UAZipster0305

But Miami didn't even schedule games like that, and that's the point. When you only have to get up for a handful of competitive OOC games per season, winning them is WAY easier than having to be focused for most games. So again, if having a cupcake schedule is the road to lots of wins and national recognition, why aren't we doing it?!

Troy was red hot shooting against us, despite what I thought was pretty decent defense on our part. Miami has been very luck thus far. The only game that I think we could and should have lost but squeaked out was against Eastern Michigan.

Jay Bilas has us as #51 in the country. Notably, he has Miami as #26 and OSU as #50. Purdue is #11, Yale is #60, and Murrary State and Troy are nowhere to be found. I wish we had a few of those games back. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/47940627/jay-bilas-index-mens-college-basketball-rankings-top-teams-2025-26 26. Miami (Ohio) RedHawks My on-court view of the RedHawks is to rank them in the mid-40s of The Bilas Index. But, winning matters, especially when there is a goose egg on the right side of the record. And Miami is a good team that can shoot it, with quality shots and a very pleasing offense. The RedHawks are led by Brant Byers and Eian Elmer, the team's two best shooters, but Miami is not among the best defensive teams. Clearly, the RedHawks know how to win and have won a good number of close games. Travis Steele has put forth the claim that Miami cannot schedule quality games to boost its résumé. Though that is not a major issue in evaluating the quality of a team, it is certainly an impediment to the at-large process. If and when Miami loses a game -- or games -- this will be adjusted accordingly. Until then, The Bilas Index will honor the goose egg. 51. Akron Zips Though they're being outshined in the MAC by a still undefeated Miami (Ohio), the preseason conference favorite Zips are still putting together a good season. They even own a longer home winning streak -- 29 games, the nation's best -- than the RedHawks. In his fourth year with the program, Tavari Johnson leads the team in points (20.5) and assists (5.2).

To be fair, if Miami played Purdue or Troy on the road, they'd likely have more than one loss in those games alone. Miami got lucky in getting us at home when we were having an off shooting night too. That's another likely loss.

Which defeats the whole puurpose of having a fan council because money talks, and as a result, those voices are already loudly heard.

This seems archaic. All the Athletics Department has to do is take ZNO content and summarize it through AI. Bam. Done.

Of course it is, but being multi-dimensional provides resilience that makes this easier though.

This is the difference between good and great teams though. Great teams are multi-dimensional and struggling in one area does not doom them to a loss. If we had an alternative way to generate offense against Troy and Miami, we would have won those games, and we would be having a great season, not just a good one.

It was a solidly entertaining game. Mrs. Zipster even thought so on Valentine's Day.

Clearly you've been to Howard Street! 😆 Seriously though, this is the worst idea in a very long string of bad ideas by the MAC and its members' Presidents.

If it happens, this is tragic. Outside of Kent, Ohio and Miami are some of our best rivals. You think no one cares now?...wait until we have only directional Michigans, Buffalo and schools from three states away or on the opposite coast as our opponents.

Thanks. I don't do social media for a variety of reasons, so I had not seen this. This is about nothing more than the Sacramento media market for the sake of a larger TV contract. This is what college sports (and especially football) has become. It is sad and uninteresting. Why build a beautiful stadium if every decision is made in favor of tv viewership rather than creating a community atmosphere for alumni and friends of the university? It seems the two are mutual exclusive, as evidenced by Tuesday and Wendesday night games in November. Cue GP1 in 3, 2, ...

For what?

Why the G5 schools haven't already done this because none of them start the season with an opportunity to compete for a national championship is beyond me. Bowl games are nothing more than exhibition games, especially the low recognition/tradition ones. Other than a MACC this is all we are competing for even with a great season?! Big whoop. It's why I (and likely an casual Akron area college football fan) does not get excited about Akron football. This is also why Mount Union has college football interest, attention, and respect but we don't.

But there never was an option to ditch Buffalo and UMass in exchange for NDSU. The option would have been to add NDSU or not. I still favor not. It is on a geographic island and no one anywhere in Ohio cares about football in the middle of the Arctic, even if it is good football. In fact, it may be even worse that we get regularly whipped by another program with low to marginal brand recognition. The added travel expenses across all sports would also be significant. No thanks.

If YSU wants to waste money on excessive travel, let them. I see no value in regularly traveling to North Dakota just for the benefit of having another respectable football program in the MAC. With strained budgets and resources for both UA and its athletics department, this would be a total waste.

I strongly disagree. The MAC is still a regional conference, and with NIU gone, there is a breadth of three full states between the most westernly MAC school and NDSU. The MAC definitely does not need inflated travel budgets to make regular trips to the arctic. Besides, we already have a Canadian school that is much closer.

I didn't say we didn't play anybody in the OOC. I said, we didn't win in the OOC, and why would we when there is a defeatist attitude from the beginning? Of all the games you listed, I think the only ones we won was one against Penn State and another versus Mississippi State. That makes it 2-22 in the games you listed, if I counted right.

I watched UMass-Miami a few weeks ago. It was an excellent game that UMass could have won. Their big man is going to give us problems.

All the program building talk aside, relative to this game, UMass would be a very nice, relatively big name program to get a win against, even if they are in the MAC.

Everything about his attitude and comments indicated that the non-conference schedule didn't matter. It stymied any opportunity of building community excitement towards larger crowds and program momentum that could progressively build towards larger OOC wins and maybe at-large bids in future years. How would St. Mary's or Gonzaga fare if their coaches were perpetually saying that the OOC didn't matter? Or conversely, how would their programs nosedive if they started saying this going into next season? With a losing mentality you get losing. That's what KD's team had in the OOC and the non-MAC post-season. I give KD credit for elevating the program to sustained success in the MAC, but it was his time to move on.

Solid perspective.

The difference is that IU and UK have won many national championships and always make deep post-season runs AND they have traditionally been poor in football. Meanwhile, an Ohio school has not won a national championship in 60+ years and Ohio State sucks up all the interest for dominant football. Cleveland State, Can't, and Ohio all garnered national attention when they made NCAAT runs. Apathy is expected when we lose every major OOC game and post-season game outside of the MAC. To Joe Akron, we are a good team in a terrible conference, and that is supported every time we play external to the MAC. KD always said that all that mattered was winning the MAC. I think he had it completely backwards. Win outside the MAC, then people will start to care.

Exactly what I was thinking. Not that we should have beaten Purdue, but two of the other four losses should have been wins. It's the same story every year too, ever since KD...lose every important OOC game against respectable competition, compete hard to win the MAC/C, then get smoked in whatever post-season tournament we make. If athletics is about feeling and looking good for the sake of the university's brand/image, why not just schedule a complete slate of cupcakes and get a national ranking like the fraudster sweaters? They have to get up for five games per season and are doing it for that reason alone. They sleep walk through the rest of their schedule.

I did not. I don't bet. Crow tastes good when we still win though.