Zip_ME87

D1 Football at other than Power 5 conferences has been dying for years. Schools are digging holes they cannot afford and getting worse. 178 positions to be eliminated but not the 2 at the top of the Ath Dept,? And the new Prez wonders why folks would call for the BOT rubber stampers to resign.

The football stadium was not needed, which implies requirement. Akron could have made the decision to dump football, drop out of the MAC, and join a conference without football...like Gonzaga, Butler, etc. Upon what information do you make the claim that the football stadium made financial sense at the time? Projected attendance because Akron won 1 MAC Championship in 2005 with a 5-3 Conference record?

Thanks @TennZip With the return of EPL, then MLS, and now USL, I've been enjoying seeing our former Zips in action. With the financial situation at UA, I haven't been on the board too much. It's too depressing. I feel bad for the staff losing their jobs and for the athletes losing their Zips teams and the support they deserve. The people who should be losing their jobs are the ones who have failed and continue to fail to lead UA's academic programs as well as athletics. For example, the Navy invested in a one-of-a kind corrosion engineering program at UA, about which I hear nothing. What is happening with that program. How about other STEM-type programs...Is UA winning its share of work under various government and other R&D solicitations? As far as athletics, where's the marketing? I suggested some time ago that UA needs to offer customization of the apparel it sells. Is it really that difficult to that in this day and age of internet business. I notice on this board that various fans seem to have their favorite UA logo...the Z, the ARoo, the kangaroo, the moving A...Can't UA make it possible to buy apparel with your favorite UA-licensed logo. And why not make it possible for any fan to buy some of the special apparel given away to donors that give certain amounts...free to certain level donors, but charge otherwise. Are UA''s "big" donors that petty that they would prefer to have exclusive apparel that would still get free, but hat UA could sell to others and boost the bottom-line. I hope our current Zips are well and that our international players are able to return to campus. Out of respect for all of them, I've not tried to go by campus and see if there's any conditioning, etc. going. I'd love to see them, but even though I don't have any health issues oh which I'm aware, I won't take a chance of carrying anything of which I may not be aware to our coaches, staff, and players.

Which means no big pay day games for Akron....further cuts, likely. Any contracts likely have an out clause that includes pandemics whether or not stated specifically as "pandemic".

Thanks for the article, but I'd like to have some confidence in the financial analysis presented; not that I have any confidence in UA's either. One thing that stands out here under Akron and seems erroneous, unless I'm missing something, is "Student fees / support from university" $0. We know from UA's Athletics financial reporting that UA sports receive a significant amount of funding from this category. It seems to me that something is amiss here in this analysis; I, however, do not have a business or financial degree. I still think it is very small-minded, actually moronic, of UA Leadership to not work with Clayton to look at the numbers and find a way to restore men's cross-country. The shortcomings of UA leaders seems limitless. Every time we get a new leader, I'm hopeful that he will recognize those who have put UA in this situation and replace them with more competent personnel who can actually figure out ways, that actually work, to grow revenue.

Incompetent Athletic Department leadership, 2 presidents, and 2 interim presidents who won't fix the real problem.

Sorry to lose a recruit, but I must say congratulations to Remi Smith on getting into the Air Force Academy and choosing to serve our country. I have no idea what his plans are, but maybe he'll be flying jets some day or working in the Space Force.

???

Stop giving them straight up 5 year contracts. Make it 3 or 4 years with 1 or 2 optional years based on performance. Gives both parties an out. Given UA's history with football head coaches, it's more likely to work out in UA's favor and ensure avoiding the complete $inkhole iCoach could have been if he had not been hired elsewhere by an even more incompetent HC.

By the way, Jared was a part of the team he inherited for 6 of the 7 years before he inherited it. Also, 3 final four appearances in 7 seasons at the helm and 6 of those 7 in the NCAA Tourney; seems like we might want to cut him some slack on one season.

Questionable book keeping. My issue is not a soccer v football or a basketball v football issue. My point about the AD and his associate is that bad decisions, which have caused the athletics budget to grow and take more from the general budget, continue with no known repercussions to those who make them. The athletics budget has to be looked at as a whole. $1M should never have been spent to buy out 1 remaining year of Bowden's or Arth's contracts. Wait one year to get rid of Bowden and hire Arth and save taking a $1M from the general fund. tOSU uses football and basketball money to fund most, if not all, of their other sports. I know that UA can't do that, but football revenue, basketball revenue, soccer revenue all has to be pooled across the athletics department and not looked at as one sport or the others treasure trove. (Please notice I said "revenue" not "profits".)

This is exactly the PROBLEM. For 34 years people have said let it go, but it doesn't go because stupid leaders continue to make stupid decisions with no repercussions. Why do the Athletic Director and his associate cohort still have their jobs after wasting so much money?

Fun podcast to listen to last night. Akron is mentioned a number of times, and of course, Morgan credits Zips Coach Jared Embick as one of the coaches who really helped his development...

Thanks Danny for the post. For me it’s not a soccer v football mentality. I’m just tired of the stupid decisions. $650k for Bowden not to coach and $350k to buy Arth out of his contract. Then the cost of Arth’s salary on top of that. All for a 0-12 season and an unwatchable product. Who approves these stupid decisions? People laugh at Joe Dunn recalling Gerry Faust and the football team interrupting Bob Huggins’ basketball team’s practices. To me, that’s a tragedy. Demonstrates how screwed up UA’s priorities have been. Treat a winning coach and his team like crap in favor of the one that has little chance of doing anything. Ugh. How about the golden ticket raffle too? It appears that to date 55 tickets of 700 have been sold. (645/700 remain if you click purchase). Given the prize, how much does UA stand to lose? i hope COVID will help them out and allow them to cancel that apparently money-losing, ill-conceived venture.

Exclusive Interview: Jonathan Lewis https://topbinstalk.com/ https://episodes.buzzsprout.com/jd2yyspxq2sqrz0utdesd47wvlsi?

MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher confirmed to WTOL that starting in 2021 the conference will be eliminating the postseason tournaments for the following sports: Baseball, Softball, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Lacrosse, Field Hockey No info provided on 2020, and also no explanation as to what this means. No AQ to NCAA Tourney, or will the AQ go to the regular season winner? Or, will there be no AQ in 2021 because the conference won't have the needed number of men's teams?

https://www.soccerbible.com/interviews/2020/05/the-dial-up-episode-5-deandre-yedlin/

Missed this back at the end of April. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/quarantine-corner-with-jared-embick_vid5265

The real question is, if UA flushed football at that time and concentrated on basketball, could the Zips have had the successes of Gonzaga and Butler or George Mason, from time to time? No one has been the guy to take the program forward, including not only the football head coaches but also the Athletic Directors and their associates who have done such a lousy job of hiring them.