72 Roo

Because it would have to be cut through stone.

Today, thanks to Megan in development, I got a tour of the stadium while I also looked over where I want my season tickets. The view of the field from the tower is nothing short of spectacular. The stadium is coming together so nicely. The club seats will be a memorable way to watch a game, just wish I could afford them. What was equally impressive was the view of campus looking out from the tower. The project manager from Welty, a gentleman by the name of John, was especially proud of that. Our athletic complex from 70 feet up is impressive.John or Megan mentioned a few things that I would like to share:1. The project is on schedule and will be complete before the first game except for the classrooms2. A tunnel was considered from the fieldhouse to the stadium but it was too expensive ala $3,000,000.3. The stadium will be able to accomodate a Skycam if the broadcaster wants to hook one up. Cool.4. There are, or will be, 20,000 parking spaces within an eight minute walk. So if you want to bitch about parking go somewhere else. My opinion, not theirs.5. The scoreboard will have a 20 x 40 screen. No high def but state of the art nonetheless. 6. The view from up top is magnificent. What stands out more than anything is the number of trees giving a feeling of seclusion. It reflects well on the city and our campus. The people who still believe we have a concrete campus will be shut up thank God. 7. From up top you can see Chapel Hill and the Goodyear sign at their HQ.8. Spicer and Exchange are being considered for closing on game day. This was proposed by the city and welcomed by the university9. The north service building was built to support expansion over it. When we go to a better conference , to support the revenue we will need, we can expand to accomodate conference requirements.10. Season tickets are off projections, but are picking up. The goal is 10,000 season tickets and 5,000 students per game. With the turf going down I predict season ticket sales will increase as the stadium takes on a greater sense of completion.I've been in the stadium 3-4 times and each time I come away with a greater sense of awe and pride. I am also impressed with the majority of staff the athletics dept has. They are great people and dedicated to helping us reach our potential. I know there are a few bozos, but the vast majority of staff and coaches are first rate.I can't wait for the season to begin. See you there. I'll bring the brew, you bring the brats. Oh, BTW

Captain, I love it.

Mac may move, but moving to Marshall doesn't make any sense. Akron will be in some sort of confernce realignment in the future. That will get Mac to C-USA level or higher. His income will grow accordingly. He has, almost across the board, better programs already at Akron than he could build at Marshall. It would be a lateral move and the headaches would be far greater than he has ever encountered.Mac's smart. He won't take this one. It's no Rutgers.

Captain,Great news about Bain. Let's wish him luck in summer lifting so that he doesn't reinjure himself. Thanks for sharing the inside information you get with all of us who are starved for Zip news. I can now sleep well. Our chances of having the defense we need to win just got a lot better.I still hate the 3-3-5!

I have no picture to post and that is good news for all. But as regards the program, you are correct that there is a gap to bridge to even approach the elite teams. Yet the truth is Mitchell is narrowing that gap each season. Our facilitiesa are near respectable. the 2,000 seats we just installed give a sense of legitimacy to our program and where we are going.What a perfect segue to lead into another rant about getting out of the MAC and into a better conference. I won't take the bait though, only because a few of you may know where I live and may take it upon yourselves to put me out of my misery. My wife and kids would also probably chip in on the cost. Suffice it to say, I'd like to kiss the MAC goodbye as soon as we could find a home with a better confernce. Oh God, I've done it. Shoot me!

Let me know how I can listen to you and when. Good luck. There are manyof us who can't get enough Zips talk.

The bottom line is if we win the fans will come and bear the inconvenience of a long walk until they realize it is the price you pay when a lot of people want to see the product you put on the field. After a while the bitching will turn to pride in the Zips. the rest of the posters are damn right, this is the way it is at every big time D-1 program.I just hope the folks that are tailgating early will invite me in if I bring a few cold ones. Talking Zip football before a game at the Info, Lord I think I've died and gone to heaven. At lest there they know and the Zips will be .

So why is it no one is commenting about Bain? Is it that bad of news? Even the posters on ZipsNation who are close to the program aren't offering any encouragement. I do appreciate the poetry though. This is such a cultured board.

Great question 82. Another question is does anyone know how Bain is faring with his back problems? There has been very litlle talk about that from the coaching staff and that always raises the level of concern. Perhaps it is only a temporary setback, but I'd sure like to hear from one of our Zipsnation unimpeachable sources (a guy in a bar who is first cousin to the landscaper who cuts JD's grass) that he is 100% healthy. Until that time I will sleep like a baby at night ....... waking up screaming every 2 hours. We need this Fall to a huge success for football. Like track we want football to be

Can any member of the nation give a recap of what kind of event the MAC Track championships were? How did the track look with the new seating? Was it filled? Was the weather good, bad? If there was a crowd, did they get into it? Did it reflect well on our athletic program and the university as a whole?I'm hoping it was a resounding success. The men and the women sure rose to the occassion. Congratulations to them and coach Mitchell. The few pictures I saw on GoZips.com gave the impression that the event was staged well. The stands in the background of one picture looked good. I thought it was a class act to have flowers along the infield of the track. The podium for first, second and third places gave the impression this was a first class meet.Finally, do we now have the venue that can support more serious and prestigious meets? Ones that will draw crowds and maybe a little revenue? I hope so. Our track program continues to be a great source of pride and I'd like to see them shoot for the stars.Well done Zip tracksters!

Thanks for the pics Zip ME 87. For the out-of-towners on this board they are like a breath of fresh air. This next point is a little off the subject, but it does tie in. When will the landscaping of the Coleman Commons begin? I hope it is completed before the first game. It will make a huge impression on our alumni, visitors and recruits, both academic and athletic.Anyone know?

They basically shut down Main St for Aeros games (8000 fans). I think it would rather easy to divert traffic around an Exchange St closure.Second the stadium is designed for expansion to 45k. The only way that becomes necessary is if we A: sell out B: win C: get out of the MAC. But for the record Nippert Stadium was just expanded to 35k in the last 5 years. Papa Johns was constructed at 42k. Rentschler was constructed at 40k.The first plan is to put seating where the grass hill is at the south end of the field. This enclosing the lower bowl would add 5,000 seats. The next phase is a little more vague. To the best of my knowledge no one has ever definitely stated what they would do, but the speculation is that stands similar to those on the east side would be put up over the north end zone service building thus easily taking the stadium into the realm of total seating in the 45-50,000 range. That's great to think about, but let's fill what we got now on a regular basis before we get too excited. Hey what the heck, it's a fun subject to dream about.

Don't care about the computer, but gotta confess, I shed a few tears about he beer. The good ones are always gone beforeyou know it.

No it didn't. Tutich was playing right attacking mid for the Crew. I hope they are serious about giving him more time with the reserves. To do so he would have to play for dirt cheap pay. Such is the life of someone trying to make an MLS roster. Cheers I was kidding the fact that the only goal of the day came from a fill-in ex-Akron player.My bad. Sorry.

No it didn't. Tutich was playing right attacking mid for the Crew. I hope they are serious about giving him more time with the reserves. To do so he would have to play for dirt cheap pay. Such is the life of someone trying to make an MLS roster. Cheers

I am actually happy to see the city shooting for a 10K arena. I think that gives the Zips room to grow while not being so large that we would feel dwarfed by the new place. I remember when Akron played at Cleveland State, thinking how they could not generate any atmosphere with their facility. We would really need to push attendance up over 6K per home game at an off campus site to give the real home crowd feel. I think our crowds could come to match what Dayton has done with time and a couple of NCAA bids.It's interesting to see your point on the arena's size Zip Fan. KD actually said the same thing when we talked about the size. He cited CSU's lack od atmosphere because they can't put a crowd in the Wolstein Center. He thought Xavier's Cintas Center (10,000) was a perfect fit. He also said our attendance was too low for a university and city our size. We talked about all the new dorms and he agreed they would help. He also said that we shouldn't need on campus residents to boost the attendance. He tought the locals should be clamoring for tickets, like the old days of Memorial Hall. He ended it by saying he wanted to play a more exciting brand of BBall that he felt the community, students and locals, would respond to enthusiastically. I gpot the feeling he believes he can do it and he will succeed. What a positive guy!

Like the Cap't I went to the soccer game against the Crew. I decided to start another thread because mine will also include basketball as I ran into KD on the way out and ended up talking with him for 10 minutes.First the game. The Zips were every bit the equall of the Crew who were going with 80% reserves or guest players.- Akron is freaky good. We've got speed, skill and guts. Many times the Crew took Zip players down only to be pounded the next (fair) chance we got. Gotta love that.- With potentially five starters out we are ready for a championship ala NCAA run.- The crowd was good but quiet. That will change when it counts. The Rowdies were subdued. I talked with a group of them before the game and they were quite proud that they made the Buffalo goalie cry by the end of the game. Gotta love that too.- Word is that the tennis courts will be torn out in the late Fall and the new field will be built 100 feet closer to the Student Union to accomodate a grandstand where the current bleachers are. The grandstand will be build after the 2010 season.On the way out I saw KD so I said hi and thanked him for the season. He was as gracious as a person could be. He talked about how excited he is for next year and then we started talking about the future:- Zeke may get a rebuilt dorm room. They can't find a shower high enough to fit him.- The men's and women's BBall programs are trying to work out a $5 million addition to the JAR that will give them better lockerrooms, offices, support facilities and study areas. KD is optimistic it will get done. He also said serious consideration is being given to eliminating the plexiglass rail and using either bringing the top bleachers out to the edge or getting more seating in the lower bowl. Don't ask me how. - This prompted me to ask about a new arena. KD said he feels one will get built with the city (because of the Qualer Square agreement) by Canal Park. He wants a minimum of 8,000 seats. The city does not want to exceed 10,000. He is pushing for the max the city will build ala 10K. I asked him is we could sign a 10 year deal with the city and then move to our own facility possibly built on Central Hower when we acquire it. He said that was a great idea, but he didn't see it ever happening. He emphasized he would be very happy to share something with the city. No timetable was given.- I ended by thanking him for his commitment to the university and his outspoken intention to stay and build. He said this was the best possible situation for him and as long as he could provide for his family he intended to stay. His mindset is that the money will come if he does his best.Why wouldn't everyone not want to play for a guy like that? What a great ambassador for the future of Zip sports.Other general thoughts on hoops that I heard walking around:- Adreian Payne still thinks highly of our program. One guy in the know said he thought it was misinformation that Payne's grandma wants him at home in Dayton. KD's visit followed Rick Pitino's and Payne's comment was that at least KD is not full of himself. Payne said he liked KD a lot. - Payne may not be comfortable at the big schools and likes Akron's climate. He also will need the academic support system that Akron has. - We are still seriously being considered by Payne. He likes our people, KD and the university. But my source is a realist. he said you never can predict what a young man will do.Let me close by saying I deliberately came early for the game to have time to walk around. The track is getting new permanent bleachers to hold 2,000 for the MACoutdoor championships, at least that is what I was told. Work is to be done before the end of May. I'm thrilled to see that. Coach Mitchell has done a super job in establishing the best track program in the state and one of the best in the Midwest. I can see us hosting many big events in the future as more is done to make the facility fan friendly.If you made it this far, hope you didn't find it boring. I love where we are going!

Z.I.P. Can you post a design for the scarf or can Caleb put in on the Nation's website? You probably, more than anyone else, want that scarf to keep you warm when the temp dips below 75 in the islands. I feel so sorry for you.Can't wait to see the Zips play what will amount to the Crew's reserves this Sunday. I expect a big crowd. There is a buzz about this game amongst all the soccer coaches I know. They know we are the real deal. Aloha and never forget as the waves lap on the beach outside the O Club at Hickam

These are unbelievable and shameless responses. Coach Boals gave us everything he had while he was here. We were lucky to have him. He has weighed his options and decided OSU was a better situation. And, of course, it was. He'll double his income, make more off of summer camps, be in the Big Ten, be with a program that has been to the Final Four, keep his Ohio contacts, see how another top program runs, put his family in a great city (Columbus) and place himself in position for the next move to a head coach. How can you possibly disparage a fine man for deciding in favor of this?The Nation is something that continually reminds me of how proud I am to be a Zip. But some of these responses are pathetic and not worthy of any Zip poster.

Thanks for getting us into the 2 team Big Eleven and also curing cancer to boot. Obviously, a new conference is the most important of the two achievements, but kicking the big C's butt is nonetheless pretty sweet.For what it's worth, I'm also a proponent of getting into a better conference ASAP. I feel C-USA would be it as things now stand. We aren't ready for the move, so now our focus should be to dominate the MAC and become attractive to other confernce opportunities that may present themselves. C-USA may be one. There also may be a realignment that would make sense for us. In my dreams the Big East asks us in (my dreams are pretty good at times). At best the MAC is a good place to be to build our portfolio for better opportunities. They will come. When, I can't predict. When they come, we must be ready to act. That's all I'm saying. I think Dr. Proenza appreciates this better than we think. The Zips are coming on and will be heard from for many years to come. Fear the Roo!

What I want to see with the opening of Info and the new phase we are entering is better management of the gameday experience. I want to see great tailgating. I want to see a band skull session. I want to see the band parade to the stadium. I want to see the band and team take the field in a way that is distinctly Akron's. I want to see post game traditions like a band concert or the ringing of a victory bell or a party alley. Most of all, I expect the athletic administration to coordinate everything and present a total package for the day. Copy all the great traditions of other programs and be open to ones that we would start ourselves. I think the ideas are out there. But is anyone charged with creating a gameday experience that makes you want to come back for more?These experiences can be so awesome that they take over a city. I live in Columbus. Three seasons ago Texas came to the horseshoe for a day game. While the game drew over 100,000 an additional 30,000 came down to OSU's campus just to tailgate and take in the parties. We can do the same on a smaller scale if we plan properly. If successful, the effect Akron football would have on the campus and community would be unbelievable.

Central Hower is not a school anymore....Is that building even in use anymore?It most certainly a school. Currently it houses the entirety of East High School while renovations are completed, and in the future it will see more relocated HS students from around the city. Central Hower will not be empty for many years.I had no idea...what other HS is being renovated besides East??? Central is way out of the way for students at Ellet and Buchtel? Firestone, Kenmore and North are in fine shape are they not?Buying Central Hower from APS is not that far fetched. We need to do cheap but effective changes to the JAR while we fill it to capacity regularly. That will take 2-3 years. After that either buy C-H from APS or negotiate a 5-10 rental agreement with the city on an arena they may build. After that length of time C-H will be of no use to APS and we will have accrued the money to build what we need. I can also see us razing the JAR and building a new arena on the surrounding footprint. In the interim we could make short use of a city built facility, probably 2 years. When C-H does become available in this scenario we buy it from APS for more dorms and academic buildings. As much as we talk about it on this board I have confidence Dr. Proenza and the board of trustees have a plan to deal with the need for increased capacity when the time comes. He is way ahead of most everyone when it comes to strategic thinking. The new 10 year strategic planning process will continue to exceed our expectations when it is made public.

Skip ... I agree. Also I think there are many things we can agree on. First, and foremost, we must play a defense that puts pressure on the QB. I'll let the coaches decide how to do that. The days of letting the QB have all the time in the world while we rush 3 against 5 blockers must be over. That didn't work and caused us to lose leads and the game many times in the fourth quarter. To tell you the truth I am disappointed JD won'rt admit that. He needs to take responsibility for running a defense that was one of the worst in the MAC. The win-loss record proves it. All the other stuff is just crap and coach-speak for it's someone else's fault. Sorry, but it falls on JD's shoulders. Please fix it.I do not share the confidence some of the posters on this board have in our LB's. I regard them as undersized and not capable of plugging holes or taking on pulling linemen/fullbacks. This is a concern of mine. We need big, physical, nasty LB's who can stop a runner dead in his tracks. Several of our best 6 LB's are no bigger than a free safety (6 '0, 205-220). I like a 4-3 because of our depth at D line and size limitations at LB.Regardless, the problem on D has been there for years. It's time to fix it now and become

I hope so and I also hope we need the capacity. But I know that's a dream. Who cares, you don't get better if you can't dream. Regarding the end zone facility, it had extra capacity that will be converted into soccer locker rooms and a team lounge. The space is much needed and Caleb is thrilled to get it. It improves his team's facilities immediately w/o building a new stadium. He needs to show these progressively better recruiting classes that the program is advancing facilities. I like it. For you guys who seem to be getting into a pissing match over the progress of the stadium, cut me a break! Bitch if they don't get it done. Until then shut the hell up. You sound like petty bitches who relish criticizing anyone who tries to do something good just so you can say I told you so. We are Zips! believe in the people who got us here. They know what they are doing. If they fail hold them accountable. Until then quit your bitching. You sound like K.e.n.t. fans. That is an insult BTW.