Spin

It would be worse to be the defending runners-up and not be able to put away Liberty. I'd almost rather watch that shipwreck. Flush fans will say its because Dri is out. I expected us to have trouble against UCF. They would give anyone in the MAC fits, might even beat NIU, at home. I wish we would start the season against the James Madisons. It would make these games easier to take. Well, we lost ESPN3, guess I'll check on the Browns 3rd team.

Called that one,

I want to see a replay of that fumble...

On Joe Dunn's radio showe yesterday they said the Time-Warner Sports Net would be picked up by satellite services. Fingers crossed (I have DirecTV)/

I think it would look good right in the center of the Can't State campus. LOL Get a couple guys I know drunk, and they might do it.

Sports Time Ohio is toast after the baseball season anyhow. Fox bought them and will be merging it with Fox Sports Ohio. STO's contracts with different entities (including the website I wrote for) are done. A lot of good people are leaving STO. Game over. Time Warner is a rip off. I'm not going back. I have two choices for cable, if I wanted to go back to cable (on DirecTV now) and I don't. Awful deal, MAC. You screwed yourself. Way to stay small.

MAC ANNOUNCES CREATION OF CAMELLIA BOWL IN 2014; MONTGOMERY, ALA-BASED BOWL OWNED & OPERATED BY ESPN MAC vs. Sun Belt matchup to begin in 2014 college football bowl season For Immediate Release—Monday, August 19, 2013 Cleveland, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today the creation of the Camellia Bowl, a newly created bowl game to begin in 2014, which will be based in Montgomery, Alabama, owned and operated by ESPN. The Camellia Bowl will feature a MAC bowl eligible football program to face a member of the Sun Belt Conference for the next six consecutive football seasons (2014-2019) in a pre-Christmas game televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2. “The Mid-American Conference is proud to partner in the creation of the Camellia Bowl beginning with the 2014 season,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. “The historic Cramton Bowl will be a great venue for our student-athletes and fans. Additionally, Montgomery’s entertainment district will provide a fun and lively bowl experience for all involved. I want to thank all parties involved for their diligence in creating this event, especially Montgomery mayor Todd Strange.” The Camellia Bowl will be played in the Cramton Bowl, a 25,000 seat stadium that has undergone significant renovations over the last several years, including a new press box facility, locker rooms and VIP hospitality accommodations. Beginning in the 2014 bowl season, the Camellia Bowl will be the third bowl game where the MAC is a primary bowl partner. The MAC has long-term primary contracts with the Go Daddy Bowl (based in Mobile, Ala.) through the 2017 season and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (based in Boise, Ida.) through the 2019 season

Cautious optimism.

I never knew where it was. I found where the Akron Pro's stadium was. But not Forge Field. Was it where the ball diamond is now? The first Zip game was played in Hudson. No stadium yet. Nobody thought college football would be what it is today.

GP1, you'll like this slideshow of Division 1 football. http://www.goducks.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPS...p;PALBID=970348 Go hard or go home.

The anti-arena people are forgetting a couple things. Corporate sponsorship. Naming rights was a big factor in the decision to build the Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium and First Energy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field. Renovation costs of the JAR, to have a nicer gymnasium. We make fun of the idiots who are trying to renovate the Rubber Bowl. But some of us want to do the same thing to this newer, but equally as outmoded a structure. It was outmoded the day it opened. Then there are the contributors. People who would donate their own money to see this happen. Just like the Info. Just like other projects around campus. If a new arena could be built, using these sources of money, at a cost lower than putting lipstick on the JAR pig, what the hell's the problem? A lot of people get their panties in a bunch over talk of football dropping down to I-AA. But they're the first to poo-poo any idea that would make Akron LOOK like a friggen D1 school. Do you want to be Division I or not? And about Cameron Hall and Rupp Arena. THEY ARE NICER THAN THE JAR. THEY ARE MORE COMFORTABLE THAN THE JAR. No comparison. And THEY HAVE A STRONG LEGACY because of the history of the programs there. They are the Fenway Park and Lambeau Field of college basketball. Both of those facilities were kept modernized and blew the shit out of the newer Cleveland Municiple Stadium in every way as a fan experience anyway. We're beating a dead horse with some of these stiffs. Like I said, if the people running the U had this foresight, all classes would still be in Buchtel Hall. With black chalk boards and coal heating. The football team would still be playing Western Reserve University and Kenyon in a field in Hudson.

So a new arena would have NO value to improving the program??? That's where we're at now? Ever hear of "recruit visits?" Terry Bowden, the guy who started this thread with his comment, came to Akron (in large part) because it had first rate facilities to woo recruits with. The past several years we seem to be that one player away from taking the next step. New arena=better recruits. Would you attend Akron today if they still had chalk boards and a cafeteria? And everyone else had modern technology? Nicer facilities + bigger capacity=bigger crowds. Could we bring in a big program (or even a school with a famous name more from football than basketball) with a bigger arena? If the university had the forsight of the people on this forum, we would have all been squeezed into Buchtel Hall for class.

When's the last time you saw tOSU play at a gym similar to Kenmore high school's?

This can't be right. http://www.ohio.com/editorial/joseph-yeado...duates-1.416007

I don't see that as as big a problem as some. The Force was completely ignored by the media, they HATED soccer and laughed at indoorsoccer. Yet they drew 18,000+ for big games. They were the only profitable team in the sport. Probably still are. The Aeros are never on radio and TV sports, but at one time ranked 5th in all of minor league baseball and broke AA records. The best example is right across from the Student Union, alongside the baseball diamond. If you want a seat, you better go early. Or wear pants that don't grass stain.

Interesting study conducted by an alumni/baseball fan. Me. Even considering the early season games played in bad weather at the Canal Park (because Lee Jackson was unplayable), attendance at Canal Park was 17% higher at the off-campus site. The three best attended games were at CP. Same team. Same season. Same record. The numbers are skewered a bit because of the distance CP is from campus. Imagine if CP were on campus how much the needle would move. We had 60,505 fans at mens basketball games last year. Using that figure, a modern arena downtown would increase that by 10,286. Factor in the increase by being on campus, and you have another nice increase IMO. Comparing the popularity of college basketball to college baseball in this region, and IMO the increase could be a multiple of that figure.

I can't believe we wasted so much money on the Student Union and the Rec. And we provide FREE Wifi. Kids these days are so spoiled. Back in the 1930's when I went to college there, we didn't need all that shit. We walked 8 miles a day, uphill both ways.

It rang true for the soccer stadium just fine. Perfect example of what a suitable facility AND a winning team can do. I don't invite friends to come sit in the JAR because I don't want them to get that impression of my alma mater. I take them to real Division I facilities on campus. Not the JAR. Not the ball diamond. Football has a good venue. Soccer has a good venue. Softball has a good venue. When is it mens basketball and wonems basketball's turn? Look I'll do you one better, Buckeye fanboy. If they ask for benefactors for a new arena, I will put my own money on it. And I know others who will as well. And when we help build it, we will throw you off the bandwagon if you get anywhere near it.

But that's what we're trying to say. Fans aren't interested in going to a high school gym. You've heard several of them right here. You can't build fan interest NThe Canton-Akron Indians and the Canton Crockodiles and the Canton Coyotes lost money in that high school stadium. They moved to a nice facility, and despite being in the Indian's shadow, we broke attendance records. There are FIVE profitable minor league teams in the Indian's shadow. That's not an issue in this market. We broke attendance records in indoor soccer, in the same building the Cavs were in season. You have to win. And you have to have a decent building. College basketball is a more popular sport than minor league baseball or indoor soccer. They've been to the dance. Going rounds would help. But as far as attendance, the potential is there. Squeezing people together in folding bleachers just doesn't cut it. We can't build enough stands to hold all of the Zips soccer fans. Even with Ohio State in Ohio. The university continues to upgrade facilities and student services. Why? Because you have to today. Today's college student doesn't want to go to a college stuck in the 1940's. Sports fans are the same.

I know there's more to it than that. We've been talking about all of the aspects for over a year. Welcome to the conversation. You said you wanted a study. I spent my own time putting one together for you showing what happened to attendance when a better facility was built. You didn't even take one look at it because it proves you wrong. Now you're claiming that we think that's ALL we need, and throwing all this other crap out. How much students pay has what to do with attendance going up with tenable facilities? I'm done.

Yeah who could ever believe the word of an OSU football alum. Oh wait. That was anti-Buckeye, wasn't it. I'm sorry.

If you won't even consider that basic data, you're not going to listen to anything anybody says. And we talked about how to finance it ad nauseum. READ.

There are plenty of OSU honks that act like that. Whether someone hasn't been subjected to them or not is irrelevant. Even Je'Rod Cherry mentioned it last week. Those teams DO belong in the MAC, and have a hard time beating MAC opponents. What's wrong with saying that? The Zips are down right now, but a few short years ago we were the conference champions.

There it is. Half of the Big Five teams are below .500 in conference. Some of them have a tough time beating the MAC teams as it is. They're not going to sign off on that. What would really work is a restructuring of the conferences, taking only the top 20 or 30 teams in the country to play in the super league. But the conferences won't sign off on that, because they are raking in money by the truckload now. If you cut the conferences in half, with the top half playing in the 30 teams playing in the super league and the rest playing in the current division, then the teams left behind lose their big payday from having the super teams at their stadium. So they're not going to like that. I don't see an answer.