Let'sGoZips94

Did something change with the strength & conditioning program because of COVID? Groce's teams in his first several years were built like Linebackers & Strong Safeties. I haven't seen the same growth strength wise these past two years.

He has tried to do too much on offense all season, and since he hasn't been able to execute at all on the offensive end lately, he has had mental meltdowns. It's incredibly annoying. This team, aside from Freeman, Aziz, Tribble and Dawson, is unacceptably weak mentally. They have zero leadership at the guard position, and that is why they constantly fall short of meeting their potential.

My statement from the WMU game stands. If I never saw Trimble, Ali, or X in an Akron uniform again, I wouldn't be upset.

Are they reviewing that for a flagrant foul?

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Agreed - it's a fun discussion. Re Re Paragraph 1: $2.25M is a big deal for Akron, considering they're presumably only getting ~$750k from the MAC's media deal. Add in the rest of the revenue, and that's $4-5M. Half the conversations surrounding Akron are discussions about their financial troubles. How do I know the AAC will be around in 10 years? Because ESPN is paying them ~$1B over 12 years starting a year or two ago. Over the next 10 years, I think we'll see another seismic shift in the organization of college athletics as well. I'm not saying the AAC should be the end-all-be-all goal, but whichever conference is the best G5 conference, that should be the next target for Akron after dominating the MAC. The AAC currently is THE G5 conference, and that's supported by ESPN's $1B media deal, their $43M in annual media revenue, and $111M total conference revenue. They dwarf the other G5 conferences. Re Re Paragraph 2: I don't disagree that Akron has the ability to be successful and draw fans while in the MAC. I disagree it has everything it needs, but that would be a digression. The point of the schedule: Joe Akron doesn't give a damn about Directional Michigans, NIU, Canada, etc. They care about Ohio State and P5. What schools have made a name for themselves consistently knocking off the Ohio States and other P5 schools? They're largely in the AAC. "Oh look, Akron is playing Wichita State Tuesday night at the JAR. I used to not attend Tuesday night games, as they're inconvenient, especially when it's against a garbage NIU team, but I think I'll attend this time against Wichita State." Case and point: Remember the Bracket Busters and return games from that series? They vastly out-drew the other OOC & non KSUcks/OU/Buffalo/Toledo/Miami crowds. You'd have 2.5-3k against Western Michigan, and 4.5-5k against North Dakota State, or sellouts for VCU, Nevada, MTSU, etc. I'm sure the same reflection would be seen in football if football was competent enough to make the every-week opponent matter. Sure, making the Akron campus a place to be is a component, but that's an easier sell when there's built-in excitement of not being a MAC school, but rather AAC or whatever the top level G5 conference is. Re Re Paragraph 3: Here is what you have (excluding basketball-only Big East & A10)... Tier One: Big Ten, SEC, PAC12 Tier Two: Big 12, ACC Tier Three: AAC, MWC Tier Four: Sun Belt, CUSA, MAC Tier One pulls from Tier Two to grow. Tier Two replenishes with Tier Three. Tier Three replenishes with Tier Four. That is the cycle of growth in college athletics. Thus, colleges do get "promoted". Programs may be in decline from a results standpoint, but their bank accounts probably aren't hurting given the revenue the bigger conferences generate. Look at Kentucky. Kentucky was a dormant football program for years, and now they're a top 25 program consistently. They raked in the revenue while being dormant, and have found success. Texas A&M just produced the #1 football recruiting class in the country. Will it translate to success? Who knows under Jimbo Fisher, but they're raking in the SEC revenue while doing so. Do you think Maryland or Rutgers regret gaining a share of the Big Ten revenue? I doubt it. And they're programs have elevated more and more each year. I doubt TCU is hurting. They're raking in Big 12 revenue, while getting a chance (and successfully at times) to knock of #12 Baylor, #4 Oklahoma, etc., in football. Basketball is even better with WVU, Kansas, Iowa State, etc. Re Re Paragraph 4: $1B evidence that the AAC leadership is better. Agreed in holding the leadership at Akron to the highest standard possible. I don't care to hold a stagnant mindset. There is living in the moment, which is great, but it's empty to me if you're not striving for growth in the future. I don't see how not striving to grow to the fullest potential athletically (and ultimately as a university in its entirety) benefits anyone.

Who?

Paragraph 1 Response: $43M / 14 = $3M & some change (AAC) $9M / 12 = $750k & some change (MAC) ~$2.25M added to the budget each year is pretty significant. And that's just their media deal. Here is a better breakdown of the AAC financials. The American Athletic Conference carries much more prestige than the MAC, hence why ESPN gave them a 12 year, ~$1B media deal. "MACtion" is the butt of college athletics jokes. Attaching yourself to the AAC is a much smarter business move. Paragraph 2 Response: You're telling me Akron fans the average college sports fan who lives in the Akron area wouldn't be more intrigued to watch Penny Hardaway (Memphis) & Wichita State at the JAR, or SMU, ECU, etc. at the Info? The road contingency is a moot point for me, because I don't see droves of Akron fans at WMU/CMU/EMU/Balls/NIU/Canada/Miami/any MAC road game minus KSUcks. I don't know what Wake Forest has to do with anything. Paragraph 3 Response: Cincy was CUSA, got promoted to AAC, and has now found its way into the Big 12. Why can't Akron follow a similar path? They are very similar in size. I don't know for certain that Guthrie has a bigger vision than the MAC for Akron, but I do know he had a bigger vision for the football program than a MAC-level coach, and football drives college athletics. What a resume builder it would be to elevate Akron out of the MAC. I'm not sure how growing athletics revenue doesn't benefit all parties involved. "Fantasy time" seems to be believing the opposite. Paragraph 4 Response: Glad we agree on something. Not sure why you'd be ok staying under poor leadership, though.

National rankings for Rebounds Per Game 1 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky Jr. 6-9 2 Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley So. 6-11 3 Armando Bacot North Carolina Jr. 6-10 4 Norchad Omier Arkansas St. Fr. 6-7 5 Kofi Cockburn Illinois Jr. 7-0 6 Enrique Freeman Akron So. 6-7 National rankings for Double Doubles 1 Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley So. 6-11 2 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky Jr. 6-9 3 Johni Broome Morehead St. Fr. 6-10 - Armando Bacot North Carolina Jr. 6-10 5 Justin Bean Utah St. Sr. 6-7 - Norchad Omier Arkansas St. Fr. 6-7 7 Enrique Freeman Akron So. 6-7 If Enrique Freeman isn't First Team All MAC, that would be criminal. And yes, he is in the conversation for the best player in the conference.

It's pretty simple. Getting a share of a $43M pie gives you a better financial foundation, exposure, etc., than a share of a $9M pie. Schedule wise, to the average college sports fan, what gets them more intrigued: Memphis, Temple, East Carolina, Tulsa, SMU or NIU, EMU, WMU, CMU, Balls? Add Wichita State for basketball, Navy for football. It's a pretty easy answer. The American Athletic Conference is the bridge from G5 to P5. Why not dream big and build a plan to achieve that goal? Moorhead is not a MAC-level coach. Guthrie didn't aim for MAC-level. He's aiming for bigger & better. We as fans should expect that. The MAC blows. The leadership is never ahead of the curve, slow to adjust, and lacks any type of innovative thinking to elevate the level of the conference.

Growing revenue benefits all parties mentioned in your comment. The innocence of college athletics is long gone; it's all about money. Not to mention getting away from Directional Michigans would breathe some much needed new life into the athletic schedules.

Because MWC's media deal is worth more than double the MAC's, and the AAC's media deal is worth almost 5x the MAC's. FY 2019 Media Revenue: AAC $43,988,700 Up from 2018 22M and 2017 21M MWC $19,853,461 Up from 2018 14M and 2017 13M CUSA $6,440,156 Down from 2018 4M and up from 2017 3M SBC $3,920,523 Up from 2018 1M* MAC $9,186,590 Up from 2018 8M, but down from 2017 8M Not to mention competition level is a step up in those two conferences.

I'm not sure how much these numbers have changed since 2019, but I'm struggling to see any advantage to moving among CUSA/SWAC/MAC. The goal for any G5 should always be to get to the AAC, or even the MWC depending on location. Otherwise it's a lateral/backwards move. FY 2019 Total Revenue: AAC $111,278,729 Up from 2018 73M and 2017 77M MWC $59,467,622 Up from 2018 57M and 2017 54M CUSA $40,861,629 Down from 2018 44M and 2017 38M SBC $33,072,881 Up from 2018 27M * MAC $32,241,698 Up from 2018 30M, but down from 2017 30M. FY 2019 Media Revenue: AAC $43,988,700 Up from 2018 22M and 2017 21M MWC $19,853,461 Up from 2018 14M and 2017 13M CUSA $6,440,156 Down from 2018 4M and up from 2017 3M SBC $3,920,523 Up from 2018 1M* MAC $9,186,590 Up from 2018 8M, but down from 2017 8M

This is a wild story. The Big 12 schools joining the SEC aren't leaving for a couple of years. Why are Marshall/ODU/Southern Miss bolting so quickly?

Wouldn't be upset if I never saw Ali, X, and Trimble in an Akron uniform again. How dare you waste Freeman & Aziz with your laziness.

Don't mind this one. This is a huge possession.

McMillan is an idiot.

I've never seen a team lose concentration so often when trying to catch/gather the ball.

Nope. Just a down year with no killer guards.

Double Double for Freeman. The guy is a machine.

I think we should replace him with Evan Wilson. Maybe Evan can score.

Bigs are dominating. We're a DII team offensively minus Freeman.

Aziz is having his best game as a Zip. Watching him and Freeman grow together is fun.