72 Roo

He has no shame.😱

Spurred on by the posts from Zips 1991 and Sgt Zip I watched snippets of the Zip LAX team vs EMU. Elaine Jones has one exciting team. They started 5-0 against EMU. Sienna Hinchcliffe is the real deal. She can flat out score anytime she has the ball. If the ladies tighten up their D they have a real chance against a superior UMass club. I hope the fans travel to Pittsburgh to give them a boost. Go Zips!

This is a fantastic home schedule. We will see some of the best collegiate soccer in the country. I am so glad we got out of the MAC and into the Big East. We need big crowds for each of these games to cement our reputation as a near impossible place for visiting teams to win.

Cheers to the Buffalo and visiting Canadian fans for creating a memorable moment of friendship. Our government treats Canada like an enemy when they have been a friendly, supportive neighbor. They deserve moments like this.

10%

I talked to a coach about him. He said the player was brought in for depth and development. This staff does an impressive job in mining and growing under-developed players. Another interesting part of the discussion was that the staff rates itself on the performance of the players they bring in. Regarding JUCO's they have a hit rate of about 50%, but on high school players they are near 90%, especially in O linemen. The obvious problem is that we are developing high school players for other programs with money. It is what it is until Congress changes things.

This is a great campaign and I hope every Zip fan contributes what they can. It is interesting to note soccer has a goal of $60,000, which is nearly half of the goal for our 17 varsity sports. BTW, they will make it with a matching gift they have received. Soccer is truly elite at Akron. The commitment the university and Andrew Goodrich have made to it will allow us to compete at the highest level. Contributions to all sports will enable us to keep raising the profile of all programs. It's a good day to be a Zip!

FWIW, a friend within the program told me Joe and coach Rod have done a good job of mining the portal. Our OL will be no better than last season, but also no worse. The net/net here is that the team will be better because we have a QB who can quickly make reads, follow the progression and get rid of the ball. The OL is not the best, but it will not hurts us either. We may have a team that is exciting.

From folks inside the program I heard that they wanted Eric but feared they couldn't afford him, which was true. He ended up better on all counts. As regards Sharon they felt they had better talent coming in and coming up from redshirt. They wanted to keep him but were not going to pay much. Personally I hate losing him because I liked his grit. According to the people I talked with he was never assured he would start.

It was a 1-1 tie while losing in a shootout. The teams were evenly matched. Louisville is vastly improved over last Spring. We used the game to see who fit where. Many freshman got PT. We have a lot of talent not yet on campus and that is great because we have some holes to fill. I thought Rourke, Freddy K. and Dreas played very well. Jared used this to clearly evaluate what we have and where he needs to mine the portal. Expect a completely different team than this Spring to Open up next Fall against Dayton.

Good move for him. He will make a lot of money with the opportunity to get PT and play for a national contender.

Does this mean Sharon Young is gone?

This only tells me he can't play the way we want. WMU is not committed to basketball, new gym or not.

You are exactly right. We used the game to check out and develop players. OSU plays to win. Our best against OSU for 90 minutes is no contest.

The excitement continues to build!

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the trite, sanctimonious messages athletes post when they go into the portal. They talk about God guiding them. They talk about the everlasting bonds of fellowship they have with their teammates. They thank their coaches for developing them into the men they are today. Then they leave. After great thought and consultation I'm offering this simple sample announcement: "I'm in the portal. I may come back. The most money determines what I'll do." This hits at the truth. Saves a lot of time. And eliminates hypocrisy. Please use for all future announcements as my gift to portal entrees. No charge.

I watched the brief from Groce's press conference on why he decided on C of C. I readily admit I see things thru Zip colored glasses, but his reasoning did not make sense to me. When he cited alignment in the administration I took exception that he has that at UA also. Nemer is making the changes necessary to thrive, B of T chairman Mike Saxon is nothing short of brilliant. Andrew Goodrich understands that athletics is an asset, not a liability and he is gaining the support he will need to right the ship with a greater budget over time. They are all working together. The history at C of C is no better than Akron's. John mentioned the stature of a degree from C of C. I am not qualified to say they are better or less respected than our degrees. Yet I know we have a slew of outstanding depts that grant highly respected degrees. I get the support of the community and the weather may be better than Akron's. That I grant. Still his reasoning for a change to a mid major in a lesser conference puzzles me. A person close to our administration told me John will get three times our NIL money, a far bigger budget and staff, and he is a big fish in a medium sized pond with no competition for resources. That is easier to swallow than what John said. I bear no ill will to John. He gave us 9 great years. I will always celebrate that and regard him in the highest terms. I just don't swallow his reasons for leaving to go to another mid major. He deserves better.

In case you haven't noticed it is happening at Akron now. We have exceptional people in all positions and they will work things out. They are doing it now.

If we got Hurley you can kiss any thought of an enduring, positive culture goodbye.

Those who follow soccer at UA might have a different opinion. Soccer consistently wins its conference, makes the NCAA playoffs, goes to the elite eight, makes the final four and has a national championship and two runners-up. I'd say there is an argument there.

Groce did hit a ceiling with us. But Goodrich and Pottorff and Wentz wanted to help bust thru it. Going to C of C still does not make sense to me. I do not believe that in the long run it is a better job. No way! Groce has wanted the challenge of a P4 job, that's why he took Illinois. C of C does not get him back there. At his age he will be at the mid major level for a long time. He could have leveraged Akron for a P4 job which makes sense. This does not.

This kid is good and will play well at a higher level. It will also be interesting to see how many transfers he undertakes in the years ahead. I bet this is not his last. His mom's antics really turned me off. So glad we don't have that in our program.

I respectfully disagree. We don't need him and his attitude (me first). Groce has often said "you have to fit our culture, we are not going to change to fit you" Simmons demands everyone fits him. Besides we need more height than 6'7".

This was a great year and we should celebrate everything about it. Yet we also have to stay grounded in reality and the truth is this team was not set up to go deep in the tourney. As we saw it didn't go even one game. We had only one big. It was obvious more were needed. The out of conference schedule showed we were lacking against the better teams. The MAC does not prep a team for the intense, better play of P4 schools. The great equalizer, the 3 point shot, failed us today and for the last month of games. There is a lot to work on and w/o deep NIL we are questionable to ever go deeper than one game in the Big Dance.

I'm glad Miami won last night and Suder looked like s#*t. In my opinion he is the fifth best player for Miami behind Skaljac, Byers, Elmer and Woolfolk. Considering that the coaches voted Suder Player of the Year tells me there is jealousy or bitterness towards Groce and/or Akron when they deliberately snubbed the true POY Tavari Johnson.