UA1987

Zipseuph 1) yes we have freshmen every year but the point is people like the 110 have more returning members (something hard for us to do these past couple of years with the band director situation) and that makes life tons easier2) louder does not mean better when it comes to sound3) in band you can either have challenging music or challenging marching style Akron has the music OU has the marching style4) your directors name is Dick Suk. (no real argument in this I just thought it was funny and wanted to point it out)side note. I met prof suk once and I gotta say he's a pretty cool guythe 110 does a lot of great things and they are a fun band to watch don’t get me wrong. but it's impossible to compare them to Akron because they are two totally different thingsWhat happened with the Band Director situation referenced in #1 above (I believe a well liked and talented Director recently died) and do things for the Band look they are in good hands going forward? Who does the Band Director report to at the University?My guess is the Prof Suk at OSU likes to be called Richard instead of Dick. I got a chuckle out of this one.

Well, count me in as one that does think that the band plays a large part in the color and tradition of a college football game. This topic was discussed in detail last Spring in a thread I started named 'UA Traditions'. It was an interesting discussion and good reading for those of you that did not see it.Football is a game that has many war metaphors. This is the reason that many fans like to hear some military music and see military marching formations prior to a game. It would be exciting to hear a drum line from far off and then see a military march of 100 or so in the band approaching the field of battle (Infocision). I don't see why we could not do this, despite what instruments we have in the band. Stage at the Stiles field house (or JAR) next year and march (parade) to the stadium to drums and an occasional 'to arms' military bugal number. It would get everyone very excited and involved. I really like our fight song and how Akron's band plays it. You hear the quality of the sound of our band when the National Anthem is played. At halftime the band could show off its musical expertise, but before the game we need them to get us all worked up.

Our OOC schedule was negotiated by Mike Thomas through the 2011 season. Changes have been made since like canceling our Kentucky three game series, which included 1 home game. I would have preferred dumping Wisconsin and keeping Kentucky despite the slightly higher 1 game payday. I have to say that I liked our OOC schedule this year except for Wisconson. By the way, the goal of our Athletic Department is not to play these guarantee away only football games. I hope you nuts that like them so much won't be disappointed when we start doing things the right way for the football program.Great game on tonite... Memphis vs Louisville. I like to see Akron sign a home and home contract either on one of them. A Memphis/Akron rematch of the 2005 Motor City Bowl would be very interesting. Go Zips.

Well due to injuries to the other 2 qbs he did take all the snaps in practice on Wednesday, however it appears he won't start on Sunday:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seah...awknotes09.htmlLooks like he may get some playing time though:http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/seah...ndex.html#33111As of 6:00 today, it appears he is the likley starter. ESPN.

Heard a report that Charlie will be the likely starter for the Seahawks this weekend against Green Bay.

Explain to me why we have to win all these things first before we "move on"?Can't we get really good somewhere else just as easy (if not easier) than where we are?I'm not saying we are moving or not, I just don't understand the point of "winning" and THEN moving.I don't know exactly what Class of 82 meant, but if we do not start to win consistently over the next few years, 5 years from now the Info will be half full on good days and on other days Mount Union will out draw us.. Few fans, no revenue, no recruits, no conference would be interested.I agree. But then the answer is to start winning consistently, isn't it? In the long run, a crappy Big East or C-USA program that can't compete with the best MAC teams isn't going to draw any better than a mediocre MAC team that can't beat the best MAC teams.What needs to happen, IMO, is for the brain trust running our program to take full advantage of the new stadium and the excitement (and attendance) that it generates. If we do that, then maybe someday we can "move up" to a better conference and actually be ready for it when we get there.I can agree with that. I cannot imagine anyone considering us for an offer to move until we can prove we have fans and can generate revenue at home over the next several years. Fans will come to Akron with consistant winning against reasonable and interesting competition.

Previous posters ran the numbers. Read them. What can screw this up over the next few years is bad scheduling and losses. We have to win to draw and keep the fans. Nobody is saying we should rely strickly on home attendance. A favorable OOC away schedule could bring in good money. Yes, your above mentioned TV exposure can help (hasn't done much for us though), if we don't get clobbered and the announcers are fair. Until we win consistently even when we play well against an elite team, it will be because they didn't play well against the 'little school' (I don't think potential Akron recruits like to hear that). I hear it all of the time... even on local radio with Todd Blackledge and Chris Speilman (Speilman does compliment MAC teams a bit more than Blackledge, however). I'm sick of it and I'm sick of this conversation too. We've tried it the 'Payday' way for the last 21 years now it's time to schedule strategically and win. How can anyone argue against winning and the revenue that will bring. Unbelievable.

Explain to me why we have to win all these things first before we "move on"?Can't we get really good somewhere else just as easy (if not easier) than where we are?I'm not saying we are moving or not, I just don't understand the point of "winning" and THEN moving.I don't know exactly what Class of 82 meant, but if we do not start to win consistently over the next few years, 5 years from now the Info will be half full on good days and on other days Mount Union will out draw us.. Few fans, no revenue, no recruits, no conference would be interested.

It's not about the people on the board not liking OSU. That's not part of of it. I even indicated that in my post. No it's about the fact that we do recruit from areas where the kids don't care for OSU. They are Penn State fans, Michigan fans, Purdue fans. You basically state that we should schedule OSU because we are an Ohio school and all other big programs we should give the thumbs down to if they won't play us at home. That's poor logic. Do you not think that the recurits we have from Appalachia Ohio and Western PA don't want to go to Beaver Stadium and play a program that snubbed them? I'm for money games. Especially when the money game pays better then any bowl game we might qualify for unless we manage an undefeated season. Do I think we should play Penn State, OSU, and Michigan in the same year? No. Do I think we should schedule them on a once a year rotation? Yes. Because it is a great recruiting tool for the pipeline states we recruit in. Hell if we could get a game against Georgia Tech that would be a big coup for our Atlanta recruiting base.Let me try to summarize my argument for you so that you might understand:1) We've played the LSU's the Florida's the Auburn's ect... for the last 21 years and we have not developed winning tradition as a result. Our best season in IA has been 7-3-1, and that was in 1992. In the past we had to schedule this way to fund Football operations. These were not effective recruiting tools as very few kids on our roster were from these states. These were MONEY related games that tore down the reputation of our program, but we had to do it because we could not draw at the worn down Rubber Bowl.2) With our new stadium, our Football operations will be in the black. We no longer need the MONEY games for football. We should not be putting our football program in bad contracts just to fund other University non-revenue sports, for the present. Bad contracts are agreements that exclude our opponent from playing in our stadium as home field advantage is key to winning.3) We should be scheduling OOC games with high level competition from the Big East and Conference USA to develop interest in these teams and conferences. Teams from both conferences would play at the Info, which would give us a better shot at winning. Other OOC games could come from other conferences, but only if one game in the contract is played here (one exception - OSU as our program recruits heavily in Ohio). Penn State in 2009 does nothing for recruiting as it was just announced. Most if not all of our 2009 recruits will be in Akron watching it on TV. 4) Northeast Ohio is desperate for a winner. If we turn into the Boise State of the Midwest we will have fans piling into the Info for years to come. Enrollment would spike, recruiting would improve, gear sales would be up... now we could syphon off a bit for non-revenue sports. We might even find ourselves in being invited to an upper level bowl to play and beat an elite program. Now some of these things may happen even if we do play one bad contract a year. 1 out of 12 is only 8.33333% as our Captain Kangaroo has said. But I'd be willing to bet that most would scream like Ned Beatty in Deliverance if someone tried to take 8.33333% of anything away from you. I don't like chiseling our schedule down at all for a short term departmental budget balancing act. I'm not hitching up to that strategy. Some of you have... now lets see how our AD plays this one out.

What am I missing? You rip the AD for scheduling Penn State, yet tosu is an exception? Huh?Over the last decade PSU has been pretty good a few years and really average the others. Take the chance we catch them on a down year and take the cash as well. I am banking on Mack getting FMV for the game, unlike what tosu paid us last year- yet you want to schedule them?Over half of our team hails from Ohio. It is the dream of almost every young football player from Ohio to play for OSU. Where have you been? Ohio State has developed a history and a winning tradition. A game in Ohio Stadium is truely a recruiting tool for those athletes that get snubbed by that program. So there's your exception. Duh.What a stupid exception! Is sounds like you just want to watch OSU. Now playing tosu is a recruiting tool, yet a very large number of current players on the roster hail from Pennsylvania and playing PSU isn't a recruiting tool? Ridiculous.I thought you wanted wins...not recruiting tools...What are you 12 years old. I don't talk to little kiddies if I can help it. Welcome to my ignore list.

Your logic fails to recognize people that hate OSU (and no I don't mean us Zips fan boys) but there are plenty of people in Ohio that grow up dreaming of playing at Michigan, Penn State, or Michigan State to play where their childhood heroes played.You have a very Ohio-centric view point. And considering that only about 40% of our roster hails from Ohio completely negates your "OSU is a different story" argument. Fact is playing big time programs are a viable recruiting tool for non-BCS schools. No matter who the big time program is. It's the good ole "prove you're better" type deal. Bottom line, if you are going to argue against the money game, you argue against all money games. You don't get to pick and choose.You and the many other posters on this board hate OSU because of jerk fair weather OSU fans rubbing your nose where you don't want it rubbed. I knew my post would provoke a post like yours. How can you argue against the observation that most young kids in Ohio love OSU (except during Cooper's tenure when Michigan beat them often)... as long as they are winning and win they do. Recruits that get snubbed by Ohio State would love to get a chance to prove them wrong. It's only human nature and a good recruiting strategy would take advantage of that. Ohio-Centric - we are in Akron, Ohio, and Ohio is where we recruit most heavily (40% or 50% - only nerds would bring this difference up; 50% is a fair estimate of team numbers on average and more that representaitve of Akron's recruiting effort). If we could just develop that winning tradition that I'd like to see we would have even more recruits from Ohio and might even steal some from that school in Columbus that you hate.

Your "beer" quips are really cute. And, they are a great way to avoid substance. Stating it is OK to play OSU, but Penn State is TOTALLY different? That's great too. Especially if you qualify it with a "Duh."There's a reason GP1 has the tag line:"...you want it to be one way. But it's the other way." It's for you.This beer's for you Homer.

What am I missing? You rip the AD for scheduling Penn State, yet tosu is an exception? Huh?Over the last decade PSU has been pretty good a few years and really average the others. Take the chance we catch them on a down year and take the cash as well. I am banking on Mack getting FMV for the game, unlike what tosu paid us last year- yet you want to schedule them?Over half of our team hails from Ohio. It is the dream of almost every young football player from Ohio to play for OSU. Where have you been? Ohio State has developed a history and a winning tradition. A game in Ohio Stadium is truely a recruiting tool for those athletes that get snubbed by that program. So there's your exception. Duh.

Previously explained -- Next -- Previously explained -- Saving you the math: 1/12 = 8.3%. You gotta explain to me how 8.3% is substantial. If it is indeed substantial, what is, oh say...50%? SUPER DUPER BIGGIE substantial? And also explain what percentage is considered not substantial (please remember you cannot play a fractional game...whole numbers only).BTW - If you want to give the Athletics Department the $500,000+ net it would lose by playing a CUSA team in lieu of a Penn State...I GUARANTEE you they'll take your money and schedule Middle Tennessee.Homer, I mean Captain Kangaroo, I just can't make you drink (maybe if I tell you what I'm talking about somehow involves free beer you would listen). Over the long term we would be millions ahead. How about scheduling Louisville, Pittsburg, UTEP, Memphis, Marshall, Houston, ect... and keep Cinci, Syracuse, Indiana on the forward schedule along with playing the Minnesota's, and Kentucky's (oh, we pissed them off) of the world. Nah, that might lead to a new conference affilation and more revenue for the University. Drink (B-E-E-R) in the strategy... a light bulb may just go on.

How does one loss cripple a football program? It doesn't. If any MAC program is worthy of a bowl game, it wins 6 or 7 of it's remaining 11 games. If you can't win 6 with a MAC East + average OOC schedule, you should be visiting family on Christmas, not preparing for a bowl.What value is placed on media exposure. How much national air-time did OU get as they crept closer and closer to an upset at Ohio State a few weeks ago? A TON. After our two competitive visits to Wisconsin, quite a few people gained respect and recognition for Akron Football who otherwise would be oblivious.If OU doesn't make a bowl game this year, it won't be because they lost to Ohio State, it will be because they lost to K.e.n.t. State. Or Akron. Or Buffalo. And when an OU grad interviews for a job in Pennsylvania this winter, and the interviewer sees "Ohio University" on his re'sume', he stands a good chance of a conversation-starter like "Hey, you guys gave Ohio State a good run this fall, didn't you?" arising.Play one game a year against an upper-tier BCS school. It's a no-brainer.I've got to tell you I'm amused when you keep saying you don't need to use your brain. That's OK at the beer pub, but not with the forward scheduling strategy of Akron Football. These bad contracts perpetuate a 'cupcake' reputation and make up a substantial percent of our schedule as we only play 12 games. We could actually miss bowl eligibilty by not obtaining 6 wins. Try thinking about this... we go 11-1, in the future, and then we play Penn State (they might be 7-5) in a nice bowl game (sounds a bit like what Boise State did with Oklahoma... hey Mo did you hear that, wise guys). You could then go to Florida and drink your good ale in the warm sunshine and not be missing out a bit on game travel with the Super Bigs and Akron Football gets to develop and maintain a winning tradition.

All of your examples are losses. Thank-you for helping me prove my point. We should not be following the herd on this one. Northeast Ohio is desperate for a winner. You give them one and you will make money faster than you can spend it (for the entire Athletic Department). If you go out and be competitive with a so-so winning tradition hanging almost sure losses on your team and perpetuating a cupcake reputation... only the die-hards like Captain Kangaroo will stay over the long term. Who cares you say... the typical fans that could boost revenue and interest in University of Akron sports. We have a great opportunity starting with the Info, I'm worried that we will ruin it with a short term budget strategy from a short timer AD.

To be clearer...The football program should be able to be in the black with our new facility. We should not be funding other sports with football game contracts that are not good situations (away only payday contracts) for the football program. We need to build a winning tradition first in football, grow interest and revenue long term, then we can start to syphon off some revenue for other sports and balance the Athletics Department's budget. Not as simple as some thought.

No one that I've heard has ever proposed asking Penn State or any of the Super Bigs to play here at Infocision, except for you. If a program won't play here then they should no longer be a scheduling target (OSU would be an exception). What you are saying, Skippy, is that we cannot be a viable program with a near sellout home schedule (including specialty seating) and an OOC schedule that only includes teams that will play here, at least once, as part of our game contracts. This was the case at the Rubber Bowl but will not be the case at the Info. We are at a point where we can build a winning tradition by using our new facility to gain a scheduling edge. The old Rubber Bowl mentality is leaving the station... I just wish Rhodes would be going too because I don't have confidence that he is pursuing the right options for the long term success of the football program.

It's not that simple, and it is a no-brainer... you don't need a brain to sign these agreements. Yes, we can be competitive with anyone, but we should not be living in the past by tearing this program down with very bad situations for a short sighted payday. You build a winning program by putting your teams in very good situations, which should include OOC scheduling only with at least one home game in the contract. If you want a packed house and better recruiting every year going forward (not just the next few years) we must win consistently. Winning is greatly enhanced by playing in your home venue. Packing Infocision and going to bowls will far outweigh any short term whoring contracts with teams like Penn State. You have to look longer term, but if our AD is looking for another job, and he wants to show how he tried to balance his budget, maybe the longer term doesn't matter. Again, I think we need an Akron grad as an AD. Someone that wants to stay here and build our Athletic Department, ala Keith Dambrot in Basketball.

Our slant headed AD just whored our program out to Penn State in 2009 (can we get an Akron Grad as an AD).See my earlier posts on another thread... we should be focusing on Conference USA and Big East teams (for potential conference affiliation and more revenue) or only contracts with a return home game for Akron.Rhodes has bought into the idea that NE Ohio is Big Ten Country so the fans want to see Akron play Big ten teams. I'm Ok with that, but only if we get a chance to build our program with a home game in the contract (like Indiana). Home field advantage is too important to winning. Winning is what will draw the fans, interest, and revenue. Our scheduling strategy shouild be - No home game no contract. Rhodes is just after the short term money fix.

Bowwowowowowowowowser!!!!!!!!! .... We Win!

I was there in 1992 and a bunch before and after. I've always had a good time except for two years ago. The Po Po were jerks, a Can't State student tending the beers wouldn't let me buy one at halftime despite having about 500 poured in front of him (they stopped selling the damn tickets), and of course the outcome was terrible. It was all so bad I pledged to never return to Dick's stadium.As for this game, I don't like the set-up. We need to have our heads on right and not repeat 2006. Play everyone. To heck with redshirts. Run your trick plays to gain the Mo. Run the score up if you can. Go for two late even if you don't need it. Remember the steal in 2006 at Dick's. Keep the Wheel.

Not bad!Your hired. I suggest you try to get this helmet sticker in front of the right decision maker at the University? I also like the AKRON underlined (ala Illinois) too.

Good stuff zip81. How about something similar to what Temple does with a very simple blue lettering Akron on one side and one of three options on the other side:1. Akron again2. Zips3. The number of the player.I like the ones that have AKRON on the helmets.

I like the vertical UA helmet logo idea. While Zippy is cute and all, I don't really like seeing a Kangaroo on our helmets. Thankfully it is sort of hard to tell what our helmet logo is. Pitt, Temple, and others abandoned the trendy idea to use school mascots as part of their football helmet logos. Kangaroos, Zippy pictures and the name Zips should be on sports apparrel gear for families, frats (or sororities), and fans, not on our competitive sports uniforms. These uniforms should only say UA, AKRON, or The University of Akron.As for the uniform design, just keep the true gold, and I guess I'll leave the rest up to our sponser.