UAZipster0305

Setup with a keg outside the gate before the game and have extra cups? That should attract plenty of these ZipsNation animals.

At what point is ZipWolverine (notice, not WolverineZip...just kidding, BuckZip) gonna step in and balance this mess out? We really need another voice of reason. I can't wait until this game is over. The heated discussion is pretty unnecessary considering our prospects for a win. To us, tOSU is the big brother that beats us in everything (but not soccer) by virtue of having more resources. Is it any surprise that there is some built-up tension? Let it go, people!

Depends on the primary motivator. Our basketball facilities are average at best yet we have the best team in the league. Our soccer facilities are probably worse than our basketball facilities yet we win national championships. I have yet to see a building make a tackle, complete a pass or go for a long run. I beg to differ, GP1. Aside from the JAR, the other facilities available to the basketball players (and that are shared among all sports) are tops in the league. Granted, the lack of a sparkling new or even standard bowl arena is a big limiting factor. However, the recruits come because of KD as a coach and person and that the program wins. Nothing recruits better than a winning program with a solid coach. I will never disagree with that. Our soccer facilities are among the best in the country, not just the league. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, GP1, because you are a football guy (and likely not that interested in soccer), and I assume you have not seen the new stadium yet. Creighton might be the only program with a better overall stadium. (Google it.) I was at UNC last year when we demolished the Tar Heals, and even with their tradition-laden woman's program that has won 10+ national championships and perennial top-5 men's program, our new stadium is nicer. There are many factors, but the facilities can contribute positively (or negatively) to the fan experience. The soccer recruits LOVE that the game atmosphere is like a European game and is unique in college soccer. That dynamic is a unique interplay between the fans and the facilities. Hence, the facilities are a large basis for the culture of a program and its success. Along with what I judge to be a great leader in Coach Pfau, our woman's program continues to improve (we just beat Michigan). I believe a lot of that is due to the gorgeous facility, and the elite players it allows us to attract. How many programs exist that are annually competitive for national championships yet have sub-par facilities? If you can name a small handful, I'd be amazed. In converse, consider: GaTech in baseball, Georgia in tennis, Kentucky, Duke, UNC in basketball, Akron, Creighton, and SMU in soccer, Arkansas in track...etc. I could go on. Bottom line, though not the only or most important factor, facilities are a very important component of establishing and maintaining a winning program.

I sadly agree with sentence one. Facilities don't win games. Players win games. We need to get players who want to win and not come to UofA with the primary motivator being facilities. Facilities don't win games. Facilities win recruits who win games. Every player wants to win, but they want to do so under the auspices of a tradition-laden, name brand program and if not an option, then they will take a place like ours that has some of the finest facilities of any school in the country. No other MAC school has this advantage. Unless there is a train wreck of a season with a coaching turn-over, a 1-11 season, or a loss to a D-IAA program, the recruits will come just for the facilities. See the past two seasons...that's why the recruits have been mediocre.

4 wins does NOT get iCoach a contract extension. 4 wins gets him another guaranteed year as coach with the contract he has. Extensions will be granted for fulfilling objectives set forth by the university and athletic department administrations such as winning the MAC and getting to and/or winning bowl games. GP1 could be our coach and we'd still get 3/4 wins every year because it is the MAC. Our facilities alone relative to the rest of the conference should have us getting 6 wins in a down year.

While a game that ends in a tie is often held akin to kissing your own sister, this game tells us that once again Caleb has put forth an amazing group of young players. Not only is Creighton ranked tenth they are a veteran side that only lost two players from their NCAA tournament caliber program. The Zips need a huge turn out of AK-Rowdies for the Cleveland State match next Saturday. Be there or transfer to cant. I love it!

Anything over 4-8 and I'm eating crow.

Anyone have a final score?

Huge win! Way to go, ladies!

The MLS will likely never be one of the top 4 soccer leagues in the world due to the investment this country puts into the four other major professional sports. However, I could see us growing to be in the top 10 and perhaps even the top 5 soccer leagues in the world behind the EPL, the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A. Best in the hemisphere and top 5 in the world isn't bad for a league that may never be in the top 4 professional sports leagues in this country. Because of this, the MLS Commissioner has a very difficult job.

Demonstrates a really distorted perception of reality too. Pot meet kettle.

Please provide pictures for us out-of-towners when the construction is finalized. Thanks in advance to anyone who obliges.

Is DiG Terry Bradshaw?

+1

I agree, ZtZ. We don't have to submit to OSU because they are the biggest BCS gig in the state. If there is ever a time that their programs are consistently down for a few years, they will lose the casual fans...especially if there is another BCS school doing well. That's just how it works with casual fans. And with all the crap going on now with the football program, this could be one of those times. There was no buzz for OSU football throughout the state with John Cooper at the helm when they'd finish in the top 20 after losing to Michigan and another Big 10 school every year and go to a non-major bowl game. That's why he was fired. He had a season or two in the top 5 and still managed to lose to Michigan. And how many of you would have said that we'd never win a National Championship? Especially given the poor men's soccer seeding in 2005 and the game against Northwestern being moved? I was pissed, but I don't think I said never. Some alumni didn't buy into Coach Porter's plan to get the top recruits to Akron either...and it happened. Cincy being in C-USA before the Big East carries very little weight. C-USA is a mid-major just like the MAC, albeit slightly better but still a mid-major. And Captain, your evaluation of the quality of their basketball program is inflated...they had some good years in the '90s with Nick van Exel and regularly made the Tournament with Huggins in the early and mid part of the last decade. How is that any different than us now? They won a few Tournament games?...Okay maybe, but I feel we are now on the verge of doing that ourselves. And if we do the next two seasons with Zeke, are we comparable? No? Oh, that's right, the arena issue...would the Big East overlook that if it were on the drawing board or there was a timeline to replace the JAR with a downtown arena? I think so. Cleveland is dying for a winner...hence the lingering bitterness about Lebron leaving and fans interest in the Indians when they are barely competitive for a playoff spot. Being competitive in the Big East would give us the Cleveland media market...40 miles away or not. How many times has the argument come up about Akron and Cleveland being contiguous? Although I disagree, the consensus here is that when it comes to the media and sports, Cleveland is Akron-Canton and Akron-Canton is Cleveland. I feel most of the negative arguments about the Big East prospects are due to the stigma of our athletic history as a university and of northeastern Ohio sports in general. Snap out of it. This is hardly the same university any of us went to (and I graduated fairly recently in 2005) thanks to Dr. Proenza. I think we've turned the corner.

Amen, Reverend DiG.

What does Cincy circa 2005 have that we don't? Answer: Medical and pharmacy schools and corresponding large grant money and research, a mediocre football team, and a great basketball arena. Cincinnati is a slightly more-attractive market than Akron-Canton too. Do you not affiliate NEOUCOM with Akron? I would think our lack of a direct Medical and Pharmacy school is pretty low on the list of reasons we'll never get invited to the Big East? Other than the few items I've already mentioned, Cincy circa 2005 had no more to offer than we do now. And no recent National Championship to brag about either. Yes, Cincinnati is more attractive than Akron-Canton, no doubt. But, there is no BCS school in Cleveland making that our territory too. Just as Detroit is part of Michigan's market. The Cleveland-Akron-Canton area is a megalopolis that a BCS conference should be salivating over. It would also take the two population dense diagonal corners of the state on either side of Columbus and make them Big East territory. Natural geographic rivalries with Pitt, WVU, and Cincy should also be obvious. And if you want to talk about stimulating the local economy, think about the fans from those schools who actually travel in mass to follow their schools (unlike most MAC fans) who would make regular trips to Akron. The bars, restaurants, and even potentially the hotels have a lot to gain from this and should be supporting UA in a bid. The lack of medical and pharmacy schools per se is not a big deal, but the NIH and big pharamceutical research dollars that we can't attract without these affiliations is huge. And no, I don't count NEOUCOM...it's in the middle of a corn field with no direct interaction with the hospitals or UA for research. I'm currently a medical student, and my talks with Dr. Proenza lead to the creation of the Bioinnovation Institute, so I know what I'm talking about. While the Bioinnovation Institute is a strong step in the right direction, the medical and pharmacy schools need to be in Akron and part of UA. A Big East committee would also not consider NEOUCOM as part of UA. The Big East for UA isn't as far fetched as most of you think. You had better believe that it is Dr. Proenza's goal (not that he ever told me though).

What does Cincy circa 2005 have that we don't? Answer: Medical and pharmacy schools and corresponding large grant money and research, a mediocre football team, and a great basketball arena.

Isn't he the guy that played Irkel? That was Jalil White I think.

I do more thinking when I'm drinking. I think Rodin's The Thinker has a beer in his hand. Was GP1 a model for this?

The Big 12s days are numbered. Those schools are going to break up and go to other conferences and the Big 12 will go away. 5 16 member BCS conferences is now a real possibility. The key remaining piece is Texas. If they move, the remaining members of the Big 12 have no choice. C-USA is a possibility for us, but I think a 16 member Big East with all members participating in football is more realistic. Our size and growing research profile fit the institutional requirements, our Akron-Canton-Cleveland media market is a good fit, we've had a lot of athletic success on the national level in the past 5 years, and our facilities are great. The only limiting factors are (maybe) the lack of a medical/pharmacy college, success on the football field, and our basketball facility. If there are plans for a future arena, the basketball facility issue could be overlooked. Just remember, UC was not strong in football when they joined and have ever only won 2 national championships 30+ years ago in basketball. We are a much better fit than most of you realize. Look for the Big East to take 5 other schools: UCF, UMass, East Carolina, Memphis, and Akron in that order. And if we don't get the call from the Big East, there will definitely be openings in C-USA, and I have to think we are a front runner for one of those. I have no doubt that the Big East will split based on football though.

Typical. You keep the booze for yourself and share nothing with the rest of us but words. This must be how GP1 maintains His greatness.

I didn't start it this time!

Sheesh! UCLA, #21? They bring in the best new goalkeeper in the country (Earl Edwards), the star of the U17 team (Kelyn Rowe) plus all-everything Victor Chavez and Munoz (sorry for the lack of a tilda), the Real Madrid youth, and they're #21, because they had "limited needs"?? If Jorge Salcedo can't take this team to the Final Four, he can't coach. But he can definitely recruit. Eder Arreola, pre-season Hermann favorite. Maybe they're downgraded (word of the week!) because they failed to get any Akron transfers! Not sure what you mean Z.I.P. Every kid you named except for the transfer was part of last year's recruiting class. They only brought in 3 kids total this year. Which of the following has Z.I.P has been exposed to too many of? A) spiked fruity drinks sun C) radiation from being in front of his computer monitor too much D) all of the above Come get a piece of reality in Ohio at the end of November as part of another NCAA Tourney run. I'd love to see us play UCLA at home then! Check last year's threads...I picked a lot of our great opponents as ideal match-ups including Louisville!