ZachTheZip

I'm betting on Goddard. No inside info...just a hunch. KD doesn't roll with JUCO's and I can't believe there's another worthwhile HS kid floating around this late in the game. Speaking of Goddard, does anyone think he will see more playing time now that the 3-point line will be moved back? A scholarship used on a pure 3-point shooter would be well spent, especially among smaller schools who need threes to even up games against the big boys.

I haven't seen a single piece of advertising that I would consider "obvious to the general public." Of course, I notice thing like ads buried deep within the sports section in a little corner of the page, but I actively look for them. Nobody who is just glancing over the page will notice it. The only radio comercials I have heard are for the Patriot bowl, and those aren't even paid for by Akron, instead being the work of the Cleveland Sports Commission. I've not seen a single TV ad for UA sports since 2005. What the hell is our marketing department doing, anyways? I know they read this occasionally, and I would love to know what it is they actually do all day in their office. One person working 40 hours a week given a modest four-figure budget could at least throw some billboards up around town, or on the side of some city buses. We have a whole department that is supposed to do that sort of thing, not to mention an entire group of marketing students who would jump at the chance to do this sort of thing for a project. Why not let them do marketing's job for them, for free? It has to be better than what we have now.

Hartwick? Seriously? Oh well, I guess we can just chalk up another one in the "win" column. If MAC soccer fails due to programs being cut, I say we join the Big East or Big 10 for soccer only. It sure would help if we ever decide to change conferences in Football and Basketball if we already had a different sport already in the conference. Plus we would get more respect when it came time for the NCAA soccer tourney seedings.

Same here.

I was just surfing around the internet, when I stumbled upon this thread from the Ohio high school forums. They talk about the game, but it's sort of a mixed reaction.http://www.jjhuddle.com/discus/messages/460259/524386.phpThey certainly have a realistic view of what attendance will be. Less than 20k, which I agree with, although I hope I will be proved wrong. They go into a bit of detail about why we won't get beyond the 20k mark, and why so few of those will be actual Akron fans.Also, one of the posters is a student at UA, and he seems to personify the attitude I see all over campus, AK-Rowdies not withstanding. What he says is pretty blunt, and feels like a punch to the gut, but it is true to an extent and provides an example of the attitude our Athletic and Marketing Departments have to deal with. There is very little school pride beyond what we and a few others possess. It is lacking in the student population, the very foundation of the university. I hate it and struggle to understand it, but the attitude of apathy is still there, and it seems like they want it to remain that way. Landscape for Learning was both a success and a resounding failure from this standpoint. Sure it attracts more students and athletes to UA, but they are just buildings. Something a little less tangible, such as a form of school spirit, has yet to manifest itself on campus and in the hearts of its students, in spite of our efforts. Something must be done by the powers-that-be at UA, and I have not seen it or even heard mention of a plan of action beyond the "if you build it, they will come" thought process. It doesn't matter how nice the buildings are if no one cares, and right now no one cares.The fact is they don't want to care. When they care, they get let down just like with all the other sports teams around here. Part of this can be rectified on the field/court by winning championships and bowl games. We've seen proof of that. But winning alone is not enough.The people need a push in the right direction. If the University won't do it, who will? The newspapers? The Beacon Journal has been improving, the Plain Dealer could care less, and for some reason the Canton Repository seems to only cover Akron's lesser known sports in blurbs hidden in the middle of the sports section. The TV News doesn't even know we exist, and "local" sports radio just insults us when Zips sports are brought up. Advertising seem like the only option, but unless I'm blind there has been almost no visible signs touting our athletics programs. No billboards, no TV commercials, incorrect print ads, ect.It is apparent that Mr. Rhoades only cares about the business end of things. He has sold huge tracts of seats in the Rubber Bowl to businesses that never show up for the actual games. He doesn't respond to e-mails, or even have some assistant send out a generic "Thanks for your interest in our program". What do we do when the guys in charge don't even acknowledge the people they are hired to provide services for?I guess I'm just ranting here. That got a lot of frustration off my chest. If anybody has any suggestions as to what the fans can do to show the Athletic Department and even the students that we care about our Zips, please speak up. There has to be something out there to spark interest. Hopefully it would cause a snowball effect when combined with winning teams.Those are just my thoughts. So... what do you think?

They're really pimping this game out. I have heard no less than 5 ads on the radio for the patriot bowl in the last 3 hours. Has anyone seen a commercial on TV yet? It wouldn't suprise me. I still don't know how they can realistically expect 30,000 fans to show up, as stated on Rasor's blog. What worries me is that I think many people will show up and view this as a "scouting" game to see what the Buckeyes are going to be up against the next week. If that is the case (I sure hope not), then the best thing the Zips can do is not just win, but win big, in a huge blow out. It would get some publicity by word-of-mouth going, at the very least. I say about 13,000 show up for the game, but I hope it is much more than that.

That is an excellent idea. Sort of like that high-school newspaper insert with stories from different area high schools' papers that the BJ ran a while ago. We should send a few e-mails to the powers-that-be at UA such as Mack Rhoads, Dr. Proenza, and the head of the Buchtelite. Let them know we want something like that.

I see what you're saying, but at least to me, neither does Brady Quinn. What is it that so many people see in him that make them believe he can single-handedly ressurrect the Browns organisation? (note: this is not directed at you, sgm. I've seen too many idiots say that the only thing the Browns need is a good QB, never mind the O-line, running game, defense, special teams, ect... e.g. Trivassano)I just haven't seen anything during his college career that sets him apart from any other QB in the draft, apart from Weiss talking him up because he's pratically obligated to wax poetic about someone with whom his name is strongly associated. What makes you think Quinn was worth giving up TWO first round picks for? There were plenty of above-average QBs still available in the second round. Maybe Quinn really is better than Frye. Maybe not. The sad thing is we will probably never know. All I know is the Browns are willing to screw up their own future for a possibly marginal improvement in the present.

I was browsing around ESPN's website, when I found out that Joe Lunardi has already put up a bracketology for next season.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology?id=2278133Now you might say "It doesn't mean anything. It's too early to tell what's going to happen next season". I agree, but there is one significant difference compared to Bracketologies posted during the regular season. During the regular season, automatic bids are predicted based on who has the best conference record. In the pre-season, before the polls and media picks come out, Lunardi is forced to actually look at each conference and pick a winner based on who he thinks is the best team. He chose Akron to win the MAC and seeded us as a 13 seed. Without any outside influences whatsoever, he chose our team over Can't, Miami, Ohio, Toledo, ect. It shows just a little bit of respect.

Please, oh please, tell me you e-mailed to Bud Shaw, because I assume he has never heard of this website and therefore wouldn't have the chance to read it. I would love to hear his response to your argument.

If it wasn't so late, I'd probably have more to say in response to this. Maybe tomorrow.For now let me just say that, personally, I'm up for the challenge. The real question is: Will the community step up it's support on it's own, or will we have to promo the hell out of our sports programs and hope the whole "If you build it they will come" thing proves to be true?

I just listened to an interview with Phil Savage on the radio. One of the questions asked was how soon Quinn would start. Savage answered that it was more of a coaching decision, but the QB spot is open right now. There will probably be an open competition before the season starts. He didn'r mention trading anyone becausethe Browns now have some depth at the position, whereas if they traded one of the QBs they would be thin at that spot again. Sounds good. I like Charlie's chances in this. He should get the nod at the beginning of the season based on experience. If he screws up even once, or throws a single interception fans will call for his head, but right now Frye's destiny is in his own hands.

I just received mine in the mail today as well. I think they did print it up pretty strangely. They need to re-think how they design those things next year.

Oh man. I go away for one weekend and things go crazy around here. After reading your guy's posts, I can see that I was mis-interpreted a bit. When I started this topic, it was simply food for thought. UA has tried everything they realistically could to get people to the Rubber Bowl. I was simply putting up a suggestion. It would give the team better news coverage, which would possibly encourage a few extra thousand people to show up. I have come to the conclusion that absolutely nothing will cause us to fill up the Rubber Bowl, so lets hope the new stadium lives up to the hype. Do you honestly think that even if we were 11-1 last year that we would have a single sell-out crowd during next year's season? We wouldn't. No one wants to navigate that traffic nightmare around the Rubber Bowl. Even after we build the stadium, interest will wane after about two years unless we can string together back-to-back winning seasons, preferably with us going to some bowl games, all of which has to coincide with OSU having an off-year or two. I hope JD can stick around and take this program to the next level soon. The board is set, and the pieces are in motion... now lets go for the checkmate.

We saw last year how importance attendance is to our football program. The university had to make up numbers just so we could remain 1-A. I want to ask, what exactly needs to be done to get butts in seats? I know the AD is selling huge chunks of seats to local companies, which generate revenue, but those seats remain empty throughout the season. A full stadium, even once this season, would do wonders for the team's morale, for recruiting, and will cause the fans to get the idea that the community cares about it's football team. I've seen many suggestions on how to fix this problem. Some have been carried out by the athletic department and marketing, such as free giveaways and contests, but every school does that.What is the difference between us and other schools with better attendance? I believe it is a lack of local players on the team. Half our team is from the Pittsburgh area, and that city isn't exactly looked well upon around here.We need players who played high school football in the area, Players that local people are already familiar with. Just look at the basketball team for a good example. Last year we had Rome, Dru, Wood, and Goddard out there, and people had known about them since they were freshmen in high school. They are local heroes. We didn't have any of them on our football team last year. I hope this is starting to change. Fans want to cheer for people they are familiar with. It helps if players already have a reputation in the area, instead of having to prove their worth to a very cautiosly optimistic group of fans.P.S.:This isn't a knock on our current players' talent or home cities at all. It's just that your average joe has no clue who is on our team. Maybe he would pay more attention if there were players from his HS alma mater out there on the field.

Wow. This kind of took me off guard when I read it this morning. It's funny, because as suprising at it is, it is not unexpected. Rybak didn't seem to fit with Akron's style of play. Hopefully the new scholly opening will be well spent. C'mon Alex Kellog, we would love to see you in the blue and gold!

Just a quick blurb on Army's Scout.com page detailing their first opponent: Akron. The way they put it, we don't sound the least bit intimidating.http://army.scout.com/2/636516.html

They are already clearing space for the bars to move to, or (hopefully) finding a way to incorperate the bars into the structure itself.The U is buying up property along Brown Street just south of Exchange. I don't know if it for the bars or a dorm, but it is adjacent to the old baseball field, if you know where that is.

Believe me. They ARE holding out. They know the University wants the land, and they are waiting until they are offered the highest price possible. I have heard rumors of eminent domain being threatened, but I don't think the U can do that.I have noticed the U buying up other properties in the area, too. The most obvious ones being on Brown Street by the baseball fields across Exchange St. Does anyone know if those fields are even used anymore? If not, I can see that land being used for another new dorm, which would be nice.

I missed the spring game, so I have some questions other than the ones already answered.1) How was the crowd? Was the fieldhouse packed?2) Was there really a fair outside before the game?3) How did the D-line look? I can give the O-line some time to adjust, but the D-line concerns me.4) What about Vince Hill? How well did he run his routes?5) After seeing this game, how many wins do you guys expect this season?

http://zipsnation.org/index.php?showtopic=5345

if you seen the article it didnt have anything to do with the program itself. it had to do with the coach. Her and the coach just didnt work out together and someone had to give.... and the coach isnt leaving after being here for only one year, so niki made the choice to leave. Wanna bet part of things not working out with the coach is not liking that the coach sat her butt down at the end of the season???? She sat on the bench for good reason. Let's just say that we're lucky that what happened to cause Niki to sit out was isolated like it was. Believe me when I say it could have been much, much worse. This was one of those times that the team's lack of media exposure actually saved us.I'm sure that when you carry the team the way she did, only to be benched in the most important game of the season, I would be angry with my coach, too. Sure, things improved from one year to the next. It still doesn't take away the hurt of bi-weekly pummelings at the hands of teams in your own conference. She was going to be a leader next year, since there would be no seniors on the team. Let's hope someone else steps up and fills the void Niki will create by transferring.

Based upon the NCAA selection process in 2007, that's not true. We won 26 games this season and it didn't get squat. It isn't the number of wins, it is "who have you beaten?" Why would playing Duke be such a mistake? K.e.n.t. only lost to them by 7? Duke lost to VCU in the NCAA's this year? I'd put them on the schedule today if I could.Is playing Indiana such a big deal? Butler beat Indiana this year. Butler can, but the Zips can't? I disagree.OSU was the #2 team in the nation this season. Yeah they would have beaten the Zips, but you can say the same thing for about 330 other D1 schools. This year's Zips squad would have given OSU a decent game.No one cares if you beat Binghamton, NC A&T, Tiffin, and Niagra. The Zips would be better off playing OSU, Indiana, Pittsburgh and West Virginia and winning a game or two than to sweep a bunch of stiffs or 20-win, sub-mid-majors. That was proven this season. I understand your point, and I agree that it wouldn't be that bad for the Zips as I have no doubt that we are capable of pulling off the upset, and getting a quick payday at the same time. I would love for the Zips to go on a rampage to start the season getting wins against "big-name" schools like Butler did last season. I know we have the talent and experience to pull it off.Remember that this is about the entire MAC. I was refering more to some of the bottom-feeders in the conference. You know they have no chance to win, so why give some other team the pleasure of an additional home game and a warm-up for the conference schedule when you could play a team better suited your talent level and produce an exciting game between two equally talented teams, maybe get a win and a return game the next year. Plus you would avoid the humiliation of a 30 point loss.

The Steelers?! In the fourth round?! Oh man, if that happens I don't know what I would do. ----------------------------------------------------------------------Side note: Look at what he has the Browns doing...1 JaMarcus Russell QB LSU2 Antonio Pittman RB Ohio State3 Tony Ugoh OT Arkansas4 Troy Smith QB Ohio St5 Mansfield Wrotto OG Georgia Tech6 David Patterson DT Ohio St7 Mike Mason WR Tennessee StJamarcus Russel AND Troy Smith? Three players from OSU? This guy is nuts.

True. One of the best ways to help the budget problem is to get butts in the seats at home games. Playing at OSU or Indiana or Duke for a quick payday and a loss doesn't help as much as having a winning record and having people pay to see a winning team at home. It's too bad some teams just don't understand that.