72 Roo

On another thread I criticized coach Kest and even said I hoped her contract was not renewed. From what i have seen of the team lately, I am dead wrong. They played tonight like champs against the toughest of opponents. Coach has got this team believing and executing. She is due more credit than i ever gave her. I was wrong. My apologies coach Kest. We have a hell of a future.

But the house would be PACKED every night, I guarantee it! I'd go. Right now I'm not renewing. Ianello has yet to show me any evidence he knows what he is doing or that he can coach. He was hired to do that, wasn't he? I really struggle with that issue. I love my Zips...love the stadium...love football Saturdays...love the tailgating...but I hate the vibe of the football program right now...not just the losing, but the whole all-encompassing vibe. Wistersil jerking me around with his 5k Donor lot thing still irks me. I hate that my AD was so stupid. I hate that the golf outing was cancelled...and if they bring it back this season, I'll probably skip it. I hate that good people are abandoning the Zips in year #3 of a brand new stadium. But they're being driven away. I can't blame them. There's no excuse for Saturday's in Akron not being an absolute Party...and instead there's about 39 of us who kept the place from looking like a complete morgue last season. I feel if I stay away, I'm quitting on UA. And that's not fair to the players. So I'll be there again this fall. But my heart's not in it like it has been in the past. I've endured 1-win seasons before. I can deal with them. But getting s&%t on during a 1-win season...that sucks. I feel your angst and understand your loyalty to Akron. I don't necessarily see it the same way. I feel the program has stopped being loyal to me, the average fan. They make a terrible hire, get terrible results, build a staff of all fired coaches that can't get jobs anywhere decent and they give no reason to hope for better results. What hurts the most is that guys like you, GP1 and most others on this board hold fast to a vision that we should be the class of the MAC with an exciting future in all sports. The only way to bring change is to show I won't support this type of program. What hurts the most is to see the quality of the team on the field. They are below Akron standards and show little hope of playing good football, under i Coach, let alone win.

But the house would be PACKED every night, I guarantee it! I'd go. Right now I'm not renewing. Ianello has yet to show me any evidence he knows what he is doing or that he can coach. He was hired to do that, wasn't he?

This is ultimately the responsibility of the AD. He needs a marketing dept that wants to make a difference or he needs to find one and replace the current one. You are right. There are many simple things that can be done to improve the fan experience that will have a big effect on attendence. You can always do something to improve any situations. We are not victims. We need to think that we can be accountable for bettering the situation. Once you accept that mindset you can do anything. Are you listening marketing , TW?

I noticed the band director out there with the cowbell. I loved it. I'm convinced that majority of people sit on their hands because everybody else does. It's that crowd mentality, "Well, I don't want to look silly being the only one to stand up and cheer..." This is another reason I believe a layout change at the JAR would benefit the overall gameday experience. If we had even one sideline section for students, and it was packed and loud and standing the entire game, I think it'd have at least a small effect on the rest of the crowd in the lower bowl. Again though, we're stuck with the Chicken and egg effect...students have to show support before the university would ever consider reconfiguring. Years ago when I attended games in Memorial Hall one section was for the Bleacher Bums. They didn't care what anyone said or felt. They did their own thing and were loved by everyone in the crowd. Their experience may lend some credance to what you propose for a student only section. It worked then. Under Wyatt Webb we had some very exciting games that made you proud to be there.

Dave.... Well put. There are many things that influence the student attendance, but the bottom line is that they are not doing the job in supporting a program that is at the top of the conference year in, year out. We have all heard that the structure of the JAR needs overhauled and I agree with that. Also the seating policy for students in the lower bowl needs reviewed. But those cannot be accepted as excuses. We have to solve this because, selflessly, I dream of getting out of the MAC. A Gonzga-type program and a conference winning football team will help us get there. But, good post Dave.

Student attendance is a huge problem. If it isn't solved we will only see our program progress on a limited basis. I was one of the folks who said as soon as the on-campus housing increases the students will turn out big-time and make our games THE places to be every time we play. Now over 3200 students live in campus and we still have horrible student attendance for the quality of our program. The students are the key. When they show well they make each game an event. When basketball games become events, the general public will buy up all the other tickets. The students are the key and I don't understand why they don't fill every GA seat.

There are two sides to every story and its beneath us to get mad at Toeldo fans for one of our former players wanting to go there. Toledo has a better program. Kest has a marginal record at Akron and has yet to produce sustainable results. When Kyle left the program I asked everyone I could in Akron athletic administration what was it that caused her to leave. Everyone in the know was tight lipped and refused to comment. They at best said she was a good player who didn't feel Akron was a good fit. She will come back to haunt us and Kest bears some of the responsibility. Her record of treating players is spotty at best. I for one hope her contract is not renewed when it is up. So if Kyle and Witt leave, I say thanks but we are moving on. BTW, I've been to Toledo and walked their campus. It is as nice as ours. It has a BBall facility and tradition, in the women's game, that puts ours to shame. I think we are better fans who don't have to resort to name calling to make a point to our opponents. I know that's old-school today, but it is still the better path to follow.

Let face it folks, we are in a bad situation. We hopefully will get a little better each year with better production (wins) and schlarship players. An exceptional leader could accelerate the process but we don't have one. Maybe he can grow into one. I am not ruling that out. But if he does, coach I will be gone as quickly as he gets noteriety. The kind he is getting now isn't conducive to finding greener pastures yet. How's that for an enlightened observation!

These wins don't happen in a vacuum. Hats off to KD for getting the boys ready to smack down BG, a respectable but nothing more of an opponent. No better time to get it all together. Fantastic performance!

Amen. These coaching losses don't speak well for us as an up and coming program. But then 1-11 doesn't speak well of anything. Is Dr Z still available or does he want to go to greener pastures also? Looks like there is room for Vince and Dr Z now.

Johnny ... Not even one dissenter? Well here is one. I'm for Dr. Z. His record is better. Last year he was 0-0 or .500 that's a lot better than Vince's record of 1-11 or .091. Also this is not based on cronyism. I have met Dr. Z only once, but he did offer me a beer and that left me forever in awe of him. Besides that, this is based solely on unimpeachable sources regarding his ability i.e. CK and a few buddies who thought it sounded like a good idea (after a few beers).

What a stimulating discussion of Zip sports!

Stars don't count. But talent does. Are we to believe our brilliant coaching staff found a diamond in the rough that no other D1 school could see? Curious, to say the least. I'd love to find we had a recruit coming that other successful D1 schools wanted. My cynicism comes from a 1-11 season that should have been much better despite the state the program was in.

Thanks Root for posting this.Ya gotta love this guy. Makes my problems seem silly.

Congratulations to the coaching staff for getting us some help on the D line. I have been skeptical of our coaching staff this year. But I will admit that they appear to be finding some talent to help us. Of course, we all need to reserve judgement for another two years to see if they can play at the level we need. Yet hope is an important quality to have in any program. After having it ripped from us with a 1-11 season, it is back when you look at our recruiting and that is very welcome. To Julian ... welcome to the Zips. It's never too early to learn and we will be .

Gotta agree Zach. Another long season ahead of us.

Root ... It's good to see you have your priorities straight. With this kind of critical thinking I'm sure it will be a group all can support.

Finally, a wide receiver with decent height. Welcome Tyrell. Is this kid a receiver or QB? Not rated by Rivals or Scout - seems like we are grasping at straws. OK all you ICoach supporter - point out one recruit where Akron was chosen over a quality BCS team? A person that is going to AKron because he was impressed by ICoach. So far I am not impressed Hey! Wait a minute. We beat out Stony Brook!

Finally, we have a cornerback with decent size. Yes he has good size for a CB. That should make us all happy if he has the speed. But if he truly was recruited at LB I have serious misgivings. I don't care if he has been in a weight program or not. At the desparate stage we find our team in now we need someone who can give us productive playing time after one year in our program. He may be too small for that at LB. Putting him in the average size of our current LB's means nothing because they are almost all undersized and under-performing. If we are to build the program we all want, our recruits will have to be better than what we have rather than equal to our average size. Now we are turning our noses at 3 star players because they don't fit "your" mold of what we should be recruiting. My god the negativity about everything Ianello does is getting annoying. Be thankful we got a 3 star "athlete". Let the coaching staff determine where he should play once he gets here. I've seen lots of three stars come to Akron who can't play in the MAC. The negativism comes from being 1-11 and having a coaching staff that did not make the team any better from the beginning of the season to the end, like Miami did last year when they went 1-11. This is not being negative, it's being realistic in the assessment of the program. We can't get better until we objectively assess what we have and then go get what we need. We need size and athleticism at LB.

Sold out vs. butts-in-seats are two different things. While it's nice for the University to have those seats sold out every game it looks bad for the program when a third to half of them are sitting empty for the vast majority of the games. Good point Quick. I agree with all you stated. We should reserve the right that any seats in the lower bowl that aren't filled after 10 minutes into the game can be sold by the university to someone else. That way we get the lower bowl filled, bring more pressure to the palying area, project better on TV and give a vitality to the JAR that is sadly lacking. One other thing, all seats in the lower bowl should carry with them a season's supply of blue-gray hair dye and free use of difibulators. Maybe that with get those folks to cheer.

Finally, we have a cornerback with decent size. Yes he has good size for a CB. That should make us all happy if he has the speed. But if he truly was recruited at LB I have serious misgivings. I don't care if he has been in a weight program or not. At the desparate stage we find our team in now we need someone who can give us productive playing time after one year in our program. He may be too small for that at LB. Putting him in the average size of our current LB's means nothing because they are almost all undersized and under-performing. If we are to build the program we all want, our recruits will have to be better than what we have rather than equal to our average size.

Everyone looks good coming out of high school where small LB's can excel. Put a 6"0" 207 lb LB in a full season of D1 football and you will see why size is needed. Good luck to this recruit, but don't kid yourself. In the MAC size is needed at LB. We don't seem to be getting it with many of our recruits. We will pay down the line when 230 lb running backs hit us up for 5+ yds/carry.

I didn't realize icoach was a past coach. When did he become a past coach and has a replacement been located? Wisful thinking.

Isn't he supposed to be in class now? If our team has a GPA of near 3.5, i bet it's safe to say he isn't exactly at the top end of the spectrum if he's taking this much time away from class. Or does he make it up in the summer?