Aaron

Please no. Kehres or Tyrell sound too much like what Akron has done in the past. We need a change.

I think the assumption in the other thread is that Cuse was letting him go this year.

The list of names mentioned in the other coaching thread (apologies if I missed one or two) are : Matt Brock Doug Belk Todd Stroud Bob Stoops Levar Woods Dino Babers Joe Moorhead I know that there are good reasons one or more of them would not be a suitable head coach, but those seven names are probably a good place to start making calls.

I'd like to watch this live - is it at 3PM EST or 3PM CST? Also, is there a link?

I know it's too early for this type of speculation, but if Akron wins their last two, they can do no worse than tied for #1. It would be great to host the MAC tournament again. If WVU wins out against the Georgia teams and BUGS, they would also end up with 13 pts. In that case, since the teams drew their regular season meeting, who would host?

I hear you. I would be happy with a 5 year contract to start to turn things around and recruit an heir apparent that the University would hire when Bob's contract was over. When the University parted ways with Bowden, I was very disappointed that he hadn't set up any of his coordinators to succeed with the program and keep it going as he left. It might be wishful thinking, but I would expect a veteran like Stoops to be able to set up plans like that, even on a relatively short contract.

That's a fantastic article. I'd say Doug Belk also stands out on that list. As a media member, do you believe that Brock could excite local media, get some attention for the program, and appeal to recruits? If he can do that, I'm sold.

After writing this yesterday, I kept thinking more about Bob Stoops. His retirement isn't set in stone - he came back to coach a few games for the XFL Dallas Renegades before the league folded. He has brothers coaching at Kentucky and at Youngstown. His kids go to Oklahoma and wife is big in Mary Kay (based in TX), but this might not be such a long shot as it first seems. If I were an AD, it would at least be worth a phone call. XFL coaches were supposedly paid in the range of CFL and FBS coaches based on what I can find, so it probably in the 500k-750k range.

Let's get a coach who is entertaining, and can get attention in a state where it is really hard to get out of the shadow of the 800 lb gorilla in Columbus. Deion Sanders is currently in FCS at Jackson State, but I bet he'd make the jump to FBS. No shortage of attention there, although the team's discipline issues probably wouldn't be fixed. I like the idea of skilled assistants, and you wouldn't even have to leave the state to get Marcus Freeman (Cincinnati's Defensive Coordinator). Clark Lea (Notre Dame DC) also stands out in my mind. If you want a HC who is a previous OC, then Tony Elliott (Clemson) is top. Former HCs I'd want to interview include Bob Stoops or Chris Peterson. Bob's Y-town connection could prove a strength, especially if Tressel will put in a good word for us.

I've seen Santiago and Malik play locally - they are the real deal, and a great pickup for the team! I'm not sure what happened with Malik at NC, but he's a solid mid-fielder.

According to the NCAA's revenue database, 147 schools are making profit or neutral for athletics in general. 81 schools are losing money. You can see the numbers at https://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances. Akron and OSU are both on the losing side, with Akron at -$81k and OSU at -$10M. In overall athletic budgets, only Akron, Kent, Ball State, and WMU lose money in the MAC (or at least report those numbers properly to the NCAA). There's a link to how the numbers are calculated in the revenue/expense link.

I always thought this was driven by vegas - there are so many football gamblers, they needed something with some air of legitimacy to drive daily sports books and bring people in to the casinos. The most well-informed articles about MAC football seem to be from gamblers, not fans at this point.

GP1, I was looking at it from NY6/BCS bowl rankings to see the following potential matchups that could have taken place: 2014 - Baylor (lost to Mich St) vs Boise State (beat Arizona) 2015 - Iowa (lost to Stanford) vs Houston (beat FSU) 2016 - Penn State (lost to USC) vs WMU (lost to Wisc) 2017 - Ohio State (beat USC) vs UCF (beat Auburn) 2018 - Georgia (lost to Texas) vs UCF (lost to LSU) 2019 - Georgia (beat Baylor) vs Memphis (lost to Penn St) The #5 seeds (listed first) lost four out of six of these, and the G5 team was 50/50 against decent programs. It might be bad, but it might not be as bad as you're thinking. The worst G5 blowout was 2019 Memphis, which lost by 14 pts. The other two G5 losses were by 8 pts. Maybe with something to play for beyond the bowl game, the outcomes would change, but I'm not as pessimistic that it would always be a blowout. That being said, I would be behind a separate playoff for G5 teams because I really enjoy football playoffs.

I think that there are many years where the gap between the #5 ranked team and the best mid-major isn't so large. If this is set up without rebracketing so the 5/12 winner plays #4, I'm very interested to root for a mid-major to get a win or two. The champion will probably end up being one of the same few schools it always is, but the first round of games sounds very intriguing to me. I think overall this adds more good games to the playoffs, and the boring 1v8/9 games will be less of a major focus. In addition, the national semi-finals probably won't contain one overhyped team who got too much media love and one team who is bored and out of shape.

Ohio has 14 Public Universities, serving a population of around 11.6M people. As far as public universities per capita goes, there are only five states with fewer public universities per capita than Ohio (Iowa, Illinois, Washington, California, and Arizona). I don't think closing schools is the answer. Eight of the public universities are full FBS Div 1 schools, despite the fact that OSU out-earns everyone else in the state combined. Ohio is a sports-crazy state, and the number of school trying to compete in the small arena of revenue sports is staggering, especially with the giant in the room that sucks the wind out of everyone else's sails. I sincerely hope that there is an identity for Ohio's public schools outside of sports. Akron has (or have had) excellent Engineering, Polymer Tech, Psychology, and Law departments. There are some programs that basically need to be at every university - Education (and all associated traditional teaching subjects), Nursing, and Business. It might take the University System of Ohio to step in and close or consolidate some colleges within Universities regionally to keep all of these schools viable, but as long as sports are such a major driver of budgets and the conversations on school's viability, I don't see that happening.

Only in one of the esport games - Rocket League. The University sponsors teams in seven esport games

I can relate - I thought the final was on Sunday because March 14th wasn't clear enough

One correction to the initial post - they're still playing these at the Rock, right? As awesome as it would be to have our fanless game at home, I don't think they moved to campus sites? OU starts VERY fast, but burns out just as quick. The last time they didn't win the first half was back on Feb 18th, but the only second half they won was against Kent. I hope that tired legs keeps them a little down in the first half, because if we can survive that in good shape, I'm confident in the Zips ability to shut down their game in the last 20.

In the magical land where the MAC re-seeds between campus rounds and the Rock, you could have had Akron v Miami, NIU v Kent, BG v Ohio, and BSU v Toledo. I think I actually prefer it the way the MAC has it now, since it keeps Kent on the bottom of the bracket

Recovery time is personally my biggest worry. We have not relied very much on bench contributions through the season, and fatigue (should we make it to Sunday) could really hurt a team like this. I think this is a very talented, well-coached Akron team, but I have questions on our depth. Any thoughts?

Akron's least successful sports programs are in Men's and Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Softball, Baseball and Women's Volleyball. Any of those on the chopping block? I don't know that we can cut any women's programs due to title IX, Baseball isn't really funded by the University anymore, so maybe you would cut Golf?

Thanks - I just updated the wiki page with the latest info.

Glad I'm not the only one to see that... houses in the background look like pre-fab, and the transformers there weren't invented until the teens. I would guess that pic is post WW1 - maybe 1920s?

I was back in town for this game, and genuinely excited to have homecoming on a beautiful October day against Kent. The team's poor execution on the field left me with a sick feeling (or perhaps it was the food trucks at the alumni tailgate). It reminded me how low the floor is for teams in the MAC - not only do you not win games, but you don't even really compete. Unlike the Ianello years, I think the Akron players had a lot of talent, they just weren't working to their potential nor working with each other as one unit. Arth has a lot to work with, but unless he figures out how to bring them up to FBS Gameday speed, it's going to be a couple of long winless years. I don't expect miracles with a coaching change, but the quick reversion back to how we looked pre-Bowden gives me a new appreciation for everything Terry was able to accomplish at the University. Is Hoban's coach available at a price the University can afford? They played Saturday night and looked like they would give these Zips a run for their money - maybe Arth could use him on the staff.

FF : The Akron Alumni Band outnumber Kent State's Marching Band