Blue & Gold

Dang, check out Toledo's recruiting class. Very impressive.Toledo Rockets

I closed my browser and reconnected (for the 3rd time) and now it's working. Third time's a charm for me!

black screen and no sound for meThat's exactly what I'm getting.

Is it just my computer, or is anyone else having trouble getting Coach RI's press conference on GoZips.com?

Here's hoping we can lock up a few more WRs. Only 25% of the verbals so far are WRs. If we can get that figure up to 50% we will be able to use the 6 wide out offense more.Lol. I'm also thrilled in seeing so few DL's & OL's. What a waste of schollies they are. People used to think the game was won & lost @ the line of scrimmage. I'm glad to see we've outgrown that archaic notion.

Does anyone know whether this game will be online anywhere?

Well, I'm not going to be able to make the epic matchup today; stuck coaching/refing a youth basketball league all day. Could you guys, if able, make sure to provide consistent updates? Hopefully/fortunately I'll be able to follow along on my BlackBerry.

Thanks Zff!LinkyPlays basketball too. Usually a good sign.box score

There are obviously many Zips fans that care, but not as many as the pro teams have. We're also collectively quieter. Browns fans or Indians fans or OSU fans or whatever get out and talk about there team to the media. They wear their team colors everywhere.There are quite a few Akron fans who don't do this because they get crap for it. "Why are you an Akron fan?" "Who cares about the Zips?" Stuff like that. I try to wear something Zips-related everywhere I go, whether it's a hat or a t-shirt or a tie. It's the small things done collectively that add up.i hear ya. I wear my Zips gloves and winter hat every day when i go out. Not to mention a Zips hoodie or shirt nearly every day.I was walking into the Hartville Giant Eagle. I saw two guys, one of whom was wearing a Zips' Soccer scarf. I said, "Hey, nice scarf!" At first he thought I must have been joking (at least that's how I interpreted his reaction) but a second later he knew I was sincere and he said, "Heck yeah! Go Zips!"I wear my Zips stuff pretty regularly. I coach a little kids basketball team @ my church & Trevor Wiegand (sp?) is in the league. Coach Wiegand picks him up once in a while & I get to chat with him for a couple of minutes. Extremely nice guy. He always likes my Akron gear! Lol.

Sweet. Thanks a lot!

I would hope we wouldn't ever completely "move on" from Fear the Roo. It's a very well-liked slogan. We don't have to necessarily be "centered" around Fear the Roo, but I think we should always have some FTR gear available. We're kinda know for FTR now.

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this.All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.Excuse my ignorance= is WZIP the same as 1350? I have started to listen to that (1350) along with 850 on the radio on my way home MOSTLY b/c I want to hear some Zips talk. 1350 talks about the same stuff as 850. Have not heard ONE THING about Akron...perhaps something about Ianallo becoming the new coach, progress of Zeke Marshall, etc. RIDICULOUS to blame or have something against Cleveland with the failings of attendance, proper UA coverage, etc. Cleveland local tv news doesn't even cover CSU that well, and in the PD there are articles about Akron, Zips, etc. Aeros get coverage as well. In addition, when the Info was about to open/opened there was quite a bit of TV coverage on the opening. Quite a few articles about the Zips soccer run as well. Point is= Do something NEWSWORTHY and it WILL get covered in Cleveland!!!!No. 1350 is WAKR. Just last week 1350 started a new radio program on 1350 between 3-6 pm, M-F.This is hosted by a local guy, Jon M. He is a UA grad.On his opening show he commented that the program will be dedicated to North East Ohio teams....including the Zips and they will avoid the national sports scene.Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about the Zips and his partner has never been to a game at the JAR. So much for the local flavor...And you guessed it, they are Buckeye fans willing to talk all day about them...The most we get out of the program is some advertising as to the time of the home games....on game day.....Lol. I heard that too. The co-host has never been the JAR for a game. It's pretty lame. They refer to Columbus State as "we." They refer to the Cleveland teams as "we." It's hardly local. Same old, same old.But, I'm sure they'd be happy if we called in. We could probably turn the show into a true local show if we'd dominate the phone lines. I usually don't have time to call into a radio show, but I'm sure I could make the time.When I was listening (Monday - the first day on the air) someone did call in and ask about UA's creampuff scheduling & the upcoming Rhode Island game (obviously a ZN member ). Unfortunately, they really didn't have much opinion or insight & pretty much shifted the focus back to Columbus.

The economy has forced the overpriced to get lean. Comparing super bowl commercial cost to an Akron basketball ticket price is apples and oranges. The economy should have little to do with the attendance at an Akron basketball game. I know a few of my friends out of work looking for low cost entertainment. They have no idea about Akron basketball. How would they ever know? Why not take advantage of the current economic situation to advertise the product as such...affordable sports entertainment? How about getting more students to the game. I counted 37 at the RI game. Yes I realize the semester has not started, but plenty of students live close enough.This is my viewpoint on the issue as well. While the current economic downturn should probably put a bit of a dent in the outrageously overpriced tickets for professional sporting events, I believe it should actually help colleges gain even more fans.

Wow. Congrats to LeVon! You are a much better man than I, LeVon!

Sounds good in theory, but you have the Akron Aeros breaking attendance records, with the Cleveland stations pimping the Indians. The Force sold out the Coliseum despite being ignored and laughed at by the sports media.So what do these teams have that the Zips don't? How can the Aeros average 4900 fans at 71 home games, against "big name programs" like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the New Britain Rock Cats? With sometimes 6-7 home games in a week? Or the Force playing world power Baltimore Blast in front of 18,000?I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back...Excellent point about the Aeros. They do draw exceptionally well for a minor league baseball team. The Cleveland Force illustration doesn't do it as much for me though, because they were always tagged CLEVELAND Force. Idk, I used to love the old Richfield Coliseum. Richfield is an Akron suburb, not a Cleveland suburb. That's when I think Cleveland & Akron were in cooperation regionally. Then they built the Gund in downtown Cleveland, and promised to never host another entertainment event in the Coliseum. That's one of the significant moments when we in the Akron area had to start holding our own against the economic black hole to the north.And you say, "I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back..."To this I would concur... partially. I don't think the Cleveland media is the ONLY factor holding us back. I believe it is a multi-faceted problem, with many factors being UA's own fault (lousy teams, marketing, facilities, service, etc.). But I do believe that the pertetual ignorance of UA by the Cleveland media is a piece to the puzzle, even a significant piece.

Then they'd have to ask for more airtime from the newscast producers, and they'd be unable to cover the pro teams at all. 5-7 minutes a day is more than the nightly news sports segment.True, very true. That wasn't really the point I was trying to make though. To clarify, I was simply trying to illustrate the fact that if, in stead of Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes, the Zips received the airtime, the local perception would be quite different. I wasn't arguing for, or expecting, 5 minutes of Zips coverage in addition to the regular sports coverage, that'd probably be, what, almost 15 minutes of sports in a half-hour newscast?Unfortunately, the way things sit presently, the Zips receive less coverage than local high schools.

Couldnt be more correct B&G!! Television is justification to those cleveland lovers of OSU, CSU, etc. They want nothing to do with Akron U and dont want to see/hear about them either. Its an incredible handicap that we live with (no TV station) yet were not alone. Same goes for BG, Miami, OU, And Can't so complaining about it is futile. It was refreshing to see/ hear the interest we got last year when we made the NCAA tournement. U are correct, even the powers that be at 3,5,and 19 didnt ignore us then.Hey Scott, thanks for disagreeing "respectfully." That's great! It's fantastic to have a forum where we can toss around & entertain different ideas and viewpoints. But sometimes, recently, the dialogue on ZN has gotten disappointingly personal and combative in spirit, which is a shame. Great thoughts!

Embarrassing. Replica jerseys are a staple item for any team shop. The team shop is barely above high school level.

Yeah, I'm sure Can't paid for the advertisment. Doesn't UA throw some adds up there too? It'd be a nice, logical spot to promote upcoming games.

Bobcats lost their "glue" in soph. Stephen Coleman (broken hand) two weeks ago and haven't figured out how to replace his points and/or court sense. They don't match up well with Akron's "bigs" either. OU is a year away from being a very good team, so the obvious advantage to Akron.When watching Ohio University basketball, the obvious advantage is ALWAYS in Akron's favor.Prediction: I don't know what the score will be, but we'll b8tch slap the Bobkitties around... again... as usual.

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc. Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

At this point, this thread could converge with the "New Arena Rumor" thread. Some naysayers state that we don't need a new arena because we don't fill up the JAR now. IMO, that's like saying one doesn't need a car to take a road trip because you don't take road trips on your bicycle now.But in all honesty, we really need to kick the non-con up a notch in order to draw more paying customers to the JAR. Only diehard Zips fans want to watch the Zips mop up on mostly less-than-worthy opponents. Right now, there just aren't enough diehards to fill the JAR. And if some new fans did wander in off the street, what did they witness? Well, most of the games have been YAWNERS.I brought a friend to the St. Francis game. Kinda lame.The Rhode Island game, on the other hand, was great! Even though it was a loss, the arena was electric, people were into the game, at a few certain points it was so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. That was a great experience. I wish I had been able to bring a few friends to that game. THEY WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY WANTED TO RETURN! Most of our home schedule? Not a chance. Again, only attractive to us diehard Zips fans who, like myself, would pay $10 to watch an inter-squad scrimmage in the parking lot.We need to schedule more... A-10 (UNC Charlotte, Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, UMass, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, St. Joe's, St. Louis, Temple, Xavier)C-USA (Houston, Rice, SMU, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Central Florida, East Carolina, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss)WAC (Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Utah State)Mountain West (Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, TCU, UNLV, Utah, Wyoming)Horizon League (Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit, UW-Green Bay, Loyola, UW-Milwaukee, UIC, Valpo, Wright State, Youngstown State)Theoretically, if what we hear about it being so difficult for mid-majors to schedule is true, shouldn't most, if not all, of the above schools be in the same boat that we are, and thus, be looking for games themselves? If mid-major scheduling is so difficult, most of the above schools should be thrilled to get a phone call from Akron looking for a few games.I just know we need more atmosphere in the JAR like we experienced @ the Rhode Island game to start attracting new fans. That environment and entire game experience (save the L) was a blast, which people would pay good money to experience.

<br /><b>zip37</b>, I see you got it. Keep the faith.<br /><br />Oh, and for you unbelievers, Dan Peters is also a friend of mine. We just had the future scheduling<br />conversation at the <b>On Tap</b> last Monday night.<br />Well, go on. Do tell. Who are we hoping to get on the schedule?

I've said this before and so I'll toss it out again. IMO we really do need to kick the OOC home schedule up a notch. But we don't need to bring Big Ten or Big East teams to the JAR. If they won't, as KD laments, do home-and-home series, then forget 'em. Fine. Whatever. But we should be able to get home-and-homes with most, if not all, of the schools in the Mountain West, Missouri Valley, A-10 and WAC. Why aren't we brining these schools into town?

It is a positive.I was a MAC football fan before I was a zips fan because of those games. Every sports bar in America is tuned in during them. Kids being recruited by those MAC schools are reminded to watch and tune in. Exposure is good. Anyone arguing against this is defending the honor of the MAC conference and Akron against common sense.I think the MAC weeknight nationally televised games are a positive too. I do, however, agree with the sentiment above that if ESPN decides not to televise a game (a la EMU-UA) that they should let the schools involved change the time to a Saturday if they desire. What does it hurt ESPN at that point and it would likely only help the schools involved and their fans.It happened to work out well for UA this year, as wasn't there a high school playoff game @ the Info that Saturday night? The more of those games we can host the better. It's a big-time stadium on a now big time campus. The more people we can have experience it the better.