Spin

Is anyone else having issues loading the GoZips.com website on a PC? I can get the menus on my iPhone, but not my PC, just the layout. I had this problem last night too.

^exciting stuff!!! I hadn’t heard about the polymer science dept in quite awhile. And the U is being seen in a positive light.

We talked earlier about the U building an arena downtown and hosting events for the whole city. The one spot I know of is the parking lot across from Canal Park. But if you build there, you would have the same problem we talked about the JAR/First Energy/Skeels Field a couple weeks ago. Parking and walking a distance during the winter. The park on the west side of S.Main that’s used during Christmas and for concerts would have better parking, but I doubt anyone could use that to build on. Anyway, just an interesting idea, building downtown. I don’t see it happening though.

Working locally in health care, I can vouch.

I agree with you about LBJ, I appreciate everything he's done to bring the region a professional sports championship, maybe the only one I will see in my lifetime. And what he's done for others in the community can't be overstated. As far as making any suggestions or decisions with the community, the university, or anything else, thanks anyways. I don't want him on the local pro basketball team either, there's a chemistry on that TEAM that any alpha-dog would disrupt. They're not the 2016 Cavs anymore.

Delete please

Hmmmm, a university-owned arena downtown could break even. 😎 Looking at The Covelli Center, Canton Civic Center, and the Huntington Center, there are a lot of events for an appropriate sized arena. Downtown has long needed something to bring people downtown at night.

I have no marketing expert by any means either, I'm an RN. But like others I give my opinions, observations, and the usual fanspeak (FAN being short for fanatic). I see two areas that need better marketing. The University needs something to rebuild enrollment. I walk out of work and see a dark Quaker Hilton, once student dorms. I drive by Polsky's on my way home and I'm not sure the University even uses it anymore. Or the Medina County University Center which was underutilized when I was a student 12 years ago. Then there's athletics, butts in seats. I remember as a teen going to Acme Zip games and the Rubber Bowl was just about full. Now I go to games at the Dialer, much more modern and comfortable than the Rubber Bowl, and more often than not me and the boys have entire sections to ourselves. Soccer is a lot more popular now than it was then, and it's real soccer. Not "Human Pinball". But I don't see the same attendance I saw 10-12-15 years ago. I remember the Cleveland Force playing exhibition outdoor games at the Rubber Bowl and drawing nice crowds. But then Mr. Wolstein was a marketing guru, with bigger crowds for "human pinball" games than the Indians drew. There's something missing. I'm no expert but I know what I've seen. And what others on this forum have said over the years. It reminds me of the Cavalier's first head coach Bill Fitch. The first year of the Cavs, a fan called the office, nobody picked up so Bill answered the phone. A fan asked "What time does the game start tonight?" Bill in his usual candor answered "What time can you get here?" A market study and focused advertising isn't going to fix all of the Athletics Department's problems. But an uptick in ticket sales would make it more sustainable, maybe even increase the programs' budgets.

I agree tOSU owns the state especially when it comes to football. Everyone else needs to do something BIG to even get on the radar. I hope and pray JM is it. We need someone who’s going to stick around, not necessarily a player who is gone in a couple years. A football or basketball version of Caleb Porter. But IMO that alone won’t take eyes off of the Worthless Nuts.

I don’t think it’s overused at all. It’s UNDERused by the University. Marketing involves understanding the customer. In this case, prospective students. Alumni. Then building an advertising plan around that audience. Enrollment is down almost 32% from 2014 to 2020. Which explains why the old Quaker Hilton sits dark. Looking at athletics, we see the attendance at the different programs, especially football. I’ve said before if you can’t sell football in NEOhio, you suck. IDK how else to say it. Part of it is because we never know when the team will win again (a result of mismanagement) but high schools draw better than our FBS football program in football country. Maybe they should bring back Turkey Day, at least someone would get use out of the stadium. Maybe the athletic staff NEEDS to be embarrassed. Heck, host a Game of the Week. Sell tickets and food, get students and potential donors on campus. What am I missing? Effective marketing made this region the only successful indoor soccer market (for years there were two franchises in NEOhio). Think about that. It’s not because they were successful, the Force never won a championship but still filled the Coliseum. I still believe the University couldn’t sell ice water in the desert during a drought.

That would make a great selling point. Why do most people go to college? To get a quality education that employers are looking for. If you want sports fans to attend your games, you have to understand what the customer wants, and show how you provide that. As soccer becomes more popular every year, does Akron let fans know we have a hell of a program? I said several years ago if you can't sell football in northeast Ohio and some high schools draw more fans then your D1 program, you have no business putting together a marketing program. Whether it's attracting prospective students or trying to sell game tickets, you need effective marketing.

Great topic. So what comes first? The nice fancy arena or the fan base? Actually, it all comes down to MARKETING. You have to change the face of the university to be a destination, not just a commuter school that’s closer to you than CSU, YSU, or KSU. And a lot cheaper than BW, Malone, Wooster, Case, etc. Ive seen 13,000 at the CSU Convocation Center for indoor soccer games and CSU Viking mens basketball games with maybe 130 fans. I’m convinced it’s really that simple. The university is poorly marketed, there seems to be nothing but bad news in the news about it. If it was a business it probably would have folded during the past 5 years or so. Has anyone been to the alumni site? What a waste. How do they engage current students to have pride in their school? There’s as many OSU shirts on the students (and staff) as there is Akron. While I was growing up it was most famous for having a pennant on a wall in the Happy Days tv show. You can’t make this up. Im no marketing professional, my major is in Nursing, which probably shows how bad the PR is. Fear the Roo

The game will be broadcast on 850AM WKNR. Albeit with Ohio’s broadcasters. Not sure why they signed with OU instead of one of the four NE Ohio D1 programs.

2 games on the 6th, split squad?

TV network money? Share of bowl revenue?

3 Schools Announce They’re Withdrawing From Conference USA In anticipation of a move to the Sun Belt Conference, three schools — Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss — have all announced their decision to end their alliance with Conference USA in June 2022. Sports Illustrated’s college football insider Ross Dellenger reports that this decision comes in response to all three of these schools being included on the official C-USA fall schedule that was released earlier this week. The Sun Belt has also included each of these three schools in their scheduling for the 2022 season, Dellenger adds. .

Baseball is hosting Can't State at noon, it'll be interesting to see when the Spring Game is scheduled. Might be a heck of an afternoon...

The Zips open the season a little later than last year, traveling to Nashville for a 3 game weekend series against Lipscomb. The Bisons were 8-13 (18-29) finishing 6th in the D1 Atlantic Sun Conference. The ASC is not a baseball powerhouse so this should be a good warmup series before facing Georgia and Louisville. Theres quite a few additions to the roster this year, with not many players leaving. A refreshing change from Season One where a coach went rogue and took his favorite players with him. All systems are “go” so far for having a 2022 MAC Baseball Tournament for the first time in two years. CMU was the last tournament champion. Here’s a video to watch while waiting for warmer weather, featuring a MAC opponent. https://d1baseball.com/d1-players-society/maction-a-day-in-the-life-with-ball-state-baseball/

LOL!!! I didn't say it was OK, that was just my introduction to rabid rivalries. So being in high school and climbing and painting the rival's water tower overlooking their stadium the night before a game seemed normal. Legendary. That was a much different time in sports. Not better in any way, but different.

I was at the game with my boys, man when we started out going o’fer while they put up a double digit lead, the Flushes set the tone. And the Zips never dug out. We caught back up at one point then blew chunks again. As far as the rivalry and the student behavior, they’re 18-22 year old males. What’s the age of maturity? This wasn’t a PGA tournament at Firestone. Some fans forget what it’s like to have a rivalry. I saw Steeler fans thrown into the urinal (trough) at the old Cleveland Stadium by grown mem. I think it’s refreshing that students (however immature they may be) take such an interest in Zips Athletics, something we’ve been hoping for since I attended there. Hell we painted our rivals water tower the night before a rivalry game while they were killing the grass at our high school BITD. That would be “vandalism” and “criminal damaging” now.

I spent a lot of time at the Canton Civic Center, after driving through Akron to get there. We went to a lot of indoor soccer games there BITD, I liked soccer and my wife liked the indoor game (and the Cleveland Force always disappointed in the playoffs). Then I went to Canton Charge games there before the Cavs moved them to CSU. It’s showing it’s age, but what an asset to the city. I think Akron would get a lot of use out of one. Having a downtown presence would do wonders for public awareness. Especially since the converted Quaker Hilton sits unused since the U bought it, shuttered the mall, and converted the hotel to no-longer-needed dorm space. I agree the sports facilities are buried, and in the winter a real PIA to get to. I would go to more events after work but after being on my feet for 12 hours, I just head home and listen on the radio.

So there are still students that have pride in their program and their college. That's kind of surprising.

I guess a fugly win is as good as a blowout in the standings. It's best to just tuck that away somewhere, and hopefully use CMU to get back on track.

If they're going to have a night shooting like this, at least it's not against Buffalo, Ohio, or Toledo.

It won't get any easier for awhile...