ZachTheZip

A hockey arena with the fans right on top of the basketball court? But I thought that's impossible! And you could even put student sections behind the baskets if you wanted to.

That's ridiculous. The argument is to be able to host as many events as posible. The benefits of that include bringing people onto campus that normally don't go there (including estranged alumni), and providing more services to students. Students complain that the university doesn't do nearly enough to keep them engaged outside of the classroom, and they're right. Engaging students greatly increases the chance for them to turn into alumni that support the university long after graduation. It's an investment.

Sounds like Zeke, yourself, and I are all in the same boat. Start out in CS, switch to CIS and lose some credits, and then take the slow route to a degree because they only offer certain classes once every few semesters and the ones they do offer are all at ridiculous times.

His degree is not in Computer Science (which focuses primarily on programming and is offered by most schools), but in Computer Information Systems (network engineering, and not offered by most schools). You can take a full credit load every semester and only get an associates degree because most of the classes you take go toward certifications but don't necessarily count toward your degree. In the IT field, certs are much more important than a degree, anyway.

On the future of Zips Basketball

You have no idea what you're talking about.

You mean the soccer field's drainage basin? It's usually safe to assume it's unplayable year round.

The state of West Virginia is overlooked by most FBS schools. They don't even bother to send scouts, because they can find similar talent in locations where they are already established. That means that when a good recruit comes along from WV, they get ignored. Coach Bowden has ties to WV that other FBS coaches do not, so we can find potential diamonds in the rough.

Yes.

I still think it was a mistake to fire Witherspoon. Hurley has about as much coaching experience as anybody on ZN.O

It appears we still have a shot at him. https://twitter.com/David_Gaydosz2/status/316702294173442049

It wouldn't be listed as a returning player, but one who has used all four years of eligibility. Here's a list of players who are leaving.

So, to simplify: Akron should have worked on passing more and ball handling less. I was screaming that very thing at the game. How many times did we have players try to dribble around the press only to get caught in a trap?

A life wasted: Erick Howard says how drugs, injury led to prison

To be fair, it would be pretty shocking to see Gilliam as a Zip next year.

You assume that the circumstances we have today won't change. Maybe the Monsters fold, and another hockey team wants to move to the area. Same with the Gladiators. Maybe an indoor soccer team wants to play in Akron. We want this new arena to last 40 years or so, and to be prepared for any opportunities that should arise.

Hockey (it might seem obvious, but needs to be listed). Concerts requiring a large stage (think pyrotechnics that you could never have in the JAR).

I don't buy it. The committee doesn't give a single sh!t about whether a 12-seed plays close to home. They probably saw the potential to match Dambrot and Shaka, and just like ESPN with the Bracketbusters, they giggled to themselves at how clever they were for creating a storyline.

Agreed. Camps are how coaches at mid-majors make a significant percentage of their money, so I was confident that the website would be updated eventually.

BJ Gladden had offers from ECU, VCU, Xavier, Charlotte, Wake Forest, and Wyoming among others.

I think that's backwards. it hurts most locally, because there's already a pre-existing bias that gets confirmed, but nationally it gets the university's name out to millions of people who otherwise would have never heard of it. It especially helps that we've been there three times in the last five years. Up that to making regular appearances and you become a nationally known university. prospective students already know who you are and aren't as quick to throw out material you send them because you're not just some random school from a place they've never heard of. Recruiting for athletics is another story. Still, it might not happen as fast as we would like, but by establishing ourselves as a clearly dominant team in the MAC long-term, you can out-recruit other MAC teams competing with us that are on more temporary upswings. It takes a lot of luck to win an NCAA tournament game when you're consistently seeded 12 or worse, but you can't win any if you don't make it, and making it every year gives you a shot every year so that it will happen eventually.

Thank you, seniors. Thank you for all the blood, sweat and tears you have poured into taking your basketball to new heights. I won't let one bad day overshadow all that you have accomplished. Thank you, Zeke, Chauncey, and Brian. And thank you, Taylor Ruper.

It wouldn't just be the BBall team, though. It would be every sport except football, and football would be kicked out of the MAC. Also keep in mind that with most of the A-10's strength leaving, it might not look like such a great move in the near future. They're about to get downgraded back to MAC-level since Temple, Xavier, and Butler are all gone and other schools will likely end up leaving to the Big East by next year.

McAdams thrilled to be in NCAA tournament

Akron is dancing, Looking beyond "One and done". Let them cry "Havoc!"