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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...

Nice air ball by Trimble. We should own this team.

I appreciate the offers, hopefully you can use them but if not, one day I'll be able to take you up.

There's enough chatter about Zip Baseball (and alumni) to warrant a yearly thread. IMHO. Yes there's at least six inches of snow on the ground at the moment, but college baseball is a month away. This season the ball team makes a trip to warmer weather (Tennessee and Georgia) for the first couple weeks. Then a weekend in Louisville before getting into MACtion. Throw in a couple games against BW, Malone, and as zippy-claws mentioned, a Monday night game at Canal Park against Georgia Tech and we have 15 non-conference games, 55 games in all. All depending on how COVID continues to shred the sports schedules. The Zips in the Pros. The latest rumors have Chris Bassett being traded to the Yankees, a favorite to win the AL East. No rumblings yet about a JT trade, but here's a nice article on Fansided to read while waiting for the snow plows to clear the streets.

The latest I heard today on ESPNU Radio on Sirius today, don't look for expansion of the playoffs anytime soon. There was an agreement for a 12 or 16 team playoff that "everyone" agreed on, but when the teams starting jumping conferences, it fell apart. Now the conferences want to be sure they will have a place in the bracket, while the SEC wants all of their highly ranked teams in. Whether or not all of the P5 conferences are represented. So they're staying with the status quo for the next several years.

Counting his money.

Well that was interesting for awhile. Whether it will help mid-major recruiting remains to be seen. I have my doubts.

Bama 10-3 into the second quarter. Pretty competitive. A lot depends on how well a tired Cincy does against Bama bench riders that would start on any Other Five program.

This will be an interesting game. If Cincy blows chunks the mid-majors can probably forget ever being taken seriously again. Playing #1 Bama is a recipe for disaster for anyone outside the top 20. But a decent showing could change some minds.

Very nice drive if you like natural mountain scenery. We came that way back from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. I wish we could have seen more of Knoxville but the little lady had had enough of exploring.

A major Akron hospital had a 40 patient waiting list for admissions (rooms). The other is probably in the same situation.