72 Roo

Probably the most sensible post I've read today. Art will be here for awhile. he should use that time to show he is capable of winning a championship. When we get in a better financial boat there needs to be a decision based on results. If Arth has turned it around he can stay, if not cut your losses and find a new coach.

Unfortunately, it can. What a disaster. I hope Arth has the guts to restructure his staff in the off-season. This team is poorly prepared and has zero confidence it can win.

I voted for Gordon Larsen. From having seen Akron coaches over the years he is by far the best. He prepared teams better than any coach I've seen and he also performed well in the big games. I'm thinking about against Kent led by Don James and against Tampa, who was going big time with several D1 All Americans. Larsen beat them 40-0. He gave Terry Bradshaw of Louisiana Tech a game in the Grantland Rice Bowl. I wish I could have voted for Jim Dennison, but the fact is he had a losing record against the best coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference. He was regularly out-coached by Jim Feix at Western Kentucky, Frank Beamer at Murray State and Roy Kidd at Eastern Kentucky. Dennison got most of his wins against the bottom half of the OVC. Nonetheless he was a great guy and I admired his character so much.

I have not posted much this fall. Depression may have something to do with it. Here are some thoughts on our football program. You may like them and you may hate them, but they reflect what I have seen and feel. Our team is bad. They have poor talent and are not prepared each week. We are young and that may change in years to come, but for now we are bad. Arth is not ready for D1 football. The coaching staff is not ready for D1 football. Should we fire Arth? Hell no. Give him time to grow into the position. We do not have the money to swallow a hire that may prove poor. But it also may prove good if Arth has the smarts to correct the team's weaknesses. That is the same problem Bowden had. He failed to make the changes he needed to make. Think Milwee. It cost him his job. I'm glad he's gone. Arth has to surround himself with better coaches. His first change must be to get a better O-Line coach. Coach Z has proven to be incompetent in solving our atrocious line play. Friend or no friend of Arth he has to be replaced/reassigned. Can Arth make the hard calls for the betterment of his program? If we have a turnaround it will be slow and painful. This program is bad and will take a lot to heal. It can be done, but only with laying the fundamentals that are not sexy and are not readily apparent. Athletes will not come here until they feel they can win. Forget the crap that we are sold that athletes want to come here so they can play early. They eventually don't care about winning and they will play down to that expectation insuring losses. We love Akron and can see it's potential. Recruits only love themselves and see us as losers, which we are. We will not get the better ones until we can show that we are committed to winning. The jury's out on that. Football must succeed at Akron for other athletic programs to flourish. We aren't dropping football so let's find a way to win. The schools we consider our peers are doing OK (Toledo, Miami, OU, NIU, CMU) so we need to emulate them. Our AD and his staff need to be given time to see if this hire (Arth) can work out. If not, they need to go. I did not like the secretive process they employed, not because I felt the alumni/supporters needed to be informed. On the contrary I think the alumni/supporters need to be left out. But I do feel that in the hiring process there needs to be a feedback mechanism that opines whether the staff is on the right path or not. This hire seemed to be solely focused on one candidate, the guy they wanted and that's it. We are in a world of hurt. It pains me to know that Akron football is the worst in the country. Yet if Arth can turn it around I am willing to give him the time to do so. Still I look at Ohio State and see that since Woody Hayes in the late 50's losing is not tolerated. I hope to see a culture emerge at Akron that feels the same way.

I can't recall a lower time for any Zip sports enthusiast. This is not a rant or a fire any coach, AD or BOT member call to action. It is merely a statement that our athletics culture is depressed. Football is now the worst of the bottom 10. Arth may raise us to the top of the MAC. I hope he does, but we have a lot more pain ahead before that happens. I'll give him a chance. Soccer is experiencing an unprecedented winless streak. Jared will fix it, he's too good a coach and we are lucky to have him. Tennis loses a coach who raised the program to the top of the MAC and then resigns days before the first fall season match for personal reasons. What gives? I don't believe why he left. There's more than that at play here. Track and Field can't have a spring home meet because the track is unsafe. Is this any way to treat a program that has made it to a top 25 national ranking? I don't believe this dysfunction is the result of one man's leadership, but rather a deteriorating culture that tolerates excuses and does not think of the university as able to achieve a high level of MAC competition. It's not always about money and funding. For us it's about expecting to lose eventually. There is little evidence of commitment to excellence. I've seen more passion on ZNO than I have ever seen from athletic dept staff. Their response always seems to be "This is Akron, what do you expect?" Well screw that. I expect to win and you coach, athletic staff member or administrator are supposed to find a way to make that happen. Not an excuse as to why it can't. Please men's and women's BBall gives us something to be proud of.

Can you say Milwee? Enough said.

NW my friend, if you watch the O-line you may need to budget some $$$ for therapy. It is likely to be an ugly viewing. I hope I'm wrong but for three years I haven't been.

I like it. Unfortunately the corner poles are load-bearing and cannot be eliminated. This architect was an idiot. Dr. Guezetta and the board of trustees were idiots for approving the architectual plans. I have felt for a long, long time that UA continually has incompetent boards of trustees. For Decades our problems, academic or athletic, continue to go back to their decisions.

Arth has no case for getting fired up when the question is asked about replacing O Linemen. I agree with him that a coach needs to expect his players to be out there every day working their butts off. But they also need to be effective at what they do. They need to show that all that work is making them better and they are prepared to do their job. This line has yet to show they can block. They have been bad so far. The numbers don't lie. Asking if other players should get a look-see is reasonable, even if it is asked by GT.

I went with the Zips because of the power of the Takeaway Pencil. Kinda like never doubt the power of the pen .....cil. Seriously, to me it all boils down to the O Line. We win if they can block.

What a heartbreaking time for Niko's family. Isn't it incredible that in such a time of great pain his family stays rooted in their faith and love. All my prayers go to him and his family. It makes me so proud to see the outstanding character our boys bring with them to Akron. I am proud to have worn the colors and to say "Once a Zip always a Zip."

As I sat in the stands watching this game I reflected that we are first and foremost an academic institution. So what grades would this game produce? Here's my opinion for what it's worth. BTW, I support coach Arth and will give him the time he needs. Additionally, I thought coach Bowden deserved to be let go. Here's my grades. I welcome your criticism. Coaching - D Special Teams - F O Line - F WR's - B/B+ RB's - D- QB - C D Line - D+ LB's - B DB's - F Fans - F

Does anyone have a clue why Davis, Brown and Jest were left home? Our intrepid reporters did not ask a single question regarding that issue in the presser. Are we to assume the coaching staff suspended them for one game? What was the issue(s)? If we are to support this team we deserve some answers. All the staff has to say is it was for breaking team or university rules and move on. But to say nothing is bush league. It's almost like saying don't talk about it and it will go away. Shame on the media for not getting after it.

Wait! Wait! Did I miss something? Did they actually get an OC who knew how to call plays? What about this issue of using strategies that take advantage of the skills of the players? What a concept! Where the hell did that come from? Totally foreign to the former coaching staff.

This only tells me that TDS has no clue as to the quality we have brought in this years from foreign players. There is no way this class is outside the top 10. Do your homework TDS!

Nice look! They already look like a team. Can't wait to see the product they put on the field. I bet they surprise many opponents.Keep grinding guys. And welcome back to campus.⚾

Thank you guys. You don't know how much this appreciated by those of us who can't get to practices and scrimmages. Well done! ?

Hey, they do have covers on them. This new rule kinda snuck up me but I'm glad to see the coaching staff is on the cutting edge of teaching how to use the bats.

Jup, interesting story. Another reason for Akron being late to join the MAC was Kent's AD, I believe his name was Erickson, did everything he could to stop Akron from getting in the MAC. I heard from our athletic people in the 70"s and 80's that Kent wanted to blackball Akron for as long as they could.

I hope The Code hasn't gone code blue and is now being resuscitated. Is there a doctor in the house?!?

Make that two new Muldowney II fans. I have always loved guys who want to be at Akron. To me they become the heart and soul of the program. Proud to be a Zip!

Welcome AkronAlumnus! Glad you are now on our board. I don't know who will be next season's starting five, but I do know Williams will be one of them. A member of the basketball staff told me in the spring that Williams was the best player on the team last season even though he could not play. he was described as head and shoulders better than anyone else. It's taking time, perhaps too much for some, but this team, and program, is coming together and will be better next season. Keep the posts coming.

I noticed that RJ Kelly from Akron Hoban is no longer listed on the roster. Does anyone know why he left? This surprises me because I thought he was a great recruit who could be a four year contributor after red-shirting. As I recall he was a three star recruit and two time All-Ohio. I saw him play many times and was very impressed.

So true.

I'm with Zips Voice on this one. This program can easily be expense neutral. With the rental we could get from the facility plus the revenue generated by attendance at key meets plus the positive impact T&F has on enrollment, this program is extremely valuable to U of A. I had lunch with a prominent head coach this winter. During the meal I commented that I couldn't figure out why we added W LAX when all programs were fighting for budget dollars. He said LAX would not hurt his or any other program. It would cover its cost by boosting enrollment thru getting athletes who wanted to play here, generate donations from supporters and enhance our reputation. Costs would not get out of control. T & F is similar in that many athletes come to Akron to be part of this program while getting little aid. Most get academic aid since the scholarship money is limited. The program helps enrollment thru the athletes it draws let alone the impact it has on our reputation. I was on campus two years ago for the spring football game, a night soccer game and the Akron Quad T & F meet, all on the same day. I enjoyed the quad most of all. It was well attended with hundreds of people in the stands. With a little bit of marketing and better fan amenities a few targeted meets could draw quite well. The Akron public appreciates good T & F. Mitchell is building something special here and all we need do is get out of his way and let him work miracles with the limited budget he has. Building and maintaining a superior T & F facility is well worth it and will not drain the athletic dept budget.