72 Roo

Addition by subtraction.

After watching this interview I would give serious consideration to having Bud as our next AD. I have no doubt he could run an excellent dept. My only worry would be could he hire great coaches. Character counts. He has it in spades.

Now I'm back to being sad. To their credit Boise had a solid vision and made successive excellent hires as head coaches and AD's. IIRC Boise began as a junior college. Leadership and talented people are the two most important components of achieving and sustaining excellence. We need to remember that in making future hires.

Is this an addition that we can get excited about? Please let it be. My nether world is sore from all the hits taken to it. Some good news to close the year would be very welcome. Regardless, Happy New Year Zips Nation!

There is something going on within the program. Simmons departure makes no sense. Was he suggested to leave so a complete rebuild could occur? I don't think so, but nothing makes sense. Most of our players who have left will not find NIL money. Do they want to play for a winner? Maybe, but at UA they had their spots won and the program was heading upward. If they had really bought in as Joe has said repeatedly not this many would be leaving. They could have been comfortable, but they chose to leave for the chaos of the TP. Why? There has to be more here than we are aware.

Something must be going on within the program. These losses to the portal are crippling. We cannot build. All we can do is hope to replace with new, unproven talent. I think we all know how that will turn out. I agree that it is so bad it's comical because I would rather laugh than cry. So why are these tears welling up in my eyes?

At least send us a season's supply of Twinkies as compensation.

This is a fascinating narrative. UNCC could prove to be a better position than OU, but that is only if Albin can start winning there. This move does seem to be a head scratcher in that if you are going to move, make a bigger step. Your story explains a lot. Nice reading. The MAC is indeed a bizarre place.

At least he didn't say God told him to do it. Could he have had help from the coaches?

Damn! Why didn't I think of that. I knew there is a reason I stay on this forum. Cheers! 🍻

Thanks for this morning's pick-me-up. It's too early to start drinking so I needed this. This forum can sometimes be negative, primarily due to the frustration loyal Zip football fans have experienced. It seems the future is slowly seeing improvement despite the inequity in D1 football. Hope springs eternal.

Catdaddy you are ever the optimist. With the loss of all our All-MAC players we really took a gut punch. I pray Joe and Company can, in spite of our losses, keep improving the quality of the team and the wins. G5"s, especially low G5's, have a mountain to climb.

Thanks for this post adZip. Emmer Lancaster made Akron, the university and African Americans in business all better because of his service. Your story comes at a good time to be reminded that UA produces many great individuals whom we should be proud of and celebrate. Now give us a football program to match them. 😀

UA administration needs to look at what they can do to make the program better rather than what they can cut. Cutting is the cheap, cowardly solution to the problem. Improvement is the only way out. It is also harder but pays the greatest dividends. It's time to for leaders to learn payday games do not solve problems, rather they make them worse. If there is money available to fund a $1.3M sponsorship with the Browns there is money to field a competitive football program.

No offense taken. My point is that when you start offering solutions to a problem more solutions surface. No problem is ever solved by incessantly complaining about it. Let me give you an example. Dan Rice, the CEO of the Ohio and Erie Canalway Project, years ago wanted to improve the canal's towpath for greater public use. He had little money. He started selling a vision to many local groups showing how they could make a difference. He has raised over $31M to date in a city hit hard economically, searching for an identity and suffering from poor PR. Lock 3 park has been built downtown. Summit Lake Park is being built with shelter house, connecting towpath to downtown, boat livery, new bike paths, parking, landscaping and amenities. All because one man started selling an idea. Akron football doesn't have to be a dumpster fire. There are people who want it to be a success. Give them something to do about it.

Can someone contact the Pope or the Dali Lama and see if they will talk to God about our players leaving the program? It seems He or She is the one common thread in all their announcements regarding their departure. What's God got against Zip football? We are facing a tough off-season and He/She doesn't have to pile it on.

This just sucks. I realize you can rebuild like current champion OU did when they lost 9 of 11 offensive starters and I hope Joe does. But this is Akron. Our All MAC's will continue to leave until we can establish a winning culture. Even then, with the shifting sands of college football, we may not be able to sustain a program w/o more support for the players. Nemer has to make a statement and back it up. It is a total shame we don't have a training table, let alone a winning program or attractive culture. A D1 competitive football program is worth the investment. It is part of the remedy for restoring the enrollment. Look at Liberty's enrollment after football took off. Same for Coastal Carolina.

Joe is not responsible for putting together a collective for football. But why not former players? Can't they get in touch with Bud Wentz to understand the mechanics of putting it together? Once they set it up they could find events to fund it like: Toledo had pilates on the 50 lead by Candle's wife. It sold out. Repeat what basketball did with a night with the coaches. Bring back former coaches and players. Have an open Q & A with Joe on what he expects in the season, or maybe at mid-season. Sign gear and memorabilia by the players for a small fee, If legal. Basketball sold out at $100 per ticket. Host a golf tournament in the stadium like OSU does. All 9 iron shots from fun locations. afterwards is a buffet and cash bar. Offer guided tours of the facilities such as the Info, the field house and the JAR. Do a night with a coach once a month. Charge $50 to attend. Have Joe or the DC or STC take questions at a pub with a separate room. Seek donations from those who support NIL. Members of the collective could organize all these and the U would have little if no cost. If football needs a collective the alumni should be first to make it happen. Personally I don't believe in the NIL concept, but there are many who would support it. If they want to be part of a collective, like basketball has shown, give them a chance to help.

When I need a realistic assessment I go to you. Thanks for telling it like it is.

Help me understand how a player, who could not get on the field with a program that was not much better than us, will help us have a dominant OL? Are there other issues here? Joe is raising our talent level, no doubt, but his looks mediocre.

I bet the coaching staff was more involved in these decisions than God was. All three have players behind them who are younger and possessing a greater upside. Still, I wish them well wherever they go.

At first it looks like a lateral move, but maybe not. All MAC schools are strapped for resources. Charlotte seems to have an administration that is saying whatever it takes we will supply. He also goes to a major city, better climate, better conference and a better salary. Personally, I think he could have done better possibly at a low P4 school that wants a turnaround. But who knows?

That makes sense. This could have been a case of addition by subtraction. Thanks.

In what world does a player with a checkered background, and also injury prone, go into the portal from a program that until this season was in the bottom ten of FBS. Good luck with a half scholarship in DII Laurance. This does not hurt us.

I have been a fan of RJ Nemer since he took the dean position of the CBA (College of Business Administration). Because of his efforts the CBA showed a 9% enrollment growth this year over last. He thinks outside the box and he knows UA has to get out and recruit students. His decision to give $1.3M to the Browns is a real head scratcher. It is Scarborough-esque and he deserves to be called out on it. How did he get this thru the BOT? That money could have paid for a training table plus advertising reaching all Ohio high schools. One of the biggest boosts to enrollment is having a football team the region takes pride in. Give Joe the resources, w/o busting the bank, and excitement will return to Akron. That, more than an association with a decrepit pro football team, will pay off in growing enrollment.