KNCLZip

Indeed, someone needs to be the "spokesman" for the group should there be media present, to be sure that the message is that the NIT blow-off is the issue. No mentions of the championship game clock error, etc. which are separate issues.We need to do it soon.....just please not when I have to teach class.

We can't change this year's selections, but we have to do something to let people know we're not satisfied and that the Zips were treated poorly and unfairly. Otherwise they'll step on us again thinking that we don't care!

His bio mentions Ohio State's 1999 Final Four appearance. Weren't they stripped of that? Should that be mentioned in an official bio considering that they were stripped of it? tOSU can't mention it; why can Boyages?

Here are some links. Send to as many as you can. Make sure you describe to them the whole situation in brief--but they should already know a lot of it. WEWS: http://www.newsnet5.com/station/967309/detail.htmlWOIO: http://woio.com/Global/category.asp?C=7148&nav=menu68_9_1 (links to emails on each reporter's page)WJW: http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/...tUs?pageId=5.11 Couldn't locate individual emails on a quick pass. Could use this form.WKYC: http://www.wkyc.com/company/bios/ This is a start anyway....

That is an extremely unprofessional email. I'd send it to every media outlet straight away. I'd also share with Proenza, Rhoades, and Dambrot. You don't call a fan "ignorant", regardless of what that fan wrote in the first place (not saying you wrote anything inappropriate--just saying that even if someone did, his response is not appropriate).We seriously need out of this hellhole of a conference asap. They clearly don't have any idea how to run an operation.

He sure did say that all the teams discussed were in....which included us. ESPN needs to be called on that as well. That's unprofessional. Then again, the whole process seems unprofessional.I'm going ahead with the 26 thing starting tomorrow lest people forget over the next 2 days.

That's it.....I'm putting the number 26 on my jersey to wear to work (at UA) tomorrow. My game-worn Linhart #33 gold throwback won at the silent auction last season is going to say #26 for the forseeable future. I have 200 students in class who will be seeing the contact information for the MAC and the NIT on a transparency placed on the projector before class. I can't sleep or calm down myself either.....

Captain, you need to send this to everyone. Proenza, Rhoades, the MAC office, the NCAA, Rasor, WEWS, everyone. Absolutely a great post. This was a slap in the face at every non-"BCS" basketball conference and at UA especially. And you're dead on about recruiting. How can we recruit against "BCS" conference teams in this situation?Honestly, I'm going to make sure not to watch a second of either tournament. I'm going to send ESPN, CBS, and WOIO letters explaining why (as if they care). At least that will make me feel better--that I'm not participating in their scheme.Bravo, Captain Kangaroo. That was one great post.

Wasn't the government (specifically President T. Roosevelt) behind the creation of the NCAA's predecessor, the IAAUS? ;)Seriously, there has to be something done to increase the transparency of the process. Right now it's apparent that the selection committees can basically pick whoever they want to maximize the $$$$ and lead people to believe it was about the play on the court when it was really about the $$$$. With that much money involved, maybe the nonprofit status needs to be reconsidered or something.

1. The 26 thing is a great idea. I might wear it tomorrow on my basketball jersey. One correction though.....we aren't relegated to Tuesday and Thursday nights because of ESPN. It's because of ESPNU that no one gets.2. The MAC/NCAA logo thing is good too. I might wear my football jersey sometime and put a big red X through the MAC logo on it.3. I bet WEWS would cover such a protest considering they seemed to agree on the air that we were screwed.4. This one would be a huge attention getter, but you're right....it's ridiculous. It would sure show that we're sick and tired of being screwed around with though.

Nothing really new there. KD was really too diplomatic imho.

Is something like this legal under antitrust laws? How can the NCAA, as the operator of both tournaments, be allowed to manipulate both tournaments so as to maximize their revenue? Are they completely exempt from this, with no recourse?

But wasn't our Sagarin and RPI better than that of some teams who got into the NIT? If the NCAA is going to act this way in March, maybe they should FORCE some of these "power" programs to play "mid-majors" on the road once in a while. Like that's going to happen......So if we go play these powerhouses at their places and lose, the powerhouses fatten up their records and we hurt our own. Then, knowing how they like smoky rooms, the selection committees will probably value W-L records and tell us that we didn't win enough games.

Not just Rhoades, but Proenza too. Seriously, this is deserving of his attention. Athletic exposure affects university exposure overall, including possibly hooking some high school students to apply and maybe drumming up donations. We got screwed out of more than just a basketball game. UA needs to get explanations from everyone involved--this includes the NCAA, the NIT committee of good ole boys helping each other out, and the MAC office. What did the MAC to to help us? Anything? I doubt the game was turned down. At very, very worst, I'm sure that our opponent, if lower seeded, would happily host. Not ideal for UA, but at least we'd play and have a chance to continue winning and make it to New York. If the game were turned down, then heads would need to roll in the JAR, but I doubt that very much.Indeed, the fans deserve a statement from Mack and/or Proenza. This is completely unacceptable. Even the ESPNU hacks said that we "should" have been in the NCAAs and would have if not for a fat-fingered clock operator and miracle shot that might not have even happened if time were kept correctly. How do we go from "should be in the NCAA" to not good enough for the NIT?

When I posted this, I never thought that the third option, "neither", was that much of a possibility. I should have realized that a spineless conference administration and the new "ownership" of the NIT along with the decrease in the size of the field from 40 to 32 and the automatic bids for regular-season champions might make the unthinkable actually possible. God, I think I'm going to go watch some continuing coverage of Anna Nicole Smith or something now. The only thing I still know that I know:

Nothing yet on the NIT's own web site. What kind of operation is it that can't update their important web site in a timely manner?its there...http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_cho...df/2007-Bracket Finally updated, thank goodness! I tried to pull it down after they showed them on TV and got a blank bracket with no schools, and reloaded it from time to time to be sure. They must have waited, which is silly. Post it as soon as it's announced on TV! (groan)

Nothing yet on the NIT's own web site. What kind of operation is it that can't update their important web site in a timely manner?

Austin Peay got in because they won the OVC regular season title. There were 24 at large bids in the NIT out of a 32 team field. What an absolute joke. We were one of the best 24 teams not selected by the NCAA. Actually, that reminds me, the NCAA bought the rights to the NIT this year. They are probably using it to reward sh!tty teams from major conferences. Ding ding ding. It's just an extension of the major conference bias now. In previous years the NIT had some independence.As for dumba$$es from certain other MAC schools celebrating this, have they considered that this is BAD for the MAC? Dumba$$es.....

That had better not be true. I don't care if due to scheduling conflicts we couldn't host as a higher seed--then agree to play at the lower seed. You don't turn down a postseason opportunity. If the admin turned down the NIT, heads need to roll.

I thought the guy was saying that Akron should have gotten into the NCAA -- what possible explanation is there for the Zips not getting into the NIT??? They discussed several teams, with UA first, and he said "those teams are all in." What else could that have been intended to mean?Proenza, Rhoades, et al had better be on this not tomorrow morning, but NOW. This is insane. I wonder, would the NCAA have taken us if they knew the NIT would skip us? I bet they just assumed the NIT would take us.We need out of the MAC now. It does us no good being in this conference.

What you said. F the NCAA, F the NIT committee, F the "power" conference bias....He said "all those teams are in" and lied? How does 26 wins not do it? F them all.F them!F the MAC administration for allowing this crap to happen.UA should get the H3ll out of the MAC, NOW!

After last night, NCAA looks pretty unlikely.Toledo's already assured a NIT bid because they are regular-season champions. The NIT field is smaller this year than in past years. Do we get a NIT nod? Could a 26-win team who lost its NCAA bid on a fluke shot and officials' error be left out of the postseason entirely?The way things are going lately, anything seems possible.

Hey Antonio....78-6866-6461-54

The clock operator was obviously asleep at the switch. But talking rule-wise, is there any way to correct that error without replaying from 6.6 seconds? Miami could have claimed that they had an eye on the clock and timed the shot to go as time expired; while the officials clearly screwed up, it may not be a correctable error.The big problem is that we didn't get it done from the FT line. If we make that free throw, a Miami 3 ties the game. If we make that free throw, we get a second shot which, if made, would put the game on ice with us up by 4. Not to excuse the officials, but we put ourselves in the position to be in peril and dependent on the clock operator.The TV announcers did mention that technically the officials could have called a technical foul on Miami for charging onto the court, but apparently they decided against that because the clock did show :00.0 so they couldn't be expected to know not to charge the court. Can you imagine if they did call the T? (Part of me cringes thinking about us needing one FT to tie and another to win [or at least go ahead with :00.6 left]....maybe I've gotten cynical tonight.)

Not wanting them to go one-and-done, just pretty confident that they will. They'll probably be a 15 or 16 and get to play a buzzsaw on Thursday or Friday..... Would it be cool if they did make a Cinderella run? Sure, it would be good for the MAC and might get the conference an at-large bid in the future. But I probably won't be advancing Miami in any brackets.....