ZachTheZip

The point is to FORCE the students to sit in one area. How many students are scattered throughout the GA section that could be packed together? How many of those students don't cheer because of the oppressive atmosphere created by the old folks who yell at them to sit down and stop being so noisy? I'm going to sound like a prick here, but I'm going to be honest...a lot of students don't want to be associated with the AK-Rowdies. Many choose to sit up top, and it's not because they don't like the view from the current student seats. I understand what you're saying, but then why isn't there a problem during soccer games? I think a lot of the dissociation between rowdies and non-rowdies actually stems from the seating situation in the JAR.

Just got back from the game. We won, but not before trying extra hard to give it away. This helps recruiting and gives the underclassmen motivation to keep working in the offseason.

The point is to FORCE the students to sit in one area. How many students are scattered throughout the GA section that could be packed together? How many of those students don't cheer because of the oppressive atmosphere created by the old folks who yell at them to sit down and stop being so noisy?

Maybe the student don't fill up the sections behind the hoops because they're small, have terrible sightlines, and are generally a hassle to get to. If the students were moved to something better, they might show up more. Of course, then you have to put the alumni who you claim show up to games down there. We wouldn't be moving that much, though. Maybe 40 or 50 actually ever sit in the sections I'm talking about. they spend all their time in the Tommy Evans lounge and probably wouldn't even notice their seats had been moved. The seats behind the basket need renovated. More rows at a steeper angle, maybe replaced by bleachers to get it to work. Why use the expensive blue plastic chairs for people who never sit down in the bans or students? Bleachers increase capacity. Of course, then we would obscure the inaccurate, 40-years outdated stats boards.

No it won't. Who are we playing after Bufalow? Who are we playing after Bufalow this year? Nobody. I just have my doubts that a win against Buffalo is going to get us off that list. Why? The rules of the Bottom Ten list are very clear. A win gets you off the list that week.

Can someone explain how making more empty seats helps? Even if there are two seats taken up per band member (which there aren't) there are still tons of empty seats. Heck, the whole drumline came and stood by the band for the first half and the other side was still 75% empty. The only time it was/will be an issue every year is high school band day and the Can't came when half the people down below are sitting down and/or texting the whole time instead of cheering. It will help by encouraging the upper levels to actually make noise. What is the purpose of having the band? Is it just to have more students cheering for the team? If that's the case you can just disband and let the members show up as normal students. The purpose of the band is to get the crowd pumped up. Right now they are either next to or playing directly at the people who need fired up the least. So what if the seats you vacate remain empty? I would have the upper bowl be rocking and a sparse but fired up student section than have the crowd be as boring as it is now. Or maybe you could listen to my suggestion of moving the students and filling up the end sections with reserved tickets. Then you solve both problems, the upper crowd is fired up by the band and the end seats aren't empty while also unifying the students into one force much louder than they can be currently.

Until the AD's of the MAC realize this and then stop scheduling the medium ten schools, this will not change. If we get to play as many of these games at home as we do on the road, then I would reconsider. Otherwise, the MAC needs to start scheduling winnable games. There should be a MAC-Sunbelt challenge or maybe MAC-CUSA. Every team gets one home and one away game. This ensures a home game every year, and also a winnable road game.

The band cheers just as much as the rest of the students. Just because we are wearing polos intead of AK-ROWDIES shirts doesn't mean we don't belong on the floor. If the band is cheering, then why should we be displaced? We have about 30-40 members, adding 30-40 ROWDIES isn't going to change the atmosphere. I agree there is a problem with the way the JAR is set up, but stop acting like it's the band's fault or that we could change the situation. All this aside, you can't put a drum set in the bleachers. I wont argue that the band doesn't cheer. But for every band member, there are two seats taken up. Let's move them up top and put them in their section and let more people down there. It will help ...i guarantee it. this comes up every year, and every year I say. "leave the band there until the Rowdies can actually fill it. if you move the band, and have ALL students sit behind the baskets, than fine. But, to move the band just to move the band is a bad idea that, frankly, makes 0 sense. And for the record, they can fit the drum sets up top. I was in the band when they did up top. I say we move both. No students or band behind the baskets. Students directly behind the opposing bench, and the band somewhere both visible and audible to most fans. If they can fill up an entire section behind a basket, then I don't mind them remaining there. But I reiterate: move all the students together; don't let them be split up between the two ends and scattered among the GA seats.

Yeah, because then a hundred more students would show up and there would be no empty seats.... Let's use some common sense. They wouldn't show up to sit below. That's why the student section needs moved, as well. Either have the band expand and take up one entire section behind the basket and put reserved seating behind the other, or move the band upstairs and have reserved behind both baskets. Students should take up (and be required to sit only in) the three sections closest to the opposing bench. If you took all the students that are spread out through the GA seating and combined them with the Rowdies, you would have a fairly large student section. Plus the non-Rowdy students might make more noise if they aren't surrounded by grumpy old people who frown on being excited. Students should NOT be allowed to sit sparsely throughout GA seating. They should be concentrated together like at the Info where they can only sit in a designated area.

Just like it was a forgone conclusion he was going to Indiana or DC United after last season?

The same group of students are the ones who make the noise at soccer games. The difference is that at soccer all the other students are packed in around them, and so join in every once in a while. You don't get that effect in the JAR with seating arrangements the way they are. Unify the student section and you'll see a much stronger student presence, and it might even encourage more students to show up. This is a major issue for the atmosphere of basketball games.

If you have the opportunity to help your team, directly or indirectly, with very little effort and no additional financial commitment since you already paid for your ticket and are there, but you don't take that opportunity, are you really a fan? Do you really care?

I'll be there. Win or lose, the implications are tremendous. Either go winless and be completely screwed for recruiting, fan support, and everything else as the worst team in the country or win and show the world that the team is improving despite everything and that they never gave up and fought through to the very end. Weather does not look very friendly for Friday.

Fine. You old farts can sit around with one thumb in your mouth and the other up your ass. I'll continue to yell and scream and jump up and down. When the team does win a close one, which one of us will the players thank for inspiring them to play as hard as they can? Who will they say reminded them that there's still hope and that there are people out there who believe in them? That there's something worth playing for? It won't be the person who sat there, silent and thinking there's no point because they'll blow it like usual. Did you guys even watch Coach Porter's video on the jumbotron?? He bought thousands of dollars worth of tickets out of his own pocket for the students because he believes they make a difference when it comes to inspiring his players. so yes, the fans do make a difference, according to the biggest winner on campus. It works both ways, of course, but it is also subject to a snowball effect. A few noisy fans can inspire the players to be better, which means more fans cheering, and it spirals. But in the JAR, the environment is oppressive when it comes to making sound. If the band was up top, they could break that silence. And if the students were allowed to be along a unified side section things would be better. You have no idea how frustrating it is to want to be intense and loud, only to have our own team trying to score in front of you. You feel counterproductive, and that takes half the students out of the game at any given time. On the sides, that's not a problem.

Steve McNees needed. What happened to having a McNees who could run the offense while also throwing down threes all game? We could have really used that guy. We could also have used the McClanahan who could create his own shot, the one who showed up against Dayton and YSU.

Cavs put a ban on having a sense of humor for the Heat game. They should have just banned being able to attend. have the Quicken Loans buy all the seats, and let them play in front of an empty arena.

Since you're all so keen on hearing what Ianello has to say, here is his weekly press conference. There's actually a lot of good info in there and the reporters aren't shy in asking direct questions. Part 1: Part 2:

What is the story with SMU, Blue & Gold? I bet things like this happen much more often than anyone would expect. Could Auburn leaving the SEC trigger another conference shakedown? Ahh, sorry - I should have taken the time to be more precise. The SMU "Death Penalty" happened yeeeears ago - when I was a little kid, maybe before I was born, Idk. I do know it was way before I knew anything at all about college football. But SMU used to be a perennial national power. However, they were cited for multiple & serious recruiting violations & had a ton of schollies taken away - almost killing the football program. NCAA's death penalty is like what recently happened to USC football, except to the entire athletic department and every sport. If it happens, you can kiss being relevant goodbye for 30 years, and a full recovery is almost impossible.

It already is. A little birdie in the Hawaii Athletic Department told me San Jose St could announce their departure shortly. That guy who's been the commish for the past 20 years should have his statue dedicated outside a sewage treatment plant. Where in the world would SJSU go? Would they drop football and join the Big West or something?

They have a sub-section on the MAC boards.

Martin is gone from Can't, and now Ball State just fired Stan Parrish. We need to hop on board the coaching merry-go-round or we might get left behind.

I did! +1 +2 If you think the Millipede game made us a better team, I disagree. If we played MSU tonight, we would have won.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I apologize for assuming the university chose the questions you ask. Maybe it's just my cynicism showing through. You do a good job most of the time. I don't think Coach I comes through as being as... animated as most of our other coaches. It's just frustrating for us to watch this team struggle like this, while the one guy with the ability to come out and soothe our rage with something as simple as an honest heart-felt statement does his best to avoid contact with fans. Maybe he is as frustrated as us or even more, but how can it show through when nobody ever sees the guy? That creates the appearance of him not caring, and I feel it's part of his duties as the head coach to come out in front of the fans and work to build up the image of the team. Being head coach is more than recruiting and coaching; it's about being the most visible promoter and being the face of the team, especially at a school that can't afford to spend tens of millions on marketing like certain other schools.

I don't think the coach is removing only the dead weight, but also quality student-athletes in order to free up scholarships for recruiting, even though he hasn't proven that he can recruit any semblance of talent to a school like Akron. How do you sell a recruit on joining a team and playing under a coach who might at any moment go back on his promise and take away your scholarship? It doesn't look trustworthy and it sends a message to potential recruits that he's not a good enough coach to win with players that aren't perfectly suited to his system. Many more defections are to come after Friday's game.

Wanna know a secret? I post around 4 comments a day. 4 comments when there are dozens of discussions going on any given day. If you look at other, active, sports message boards, I would be on the middle-to-low end as far as posting activity. I encourage everybody here to surpass me. I'll tell you my secret. In the upper right hand of the page, there's a button that says "View New Posts". I use it every day. You all should use it too.