UAZipster0305

A secondary MAC team is worthy of an NIT bid this year. Regular season champ or not.

The NIT bid goes to the winner of the MAC regular season. I'm greedy and want that in hand for the exact reason you mentioned...here, Can't (Bobkitties, Canadians), go on a date with your sister while we strut to the prom and charm the queen.

What I want to see in a new basketball facility (in no particular order)... 1) Location: Downtown across from Canal Park with street front shops/restaurants like at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. This replaces a blighted property in an optimal downtown area adjacent to the edge of campus and new student housing. The football stadium should have been on campus because there is a tailgating culture that requires being outside and having a park-like campus that draws fans and alumni during the day, which adds to the experience. This is not so for basketball. The nightlife is where it is at for the basketball crowd. And even though my proposed location is technically "off-campus" it is not the off-campus that was the Rubber Bowl. Big difference! 2) Size: <8,000 is thinking way too small...especially if we make it to a real conference with name brand opponents. Thinking small is what got Cleveland an outdoor only football stadium that is only used 10 times per year. Meanwhile, cities like Detroit and Indy host the Super Bowl and college bowl games. We should aspire to NOT be like Cleveland. I want to have a credible bid to host NCAA Tournament games. No way that happens with <8,000 when Columbus, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh all have large, elite arenas. Hosting such events bring economic benefits and carries national exposure. >=10,000 is necessary and could be fully utilized if a conference upgrade is in our future. 3) Functionality: The venue needs to be designed to provide an intimate atmosphere for basketball, but also be able to host hockey, concerts, and other events (Cirqu du Soleil, arena football, indoor soccer, etc.). Having a great basketball environment and a multi-purpose facility are not mutually exclusive if done intelligently. 4) Financing: Cut a deal with the City such that it is a jointly owned property. Doing so assists with paying for the arena provided it is multi-purpose (primarily for the City's benefit) and UA has 90% of the design input. The location noted above also benefits the City. Everyone wins!

I refuse to think like a Can't fan. Though I don't want the team taking this attitude, I'm prepared for nothing less than another MACC.

...and it only took three minutes to get that out there. I love the Nation!

It's 10:08PM, and...

Wow, a 6'6" sniper. That is tough to defend. We can't give this guy any second looks. Rebounding will be crucial, and it sounds like we have the advantage on that front.

It would be way short on members for soccer, which has to be considered vitally important to us. I'd add NIU and SIU in all sports (natural geographic rivals, one in each division) as they are good overall fits, have soccer programs, and add another state to the footprint. I would also invite Kentucky and South Carolina for soccer.

Or John Heisman. We don't capitalize on that at all even though he led us to victory over OSU and may have invented the forward pass on our campus.

What makes you think that given the past few years of our football program that we are the most worthy of the current MAC members to ascend? I will give you this if Coach Bowden delivers what we all expect. Right now though, I'd give the nod to OU as having the edge over us. They are solid in basketball and football (annually competitive for both MACCs) and respectable in all other sports and especially volleyball.

Great point. I second this! And things like this are the basis for a rivalry...not anything that occurs on an athletics field/court between Akron and Cleveland. UA-CSU in basketball is likely the only opportunity for athletic interaction anyhow.

Joe Akron doesn't help, but the original spirit of the comment was being completely ignored, not being outwardly discouraged. And I would consider your example as a highly isolated incident.

It is a good thing we don't have a rivalry with Cleveland or Columbus then!

You're right, but I don't blame LP for this. He is just doing his job in trying to keep us competitive and on the distinguished side of the stature dividing line when it is drawn more permanently in a few years. However, if the Rubber Bowl weren't in such a state of disrepair, I would have opposed the building of the Big Dialer (TM, GP1). And if an arena gets built, I hope the only facilities that have money put into them in the next twenty years are baseball (a wooden outfield wall and no fan seating, really?) and tennis (not currently on campus). I don't see the soccer fan base growing to the point where we need more seating, and at this point, who can imagine the Big Dialer being sold out? Facilities would no longer be a limiting factor in our upward mobility to a BCS conference. Putting smaller amounts of athletics money towards other aspects of improving our athletics profile and competition level would likely be more resourceful. Many of the faculty have long resented the amount of money spent on Division 1 athletics. How much more until there is a faculty revolt?

http://www.uakron.edu/im/online-newsroom/n...+of+the+Year%27 "Campus Activities Magazine has again nominated The University of Akron for a "Campus of the Year" award. Since 2000, UA has won the award four times for its comprehensive campus programming, most recently in 2010. This is a national award and the other finalists are Can't State University, Miami University (Ohio), Michigan State University and Methodist University. For UA to win, you have to vote. The contest is open to every individual with an e-mail address ending in .edu. Voting will be open until Feb. 28. Here are the steps: Go to Campus Activities Magazine and click on the "Awards" button in the menu to access the survey page. Click "Start Survey." Enter your University of Akron (or any .edu) e-mail address. VOTE for the best entertainers in various categories, then vote for The University of Akron." Let's not get beat by the Flushes or Sweaters on or off the court/field!

I am busy traveling today and only had a short window of time to comment here, but I give anyone else permission to contact him with reference to my posts. Let us know what he says.

His story is amazing too...Blackburn was starting to substitute teach in Columbus mid-way through the season when he was called back to the Giants. Although he was already a Super Bowl Champion, this really is a dream come true. And what an ideal story for UA to share with the public...especially given all the prior negativity surrounding UA football. This one is nothing but positive and continues the momentum of excitement following Coach Bowden's hiring and of signing day. And let's not forget Hixson's acrobatic touchdown catch to win the Giant's first game of the season. Though forced to retire, what a way to go out, and he's still a Super Bowl Champion this season. He should not be left out of the story.

As I said last year, I love seeing us beat big-name BCS schools in any sport. It helps that tennis is relatively good, but the scheduling is highly intelligent too. MSU and WVU are the bottom dwellers of their conferences yet these appear to Joe Akron to be huge wins (i.e. if Joe Akron cares about or notices woman's tennis). Nonetheless, beating BCS bottom dwellers demonstrates that we at least belong in the conversation when it comes to being competitive at the BCS level and discussions of conference realignment. I would like to see basketball take more of this approach. It has already been the topic of another thread, and I digress... Akron woman's tennis is now very good and is an uppity sport. I wish we had the commensurate indoor and outdoor facilities on campus in place of the parking lot behind the field house. A men's team would also be a nice addition.

Typical. Then people wonder why we have an inferiority complex about OSU and why many of us consider Cleveland to be an adversary. There was no mention of this in the Leaking Urinal and worst of all, OUR OWN ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT has not made a related media release. If we don't promote ourselves, who will? Sad.

4 tackles, 2 assists, and that stellar interception...great all around game by Chase in spite of getting beat on one TD play. Very exciting. Congrats to Blackurn, Hixson, and the Giants! Very cool that I had class with both Dwight Smith and Blackburn too!

It is impressive to see how far out EMU has had to defend because of our hot shooting early. Without the deep bench and our good ball movement, I think this has exhausted them and led to weak knees and poor shooting when they were on offense. A great example of good offense being one of the best defenses. Dare I ask: Is this what Coach Porter would call Dominant Basketball? The intensity is there for us tonight. Some careless turnovers, but overall pretty solid. Let's hope our poor streak of free throw shooting is an anomaly. If we are the same team coming out of the locker room, we should cruise to the W.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/...tion-akron-zips Great to see this getting national media coverage. Was headlined on ESPN. Very exciting!

IMO, Toledo played their absolute best tonight, and we played average. The 14 point difference says a lot about the relative talent levels. Pearson had some ridiculous shots over Zeke. That guy is fun to watch!

Did CK ever post his magic Harney number for this game? If so, I missed it.

In the same way that CK is indifferent about Dan Lefevour?