Let'sGoZips94

Have you seen what these P5 programs offer? Their facilities, food, equipment, etc. are all worth the 1 year exploration. I don't blame anyone for looking to go P5.

I bet UNCW fans don't have the coldest walk of their lives from the parking lot to the arena. That's also part of it. I swear there's a fan blowing down Carroll Street when you're walking to the JAR.

Also, looks like Toledo at Akron has been moved to Friday, FEB 2nd, and will be televised on ESPN2 at 9pm.

Bradley is up to 72 in the NET, which officially gives Akron its first Quad 2 win. As of 1/15/2024, Akron's 4 losses are... Utah State - 19th in NET Drake - 64th in NET St. Bonnie - 78th in NET UNLV - 91st in NET Securing James Madison (61st in NET) on the schedule would be HUGE in terms of SOS. What a great OOC schedule Groce & Co. put together. And as always, F the NCAA for preventing Ali Ali from playing in 3 of those games.

CJ Nunnally was JUCO. P5 gets me more excited but sometimes JUCOs are the junk yard dawgs and real players.

Looking like it'll be Akron @ James Madison for Part 2 of the Sun Belt/MAC challenge.

15 pt loss to the lowly Chipps. Yikes. Pinky's face reddens.

OU blows. Western hasn't played a single team worth a damn and has some really bad losses. They've also played a garbage MAC very closely in their victories.

Buffalo didn't move from their 345th spot. Lol.

I think Lyles and Prather are guaranteed transfers. Tavari leans transfer for me, but he might want to stay with Groce. Regardless, I'm glad we have guys like Sharron Young coming in (just got nominated to be a McDonalds All American).

He's figuring out where he fits, and it's incredible to see.

The teams in bold that you mentioned are pretty much the majority of those "second most ACC wins". Add in some down FSU teams, and that accolade isn't very impressive. The ACC is not a good football conference, and Wake Forest is consistently 7-6, 8-4 at best in recent seasons (11-3 or something like that was their best record a year or 2 ago, which was indeed impressive). Teetering around .500 or slightly above .500 does very little for the ACC. You mentioned the six national championships in non-revenue sports. I specifically referenced their impact on the ACC, or lack thereof, when it comes to revenue sports. I would hope a private school that mooches $40M per year in conference media revenue would be able to produce strong country club/Olympic sports. Imagine what Akron or many G5 programs could do with the $40M that the ACC schools get thanks to Clemson, Florida State, and UNC/Duke basketball. I stand by my statement: Wake Forest does nothing for the ACC when it comes to revenue sports.

He is much more fun this year. A lot less frustrating and he isn't a ball-movement-killer.

That's the strongest move I've seen Hunter make in an Akron uniform. Not saying much, but that was a legitimately strong move.

Pinky's face reddens...

What a move by Ali Ali. I don't remember him having the fake spin move during his first stint at Akron. He's done it a couple times this year and it is a thing of beauty.

The back-cut by Tribble is exactly what we weren't seeing early in the season.

I'd imagine the Enrique Freeman story is also a nice draw for CBS to highlight. There aren't many noteworthy players in the MAC this year, and Akron has 2 of them (Freeman and Ali Ali). We just changed our flight back from Florida to Sunday instead of tomorrow. 32 mph winds at landing with gusts up to 40-60 mph. Our flight tomorrow was supposed to take off right as the Browns game kicks off. Now I get to watch the Browns from paradise after watching the Zips take care of business tonight without having to worry about packing to come home.

Many MW schools are located in places where they're either the only show or one of the few shows within hundreds of miles. Especially with the disintegration of the PAC12, the Mountain West is now the premier western-USA athletic conference. Within a 45-60 minute radius of Akron are 3 other DI basketball programs (PCCC, Cleveland State, and Youngstown State). In addition to Akron and the aforementioned 3 schools, Ohio also has BUGS, Toledo, Wright State, Dayton, Xavier, Cincy, Ohio State, and Ohio. We also have the Guardians, Browns, and Cavaliers within 40 minutes of Akron. Compare that to Utah State, Boise State, Wyoming, etc. There's only so much "entertainment money" to go around for the average family, especially in this economy. There are way too many options for people to place their fandom and money for Akron to get a larger slice of the pie without 1) a conference change and/or 2) better marketing/gameday experience. @GP1 can say all he wants that a different conference wouldn't make a difference for Akron, but he also is a Wake Forest fan which literally rides the coat tails of the rest of the ACC financially while contributing borderline nothing to the conference for 1-2 decades when it comes to the revenue sports. Athletically, the MAC/CUSA/Sun Belt would make more sense for Wake Forest, but not financially which is why they won't be leaving the ACC anytime soon. And an elevated conference for Akron would absolutely do the same. The MAC's media deal is one of the best for G5 football. However, there is virtually zero incentive for a network to match or increase that deal when it expires. The American is already more lucrative and the Sun Belt has arguably surpassed the MAC. More money = JAR renovations/new arena, better gameday experience, better marketing, etc. Why would anyone in Northeast Ohio care about Akron vs. (insert directional Michigan or almost any other MAC program aside from PCCC, OU, and somewhat Toledo)? Make that Akron vs. the A10, and you get a little more interest. Akron vs. the American, and you probably get even more interest. Akron vs. American/A10/etc. + an improved gameday atmosphere/marketing, and by George, I think you've cracked the code. There are things Akron can do in the present to improve the gameday experience/marketing which would draw a certain number of fans to the games that may not otherwise attend. But as you stated, @Illini Zip, Akron basketball is pretty much at its ceiling in the MAC (aside from winning a NCAA Tourney game).

This is how that conversation would go with Akron marketing and the sponsor company's sales team... Sponsor: "Love it. How often does Freeman get a double double?" Akron: "Almost every game." Sponsor: "Make it a free milkshake with the purchase of a meal."

Can you convince the Big Ten to take us? 😉 College athletics is moving towards a more a-la-carte system. The MAC does not sponsor at least two sports that a few of their full time member schools are some of the best programs in the nation - men's hockey and men's soccer. Unfortunately, we're not quite there when it comes to breaking up basketball programs from FBS football programs. I am looking forward to that day, but who knows when that will come.

The biggest pricing issue for the UofA is their apparel. The goal needs to be do get the "A", Zippy, Roo, "Akron", "Zips", etc., onto as many bodies as possible. $30 for their shirts, $40-50 for their sweatshirts/pullovers/polos - ridiculous prices for a college that has to compete with every knock off company making stuff for Ohio State and selling it for $10-20. Apparel is how you create excitement/attachment.

Rumor has it Bill Belichick will be retaining Arth in LA after an endorsement from Peyton Manning.

Because it would be cool.

Yeah, the world has become full of 💩's. We need good people like JD in positions of power. How to play WR in 2005: See ball. Catch ball. How to play WR in 2024: See ball. Catch ball.