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That's what I thought. As bad as PN looked at times, and there still was no time for MR to get in??? This is incomprehensible. They have the store on the SW corner, and a stand in the west wing, and they're selling crap OUT OF A TRAILER??? They have garbage bags over the windows of the store??? And they only had a handful of items in the trailer. I know they have a VERY limited number of items to sell anyway, but for crying out loud I've seen Division 3 schools that had a bigger inventory and a decent place to buy it. They leave so much money on the table it's incomprehensible. It was 40' yesterday, think of the merchandise they could have sold, if they had it. What a joke. My wife went to Akron 4 years, I've gone three, my oldest son is finishing up his first year. We've been to football games, soccer games, basketball games, baseball games. And still my 16 year old athlete son couldn't believe it yesterday when I said Akron was Division I. Other than being Big 10 fodder every year in football, how would he know? Someone needs to wake up. Sorry, just felt like giving the dead horse a couple more licks yesterday.

This morning ESPN Mobile Web has last night's score, ugly as it may be. They also list Romeo Travis as being the leading scorer and rebounder, and Dru Joyce leading in assists.If only...

Those are great shots, but this is Akron.Do you really think Summit Lake is that scenic?

Who cares if they win or not if we can't see the games?I mean seriously. If they don't care, why should I?Look, John Carroll is on TV, maybe I'll just WATCH THEM.

I think they should win every game too, and I also think if you can't follow the rules then you sit. Playing sports is a privilege.I would rather sacrifice one regular season game if it meant getting everybody on the same page so the team can improve. If you let things go, they're not going to win many regular season games anymore. Let alone the games when the nation is watching.

Wrong.The only thing that matters is who wins the MAC Championship Game. Use the regular season to teach these kids that they have to toe the line, play by the rules, and be coached by the coach, so that they will be there for the team (and fans) in those final couple of minutes in Cleveland in March. Because THAT'S what really matters...Not to compare him to any Zips players, but AI might give the Cavs a couple more W's, but what happens to team chemistry in the finals? How many Super Bowl rings does TO have? Ocho Sicko?

Just the university. It doesn't really matter for the city to have one, as almost everyone has cable anyway, and the Cleveland news programs have stepped up their Akron-Canton coverage. Especially with the end of channel 23 news about 15 years ago.Why can a Lorain County Community College student sit at home and watch class on their TV but we can't? Are they that much more technically advanced at LCCC? Is Elyria that much further advanced than Akron?Why can I sit and watch Baldwin Wallace D3 sports, if I ever got the urge to watch BW sports, EVERY WEEK but only get a handful of Akron games all year? Not to mention the local high school sports? High school volleyball is on right now... There's a lot the U could do with a TV station. And they have the degree programs and the studios to run it. Not to mention several distance learning studios.IMHO the U and the sports programs are missing out.

Oh no, didn't mean that in a bad way. I was just always curious whether I could call myself a "supporter" of the athletics programs compared to other supporters. Being a student.

Someone asked about press releases. Yes they do get sent out. I recieve them on the sports I'm interested in. If you are interested, Sign up here

Not to mention seeing Baldwin Freakin Wallace and Mount U on TV every week. BW!!!! While the Zips have 4 basketball games on TV ALL SEASON??? Maybe five if the Bracketbuster game gets on a real network.Nothing says "big time" quite like not being on TV while local D3 teams are on all the time.

Sounds good in theory, but you have the Akron Aeros breaking attendance records, with the Cleveland stations pimping the Indians. The Force sold out the Coliseum despite being ignored and laughed at by the sports media.So what do these teams have that the Zips don't? How can the Aeros average 4900 fans at 71 home games, against "big name programs" like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the New Britain Rock Cats? With sometimes 6-7 home games in a week? Or the Force playing world power Baltimore Blast in front of 18,000?I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back...

It's kind of like Akron Canton Airport buying billboard space almost at the entrance to Cleveland Hopkins.And Cleveland Hopkins advertising at Zips venues.In all fairness I see several billboards advertising Zips games along 76 and 8.

I got a quick response as well.

That's a lot of "ifs". I agree we need a new arena. We need it now. And we need it if we want to go big time. I'd give my first born to see them in the Final Four. And I wish they would build it right along with a soccer stadium. But we know all they worry about is basketball and football.Akron could be the "Omaha of college soccer" with a nice stadium that lights up for TV. There are lots of tournament games here. Might even bid on the finals... It's not as prestigious as a top basketball program for sure, but it is something to put us on the map. Better than nothing...But, enough off-topic. I apologize.

Why doesn't Akron have a TV channel? They have the studios, they have the programs. They have the distance learning network. Yet all they do with the TV equipment is burn a few programs now and then for the internet.Lorain County Community College has a TV channel on the local cable companies. They use it for classes that you can take at home, and a bunch of other stuff.UA sports are starved for exposure. There are a lot more Baldwin Wallace games televised than Zips. BALDWIN WALLACE. They have 4500 students!!! And I can sit and watch the Yellow Jackets play almost every week. But not the major campus 12 miles away. Hell we can't even get a radio signal from 1350 here... Heck I can watch about 12 different sports from the local HIGH SCHOOL. But the Zips? Gotta mark down on the calendar the precious few games that will be televised, then go through the alphabet soup of networks to find it when they get moved.Looking at just the sports programs, they get exposure, build up a different fanbase, and it would help some with recruiting in our backyard. They could advertise upcoming games, advertise the Team Shop, well maybe not advertise the Team Shop. Even sell advertising spots.I know there must be an obvious reason they don't have one, but I'm missing it.

Some of us have...

Yeah because we sold out every game at the Info, right??? Just build a nice structure, and the place will be packed, just because it's a nice building. Meanwhile we left money on the table and fans and students unable to attend several games just a little to the west...

Interesting. Student fees made up 70% of the athletic revenue.I feel more comfortable saying I am a "supporter" of the athletic programs now, as a student.

Don't know if anybody posted this already, but the hockey club Has a new home.Keep up the good play.And if you cancel the rest of the season this year, let us know before we pack up the kids and head to the game, and there's nobody but 7 year old girls skating and falling...

The same week Cleveland State traveled to 12th ranked Kansas State.Youngstown State played in Pittsburgh.They're just over half the size of Akron U. We could travel all over the state and compare schedules, but some will just come up with more excuses why we can't.

+1This is what I've heard people outside the program saying for years.If you have a prayer of sniffing a selection bid, in the NCAA or the NIT, 26 wins against Arkansas Pine Bluff and UNC Greensboro is NOT what they're looking for. Been there, done that.So you might as well play tough, and get ready for the conference tourney. Scheduling tough non-con opponents only makes you BETTER. It gets you ready for the conference season and the conference tournament. Playing Binghamton is not going to get Zeke any "big game" exposure. If you play a major, even if you have to travel there (and play Malone at home for a nice payday), IT MAKES YOU BETTER. You go into a big time arena and play a big time team on their court, you learn. You're exposed to the crowd attaching all of your senses. It helps you at tournament time.Wyoming??? not so much...

Although I agree in principle with the idea you presented here, Michigan has a national championship (and two other championship game appearances) and UCLA has perhaps the strongest pedigree of anyone wth 11 National championships. Now if you were to substitute say Virginia Tech and Florida State then I might agree with you.Maybe I should rephrase that "famous recognizable football schools that have basketball programs we could compete with." If not now, in the future.BTW, VT and FSU are two good examples either way.

Anybody knows college baseball has always been only big in the south, and why they are. That's why I used it as a comparison.Nobody wants to hit a fastball in Akron in March, nobody wants to hit a linebacker in Akron (or Ohio State) (or Notre Dame) in November. IF they have an opportunity to play down south.And you agree other schools are getting more exposure. It use to be we had three networks. One was tied to Notre Dame, one was tied to the Big Ten. Now, I have three networks that show nothing but college sports. With the dozen+ sports networks, the other major conferences are playing on national TV too now. Heck I'd wager Baldwin Wallace and Mount U gets more TV time than Akron does. But that's a whole nuther topic for another rant...I don't understand if you think you disagree with me or vice versa, or whatever.

I agree with everything GP1 says. I'll add a couple things to that.Not only are the girls wearing shorts in January in SEC-land, but would you rather play your games in Ohio in late November? Would you rather drive through a snowstorm and walk through chill-factor winds to get to class? Then scrape your windshield and brush off your car to leave?Then, there's another thing that as changed in college football the past decade or two. EXPOSURE. You don't HAVE to go to Notre Dame or the Big Ten to be on network TV. That was one of Notre Dame's biggest selling points, you can be on ABC every week. Your friends and family can watch you in their living rooms.Now, there are dozens of games on nationwide coverage. And how many people really tune in to watch a top Big Ten team run up 70+ on conference fodder? Not so much this year when there wasn't a top Big Ten team... That's not entertainment.Someone else brought up the MAC spread. How many spread quarterbacks have made the transition to the NFL, and can throw a 3 yard out? Can do a 5 step drop? You're not going to recruit top quarterbacks to play that gimmick. And you're not going to recruit top receivers to play 5 wide. That aint going to teach them anything about the NFL. Or let them showcase their NFL potential. It's as bad (or worse) then tOSU playing Woodie Hayes' three yard and a cloud of dust. High school skill players want to go where they play a pro-like game.College football is going the way of college baseball. South. For many of the same reasons...

I'd like to see them play a tougher schedule, even if just on the road. But not because the RPI means a single thing to me, or to the MAC automatic bid.As the program becomes stronger, we need stronger non-con opponents to prepare for the tournament.There's no reason we aren't playing CSU every single year. In fact I came up with an annual game, possibly played at the Q, with the proceeds going to either Akron Children's Hospital or Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, depending on who won the game. Sent it off to TW a couple months ago, he liked it, got my fingers crossed now. It's stuff like that that would bring a LOT of attention to the program.Another idea, bring in teams from famous recognizable football schools, with not-so-famous basketball programs. Michigan, UCLA, Georgia, LSU. Boise State. Who would get you more attention, the Penn State Nittany Lions, or the St. Francis Terriers?We're miles and miles away from even dreaming of a selection bid into the dance. We shouldn't be looking at RPI just yet. Might as well sell some tickets, play against some better teams, and prepare to "go rounds" when we get the MAC auto bid.Just some musings from a fan who has only been watching college basketball a couple years. If I'm out in right field, I'm fine with that. I learn a lot from a lot of you guys here. Don't take what I say as an attack.