Spin

I got nothing…

I disagree on some points in that college athletics DO promote the schools to prospective student. Would Ohio State be so popular if it weren't for the football team? That students don't subconsciously see that as a more successful school because the sports programs are successful? Or that they see themselves partying in the streets before and after (and during) the football games? And seeing the students on TV having such a good time at the games? You know it does. At the same time sports have the opposite effect on prospective students when the teams perennially suck. With apologies to the other Zips programs, football is pounded into everyone's brain in this region. Soccer is growing in popularity every day, and college basketball is as well, but neither is not quite on the same level as football in the post industrial blue collar regions. Ohio State saw record enrollment figures again this year. Akron? Not so much. We had our chance with Coach Bowden, for whatever reason he changed course and here we are again. With a fragment of the budget we had, and a university in financial crisis. If only...

Looking through the program’s history it’s interesting to see many (most?) of the best attended games in the program’s history were: 1. At the Rubber Bowl 2. Against Div 1-AA opponents and 3. During ACME-Click games Which shows it doesn’t take “top level” opponents to get Football Country excited, and the program drew best when professionals were marketing the games…

Because it was cheaper than rebuilding the Rubber Bowl, including the naming rights. There weren’t exactly corporations waiting in like to have their name plastered all over the decaying Bowl.

I couldn’t care less who knew. I want my alma mater’s athletics to play at a high level, but at a level it can financially be competitive in today’s college sports landscape. I don’t want to see my home-village high school football team playing St. Ed’s. That doesn’t interest me at all. I don’t want to see the Zips soccer team playing Manchester United. I’ll watch one or the other. But against each other? Not interested. YMMV

You do realize the economics of big time college football are completely different from college basketball and soccer. That’s why there’s an FCS. It’s Division 1, but it’s not for the delusional fans who think we can keep up with schools with $109,000,000.00 plus athletics budgets. That’s almost ten times what Akron has to spend. To look at it another way, tOSU gets almost 10 times as much of the state tax we pay than Akron does. And probably way more than 10 times as much TV and radio revenue. Can the Zips be competitive in FBS? With the right coach, and the right number of scholarships, it is possible. We’ve seen it. Even with the multiple budget cuts the last 10-15 years. But it takes the right people running the program. And that takes the right $pay$ for the staff. Or catching lightning in a bottle and hire a future superstar coach before the rest of college football notices him. That’s reality for probably 90-95 FBS football programs. If you want to preach the virtues of staying FCS and complain every week how bad we suck, go find us a cheap coaching legend (and don’t let him hire Milwe)

Last week I watched the Akron Rubberducks win the Eastern League championship. No, it wasn’t the World Series. It wasn’t against the Dodgers. But nobody there gave two shits. We all had a LOT more fun than if we watched them try to play the Yankees. Yes there are elitist fans who scoff at anything not MLB. Their loss…

Because losing to FBS Iowa State was so much fun?

TY it was FBS conferences. Which could very well mean the end of the payday games. it sounds like they're going to be scheduling schools from within the alliance for non-con games. It makes better sense for them (and the networks) to have alliance schools playing each other (attendance, ratings) than thrashing wannabe "major" programs and not selling out.

I always said if you can't sell football in Northeast Ohio, where the (what would become the) NFL had four franchises at one time, where some high school games draw better than most colleges, you're a loser. Yeah Ohio State has the history and legacy and all that. But seriously you should be able to fill the Info for some games. Granted the team is an FBS laughingstock that has a winning record in only a handful of seasons in our lifetime. That doesn't help. But the marketing "effort" put forth by the U is embarrassing. The university has to BUY it's own tickets to stay in the FBS. In what world is that responsible, or even possible? Football country deserves better.

Didn't some of the non-Power 5 conferences get together for scheduling and marketing and other areas last summer? Something is in the works. And the MAC is not invited.

That's a lot of scrutiny for a college kid... I hope some of you guys don't visit my FaceBook page. LOL

Sounds eerily familiar to this roster...

I brought up going back to FCS a couple years ago and almost got run out of town. Then TB came along, eventually had a couple wining seasons and a bowl win, and then he didn't anymore and got fired. And it's back tom the same old bottom 5 bullcrap. My question is, how do FCS schools cover football expenses without the "payday" money grabs? Division 2? Division 3? NAIA? Ohio has two FCS programs (in different conferences but, whatever), 8 D2 programs, and 20 D3 programs. That's 30 college programs in Ohio that don't depend on an annual A$$kicking For Dollars. The lines are still painted on the field. New helmets and pads and uniforms are ordered. The refs show up and the announcer climbs into the booth. The stadium lights come on if it's too dark. The games get played.

The question is, do the lower tier payday games pay the same as top 10 teams? I would be all for playing the 20th through say 50th ranked programs if the bottom line was the same. Were probably well below even FCS standards for schollys. And Your typical MAC program.

It reminds me of the Ted Stepien Cavaliers at the Big House on the Prairie. I was there when they quoted attendance at 1500, and was amazed half would be no-shows. TBH it did snow a lot there. My and my buddy snuck up to the loge level and the security guard came over. I thought we were going to get a quick ride back down the elevator. He talked with us for an hour. He was lonely. A fan called the ticket office and asked when the game started and he replied "What time can you be here." I don't doubt that happened...

The irony of one knowledgeable poster being upset about "way under the scholarship limit" and several others complaining about payday games (which has gone on for decades) would be funny. If it wasn't Zips fans.

Like I said in the game thread, these games against top 10 or top 20 programs are a big part of the budget for the program. We don’t want to drop to FCS or D2, but we don’t know how to fill the stadium/charge $$$ for parking/sell memorabilia on game day. Or how to increase tv ratings so we can get a lucrative contract…

G5 programs have been playing P5 programs for a nicer payday for as long as I can remember. And I’m old… These games make up a significant part of the athletic department’s budgets every year. I’m surprised after alll these decades of taking a beating for the program this just came up,

Maybe it’s a way to seed the football championship, a sport that only plays one game a week. In other sports teams can play several games in a week/tournament.

Too many passes bouncing off receivers hands tonight. Are they hearing (top 10) footsteps?

Ohio is 0-4, including a loss to a FCS program. There’s that.

This is how the program avoids budget cuts…

there’s that…

8 years ago today, the Zips lost a close one to Louisiana 35-30 at home.