforward to last week, when Tom Wistercil announced his parking plan: Obviously TW does not consider my Z-Fund donation, or potential for future donations worth much. He also feels that I do not really have all that much invested (his words, not mine) in the University's athletic programs. That, as GP1 observed, is a real slap in the face. I will keep my season football and basketball tickets, and attend the other UA athletics events that I have always enjoyed. But if I am booted from Lot #9 due to my investment in UA athletics being considered insignificant, I will withhold my 2010 Z-Fund donation. Like my wife's law school donation, will revisit things the following year. But it appears UA does not value the money my family donates. And there is only one way to voice my displeasure over it...at least in a way the TW will feel, and understand. There are a lot of great people at UA, and programs I enjoy supporting financially. But I took a 10% pay cut the past two years, due to the recession. And also lost about 30% of my commission/bonus. This isn't the best of economic times, and I need to spend my money where I feel it is valued. Tom made his business decision. I'll make mine.

I think I made that explicitly clear in my opening post. The Zips fans in Lot 9 spend a ton of money on the Zips. Excerpt: I agree with ZW that this will probably be much ado about nothing. The lots won't magically be populated with Escalades and Rolls. If you've followed the Zips for any length of time, you know Pintos outnumber the SUVs. I just wonder - Why throw the rock at the bees nest in the first place? I guess Tom needs to learn his lessons on the job...I need to keep in mind he's only been in town for 9 months. And I'm sure he made a lot of promises in his interview that he could generate revenue.

perhaps true in terms of coverage in volume of content.... but perhaps not so true in terms of quantity of readership? This site is 100% Zips fans. The Plain Dealer, for example, is 0.045% Zips fans. In terms of reaching a target audience, I'd say we are, at worst, equal to print media.

I agree that this would have been a better way to handle it. $25 for that lot last season was too cheap. I think raising it to $60 or $75 this season would have pissed off a bunch of cheap-asses, and opened up numerous spots for the beloved high-roller donors. Something like that would have been a win-win (more close parking spots for the donors....more cash from those who elected to stay), and made everyone happy. Except for the super-cheap...and they will never be happy. I could see that lot being a $100 parking lot in 2-3 years, if the team was any good. If the team is 3-9, good luck selling parking at any price. And to YouTube Tom I say - "You are welcome." You didn't need to send out any surveys, or hire some fancy firm to analyze and poll the fans about the parking situation...you just got a $20,000 customer survey for free. Consider it my donation to the Z-Fund and give ZipsNation a lot 9 pass. I guarantee Gaffney and Alexander will plop their asses in that lot, for free, and they don't provide 1/100th the coverage of Zips Athletics that this site does.

Lot 34 is where the real party is at, that's for sure. You're a history guy, right? Did the Russians stop at Czechoslovakia?

If I were to pick apart the release, this is the line I'd have the most trouble digesting. If he'd have stopped at "donors," it would have been better.

Ahem -- There were stripper poles.

I received a phone call last week from a University employee notifying me that I probably wasn't going to be on the list to return to Lot #9 this upcoming football season. Apparently Lot #9 (lot behind the scoreboard, paralleling Exchange street) will be designated for "major donors," in the $5k to $20k range. I was told that perhaps Lot #13 (corner of Carroll and Spicer) would be available as our new "refugee camp" lot. This brings up several questions -- What is best for Lot #9? Last season, our groups really made that lot a party. Tents, flags, grills, music...when people drove past, the people in Lot #9...the most visible tailgate lot on the campus...made it look like a real College Game Day environment. It was the lot that the local news media would film and photograph on game day as a representative of what cool things were going on at UA. The hard-core Lot #9'ers stuck with the program as the team's performance spiraled down the toilet. After mid-season, the "hard cores" remained, although least half of Lot #9 was empty. They were a hearty bunch... Now why do you displace your "hardest-core" followers? The University knows who made that lot rock in the Fall of '09 (obviously, since I got the phone call)...so why give the boot to those 200-or-so folks who take up maybe only 60 of the 300 available Lot #9 spots? There would still be 200+ spots available for everyone else? An obvious answer would be - "Hey...money talks. If you want to park there, pay up! Donate!" I get that. Any idiot gets that. But does it need to be that Black-and-White? Look at the lower-JAR seating. Those seats are paid for by the "major donors." How many of those people show up for games on any given day? I'll round up and say "half." Going a step further - How many 20k...10k...donors are going to party in Lot #9 on game day? How about zero? And why would you if you're paying for a loge loaded with food and drinks? It turns Lot #9 from a Tailgate Lot, to a Parking Lot. Is that the right move? If handled differently, could it have been both? And how many $xxk donors are there anyhow? And how many will show up in 2010...especially after the 3-9 season? I can't imagine season ticket holder numbers will skyrocket after last year's train wreck? Going another step further...Today's $250 or $500 donor is tomorrow's $1k or $5k donor. If you are YouTube Tom, why don't you walk down to Lot #9 and shake hands and meet with the future "major donors," rather that boot them across campus? Is there ever a point where you invest in the future? And keep in mind...those 2009 Lot 9'ers aren't freeloaders. They pay $450 for their reserved season tickets and parking. The do donate to the Z-Fund. They donate to their respective UA colleges. They also purchase basketball and soccer tickets. They spend money to follow the Zips to places like Happy Valley...Madison...West Point...Syracuse...Buffalo...Toledo...Raleigh...and just about anywhere in-between. Some followed the basketball team to Alaska, for Christ's sake! When the PD and Beacon ignored Zips athletics, they blogged about the Zips and created ZipsNation. These are essentially The Best of the Best Zips fans. And they are getting the boot? The good news is - the "Major Donors" probably won't materialize. If the lot was 1/2 full at year's end last season, it will be even less full with a smaller sampling of the public having access. Lot 9'ers will probably get a phone call in August letting them know their cherished Lot #9 wants them back. But at that point the damage may be done. I recall when Parking Genius Pat Kreiger designated the Rubber Bowl "Paved Lot" for $5k donors. The lot was empty on game days...save for some coaches wives and a UA administrator or two. The lot did eventually fill up...once the parking attendants left and the general public pulled in. And I do want to be clear on one thing -- The UA official that called me was very courteous. And the fact that I received a personal phone call rather than be ambushed with a "Dear Valued Season Ticket Holder...you're getting the boot" email/letter is greatly appreciated. I have no real issue with the change...UA has a very expensive stadium to pay off...but it does merit discussion You opinion on The New Lot #9 is...?

Pat "Parking Genius" Kreiger says: "Just make all the parking spots $5,000"

Oh well...he would have flunked out of our Titanium Bridge Building Program regardless.

K.e.n.t. is always the trendy pick. Look for Phil Steele to pick K.e.n.t. to win the MAC East again...for the umpteenth consecutive year. And...be wrong again. K.e.n.t. Football is a blend of poor talent & choke artists who are guided by a clown coach. I will go out on a limb and say: They suck in 2010. Spencer Keith is a very good QB. So was Josh Cribbs...so was Jose Davis...so was Julie Anne Edelmann...so what? Their teams all sucked. K.e.n.t. Football sucks.

Add another "It Could Only Happen to The Zips" to our long, long list...

The day I walk away from ZipsNation.org, I'll probably say the same thing. All the best to Steve. What a great kid!

Thank you for taking the time to post.

What makes you so sure they can beat Morgan State?

4-26! We probably found out about this guy as we were trying to schedule them. :lol:

Oscar doesn't like his size or skills: Blog Link If he had grade issues in Engineering, welcome to the club! It's happened to many a smart student

I went to Buc night the year after they played in the NLCS. They have been doing it successfully for years. You're only saying that because it was their idea, and they've been doing it successfully for years.

Elton reported this morning that Humpty is officially out, and Chauncey Gilliam is officially in. Gilliam will be eligible in 2011-12.

You'll be even more shocked to find out that they are having a dollar beer night tomorrow. Dollar. Beer. Night. The Info would be full from the time the gates open until the end of the game. Who needs a game? Just open the Info for Dollar Beer Nights every Friday and Saturday? Put some sports event on the Jumbotron...blast some tunes...we could create The World's Biggest College Bar?!

Giving away free tickets is bad. Discounting GA ducats on games that typically draw flies, and promoting event, is smart. If the Zips are playing Malone in basketball, I would rather have a 3/4 full house than tumbleweeds. And - "Band Day" is still a staple of filling the seats @ UA. Sad to say...

I think with the #20-something scholarship to give, you take the best available remaining player.

Addressing your points individually - 1.) I never said discounted tickets are a cure-all. Nor did I say they can fill Can't's football stadium. Nothing will save K.e.n.t. football. They have been in the bottom 10 of D-1 for 25 years. Saying "<Insert Idea Here> didn't work for K.e.n.t. football" is not a valid argument. It is like saying "Lipstick and perfume will not work for a pig." Sure it won't, but it will work wonders for any decent-looking girl. K.e.n.t. football is a hopeless pig. 2.) Important: Our product is NOT reasonably priced. $20 is too much money to get GA seats to watch Akron football. $80.00 for a family of four to watch Zips football is too much. One could argue "Season tickets for a family are MUCH cheaper than $20 per person." And, one would be stupid to argue that point. The fact is - most people don't buy season tickets. You want to get families to InfoCision. Then you can set the hook for season tix. And educate them on the value of the season tix. 3.) People should expect $1.00 entry for their kids...once or twice per year. Look at the history - Zips football draws flies at season's end. If the team is terrible, even the flies stay home. Giving a 45% discount on GA seats at year's end loses no money, and cheapens no product. Any butts in the seats are butts that would have stayed home otherwise. 4.) You confuse a 45% discount with free tickets. I am not saying "free tickets." 5.) The Aeros don't cheapen their product with BOGO tix...MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates don't cheapen their product with $1.00 kids tix (they've done it since I was a kid)...but the Zips would somehow take a financial bath if they let some families in for 45% off? Not true. 6.) Handing our free tickets at the last minute (EMU game) is NOT Marketing. Handing out schedules in July, highlighting your Fall 2010 "Buck-a-Roo Kids Night" and promoting it at Zips home games and at InfoCision high school games...will pack the stadium. THAT is Marketing. Summary - Do you want to Market the Zips and try to pack the stadium? Or keep your profit margin, but with a 2/3rd's empty stadium? The same can be applied to basketball at the JAR. Do you want 3k? Or do you want a couple early-season games, typically against "dog" opponents, to draw 4k...or 5k? Funny to see people so negative about a damn good idea that's easily within our budget.