72 Roo

Good point. Yes you are correct about KD. But think about it, his hire supports my opinion. He was a proven, successful coach having led programs at Tiffin, Ashland, Central Michigan and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary HS. He had a history of turning around poor programs. Happy Fourth everyone. Thanks to all vets on this website.

Imagine if Stevens was part of a coaching staff that was 5-31 in conference over the last two seasons and 18-42 over all games during that time. Butler would never had promoted him. They expect more and they know past success is the best and foremost predictor of future success. Promoting from within when you have a very successful program is what I want so we may be on the same page. Jared followed Caleb in men's soccer and I supported, even lobbied, for that.

Yes, but remember Illinois is still picking up most of his coaching salary due to the years he had remaining when fired. Your point supports my argument that the university is protecting the football and MBBall budgets. Even soccer had a cutback in that Jared lost ( two years ago) his director of operations and he has not been replaced. I understand why UA did this, but I expect the revenue situation to improve regarding both sports. I feel it will happen with MBBall but football is a longer proposition. Still it's the AD's job to find resources to support competitive program. That hasn't happened.

Too many Akron only offers. But definitely better than in the past.

ZIP, sadly I agree. This hire either says they don't care or they don't have the resources. I believe it is the latter. I don't know for sure, but I believe Williams was told his budget was limited and if he wanted more money he had to go into the football or MBBall budgets. Being unwilling to do that he hired a caretaker, a person who has no history of turning a program around. Jodi left the program in an Ianello-like state. We are now the worst in the MAC. Williams knew this was coming as the season unfolded. He had time to prepare. If this is the best he can do we really need to question his ability to lead and grow.

I listened to the interview and was disappointed. Melissa did not energize the listeners as to the vision she wants to bring. In fact there was very little confidence built regarding her faith in herself in turning the program around. The interview further indicates to me that athletics cares little about being at the top of the MAC in WBBall. Melissa did talk about three returning players that she was excited to coach in the upcoming season, but who in the hell gets excited about returning players from a three win team. A major overhaul is needed and there was zero discussion on that. You win with talent first, then with coaching. There was little confidence built here that we can expect both. I wish i could be more positive about this but that's just the way I see it.

Z.I.P. echos my feelings. WBBall is the feature program of women's athletics. This hire tells us a lot about what is going on behind the scenes in athletics. It is a safe hire, but by no means an exciting one. I truly hope Melissa is able to break the downward spiral of WBBall. i don't see a reason to believe she is capable. She was part of one of the most disastrous periods in WBBall history. As a recruiting director she did not bring in any talent. Kest lost her effectiveness for reasons I do not know nor understand. Melissa bears some of the blame, especially if she is going to get credit for the better years Kest had. Giving her the HC position does not make sense unless Williams had no money and that would explain why he let the Ashland coach slip to BGSU w/o a fight. There is nothing here to excite the Zip faithful. It actually causes more concern than excitement for Zip athletics.

You passed on the obvious .... "it's 8:50 on a Friday night and Kent stills sucks!"

I saw Jaison and the rest of his Trotwood Madison team play Hoban in the state playoffs in 2016 in Columbus. His 6.25 time for the 40 was evident big time. I thought the Madison OL was poorly coached. Hoban dominated them even though Madison was far bigger. They made no adjustments at halftime and the final score was a near 40 point win by Hoban. I hope he is ready to improve his feet and his explosiveness. I trust the coaches saw something in him that can be improved and he will be part of the steady talent upgrade we are seeing in our team. If he's ready to work he made a super decision to become a Zip.

I think you are too casual in assessing the performance/roductivity of our OL. They have not been good for 3 years and the rebuild that they are undergoing now does not give any indication that they are ready to blow any DL out of the way. They will need at least a year to gel. That leaves this year in serious question. But I like your optimism.

Amen brother! That would be great news

Jerome was a hell of a player for us and I am glad he came to Akron. I rooted for him then and I hope he has a good future. Yet focusing on this issue now brings into question his decision-making and maturity. Too many athletes feel it's all about them. Humility is in very short supply. This may be another example.

I hope you are right. That's a step back towards respectability if not competitiveness.

Maybe you are disappointed in the article, but I feel it is what we deserve. Our pathetic last two games will color any improved expectations.

I'm glad you are on this site. You have made it more informative and that's what I value most of all. Keep coming back again and again.

You assume our games are going to be in Canal Park. As best I recall, even when Rem was our last coach, and one with the best credentials in program history, we only played a handful of games in Canal Park. To play more games there the owner and AD agreed additional lockerrooms and offices had to be built. The price tag was a cheap $500,000. We could not find the money, even at a time when we wanted to build the program and profile. Our renewed program is being resurrected on the cheap. Most, if not all, games will be at glorious Jackson Field, the worst field in the MAC. But you gotta start somewhere. If you liked our current softball season you'll love baseball. BTW, how can Jones survive?

Ianello used the same selling point of early playing time to lure recruits into his program. Look at the quality of players he left TB. Look at his results.

I like the idea and I like yours even better. I have never liked the MAC as a conference to grow in. But it is the best for us now and into the foreseeable future. So how do we make it better? We do what C-USA is doing. We play the conference members who want to be at the top. By doing this the MAC instantly becomes a better conference for us provided we accept the challenge of being in the top tier. I would love to see this happen.

Unfortunately that's the hand this resurrected program has been dealt. To think otherwise is foolish and not realistic.

Thanks Hilltopper. I bet there is a good coach in that mix of 75. He's not going to have much to work with. No doubt he's also going to have to be creative in getting resources for his program, but if he is persistent, holds to a good long-term vision and can recruit Ohio we have a chance to one day be competitive.

Huh? Kest resigned. Williams is free to start the hiring process. The board has absolutely nothing to do with this transition except for directing we get a better coach and stop the bleeding. The women's program is a dumpster fire.

I find your point hard to argue against. Realistically we have an underperforming women's program. Despite outstanding Swimming & Diving and Track & Field. Cross Country and Tennis could be considered average this year, but have had some very good years so they are not lost causes. This situation points to the need to have fired Jones at the end of the season. She must have time left on her contract. I still believe we should be a better program than most MAC schools. I concede to your point that we have not been so. Damn! I still expect more out to Williams. Find a way to get us to the top of the MAC and it all starts with coaching.

OK, I'll bite. Since I started this discussion I'll offer why I feel the Akron job in women's basketball is better than the BGSU job. First let me acknowledge that from 2001-2012 Curt Miller had BG at a level above the rest of the MAC. He left for IU and fizzled out after 3 years. But the BG program was bad under Jennifer Roos. To be honest ours was worse under Jodi. So why do I say the Akron job is better than the BG job? Many points could be argued but the biggest is that BG does not want to play at a higher level. They built the Stroth Center to accommodate a grand total of 5,000 fans. That is the damning statement that their athletic dept is making about where they want to be. Our gym, while a piece of crap, seats 5500. We know it is crap and we want better. That is what makes our program an upgrade over BG. They have low aspirations, we don't. We aren't there, but we want to be. They are content to be happy with a low expectations. Their athletic infrastructure speaks volumes. Even hockey, their primier program, is no longer relevant at the top level. So yeah, I think we offer more and that is potential. We ain't here yet but an aspiring coach could take us there better at Akron than at BG. Yet let's remember why I started this discussion. It was not about who has the better program. It was about why did Larry Williams let it get to this point? He had a bad coach, who lost 19 MAC games and needed to be removed. Yet he delayed making the proper move. Why? Jodi was not going to survive this season, so as AD prepare for it. A damn good coach, Robyn Fralick, of Ashland and Ohio Coach of The Year, was plucked away by BG. OK that happens, but when it does you have a plan B and you move on. We have done nothing to date. As I have said before, I like Larry and I support him. But when he falls short of the job I'm going to say so. Go Zips!

It's not difficult at all if you look at her record over the last three years. She is in a profession that always asks "What have you done for us lately." She neither recruited well, nor coached 'em up, nor laid the foundation for a turnaround. We should, and must, expect more.

I like Larry Williams and hope he proves to be an outstanding AD. But when it comes to our current situation in hiring a women's basketball head coach I hold him responsible for not being ahead of the situation. As last season unfolded everyone in the world knew Jodi had to be replaced. She was neither coaching nor recruiting on a high level. The pipeline of talent to turn the situation around was non existent. It was Larry's job to go to her, review her performance and discuss changes. If he waited for her to "think it over" shame on him. That's bad management and leadership. We lost the best coach in Ohio when BG hired the Ashland women's coach. Larry should have already had back channel contact with her letting her know a change was coming. I've got to believe our resources, vision and future are far better than BG can offer. If she would not come to UA then other candidates should have been identified. Succession planning is one of the most important aspects of any large organization leader. The wait we are experiencing now should have been avoided. I hope he still finds a good one.