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I don't know if this would work or not, so I' asking, when Akron gets a new basketball arena, could the JAR be converted to a full-floor facility? Remove some or all of the lower bowl seats, and put in a rink-sized floor. Here's my thoughts. A separate full-floor facility wouldn't need all the seats, the capacity of the upper level would be fine. Being separate from the main arena, it would be open to all students. I would put the floor (plywood covered with artificial turf) down 4-5 days a week and open it up for indoor soccer, indoor lacrosse, and arena football. Pick-up and intramural. Then the rest of the week pull the floor and schedule your hockey games, high school hockey, (junior league?), and student open skates. The program gets to set it's own schedule (they have a lot of 10:05 starts now), the fans and students get better seats, and the campus atmosphere improves. What if Canton's soccer team moved to the JAR? More soccer players would take advantage of being able to play competitively year round. More dates with people coming onto campus. Just a thought. I remember the pick-up indoor soccer games at the old "arena" on Jacoby and how popular they were, I see hundreds of people at public skates at Center Ice, Alice Noble (Wooster), and North Park (Elyria). And how the CLUB team has grown over the past two years. I think it would all be a big plus for the campus. Just thinking out loud.

200+ I lost count. It was nice to put faces to some of the names on here, it was a rough game, these two teams just don't like each other (anyone else remember "Piss on old time hockey"?). At one point we were 5 on 3 with Cincy on a major, later Cincy had a player tossed. And a big win with playoff implications. Team chemistry has been a problem with some players running into money and grade problems, so this win was huge. Another in-state rival, Wright State, is in town later today. And you don't have to convince me what on-campus hockey would add...

Or the culture of students wearing clothing with other colleges on them?

I'm in.

I hope to met you and any other ZipsNationals. You can get my profile pic here (I'm the one on the right). http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000326361396 I'll be wearing Khaki pants and a blue and gold jacket, Zips Hockey polo. During the game I'll be the one with the huge fanny pack trying not to fall on my ass.

Everyone I like gets their chops busted eventually, some daily. I have always had a ton of respect for the man, and having him part of my school is unreal. I truly believe he was the skapegoat in the whole tOSU and that several other individuals should have been escorted off the campus, starting at the top. I see the changes being made to the U, and the direction they want to go, and that has just gotten a lot easier with The Vest on board.

I just hope they don't put Tressel in the Compliance Dept. too soon?

Not going there...

WKRK reported tonight that Tress helped Akron with it's head coach search. So I gotta think yeah, Coach Bowden is on board with this.

The Browns, Indians, and Cavs love us.

CSU fans are mad we got a better RPI opponent than they did (Derxel). So is Can't left out?

Drex@CSU

Oral Roberts???

Not a football conference but on our level is the Horizon League. Could have some great territorial rivalries, as could the rest of the MAC. Imagine an Akron-Can't-Ohio, CSU-YSU-X tournament every year. Or an Akron-Can't-CSU-YSU tourney with 1st-2nd and 3rd-4th place games.

I will be there Friday. Any chance on getting some of the Rowdies there? If we get the atmosphere we've had at several games this season, it would certainly leave an impression. I also don't understand why people don't think this is a hockey area. Youngstown, Wheeling, and Erie hav teams. Wooster has a successful team. Cleveland's hockey failures have been well documented, and IMO well explained in another thread. And the club team draws well, as we have seen. A hell of a lot better than most of the sanctioned sports I have attended... I think a full-on hockey program could break even or even produce revenue. Bring in more sponsors. And like the soccer team, draw in people from the whole region.

I actually thought about this thread while at the hockey game Friday night. Is that sad or what? A W E S O M E short-handed goal to win in the final minutes of the game, BTW, one of my favorite Zips moments of the school year!!! I hope that video makes YouTube. Best case scenario would be separate basketball arena and smaller rink on campus. Hoops fans get all that they want, and the students get a facility that will actually be open to them for fitness/recreation. A multi-purpose facility, on campus or downtown, would not be open for public skates, rec and intramural indoor soccer, football, and lacrosse (to name four examples). The hockey crowds, while drawfing most other sports, would fit in better with a facility bigger than Center Ice, but 6,000 seats may be a bit much. Think "atmosphere", as several basketball fans have brought up. 600-1000 would work better in that regard IMO. Could the JAR be reconfigured to a full-floor rec facility, sacrificing some or all lower level seats? How to pay for it all. We've seen several facilties paid for by alumni. The last two athletic projects we're done had multiple naming rights sponsors, and an increase in sponsorship because of the better facilities. The rec facilities are paid for in part by facilities fees on main campus students. I wonder what the cost savings of a multi-purpose facility compared to separate basketball arena/large rink combo would be... Oh well, I can dream. That's how big things get done. Second best scenario is an on-campus basketball arena and city owned downtown multipurpose arena. This would help revitalize downtown Akron, benefitting the community and the university. Not necessarily all of the alumni. Would the downtown public arena be open for rec purposes? Maybe, but for everybody, not just students. That would be very crowded, and cost money students might not have. Third best, an on-campus multi-purpose facility. Probably not open for student use. But better than nothing. Or, we could just concentrate on basketball, ignore the recreational facilities (and a very nice student recruitment tool) we could have, and the potential revenue-producing sport that draws multiple numbers of paying fans compared to sports like softball (which has great facilities and less than 1/4 the spectators). All just my opinion...

Does the club baseball have a website? Do they have a "trainer"?

Good deal. Looks like he's back on his way. Not the way he would have preferred, but things are working out for him.

Been a baseball fan most of my life (started watching the Tribe in 76), and have been to several Zips ballgames a year since starting college. It will be a lot more fun when we have a competitive team again (in 08 we were above .500, hard to believe now). Having the games on campus was convenient, I went to games between classes. But not many others did. I wouldn't be against playing at Canal Park, the U's games usually start at 3:00 and the Aeros games usually start at 7:00. Maybe they could do a couple double headers. I'm excited to see how the "new" team plays. I will likely be at more games this year than I have the past couple. A bit of baseball news to help get ball talk going, I see catcher Scott Saylor's brother Drew has hung up the cleats and is coaching with the Lake Erie Crushers, where he finished his playing career. All the best to him, they're a great couple of guys. And a question. Does the club baseball team still exist?

Student for 22 more weeks. In June, alumni with BS Nursing (and RN) and a Minor in Emergency Managment. I'm thinking positively and voting "Alum"

Not that at all. I don't want to face him. Just like I don't like it when Andy Sonnanstine pitches against the Tribe.

I'll be alumni in June. Technically that makes me a tweener.

Well I hope Terry catches on, I don't want to have to face him!!!

He ran a 4.57 at an OSU camp last summer. And the Suburban League does not put you up against the holy rollers and the big recruiting public schools. The injury in his junior year doesn't help either. Reference Tressel cooling on Anthony Schrock and him falling to the MAC. There's still the chance to walk-on a MAC school, before going all-in with Mount U.

I was in a summer class with CG. Very nice, head-on-straight young man. I was an instant fan.