MaxZIP

Kent state sucks.

Making a return to Zips Nation after an 8+ year hiatus to say first and foremost Can’t sucks in every possible way. I was at the game last night with my son. Sat mid court low near some of the old stalwarts on here. The Can’t fans by us were classless, clueless, ref blaming jackasses. Felt compelled to come on to share my thoughts and thank the team and coach for cramming a W down their throats last night. Enjoy seeing you at the games year in and out. Your unwavering (though often critical) support for the zips is one of few constants in an increasingly crazy world. Go Zips!

Should cost less.

Coming out of retirement for this one. I have run into k92 a couple of times at games, on road trips and around Akron. He has always been a good time and ready to invite people to be zips fans. @balesy, I believe we had season tickets a few years back right next to you. Tressell sat a couple of rows behind us. You really care to the max about the zips. Always an active and loud fan in a good way. Enjoyed sitting near you two. I honestly don't see a big difference between zips fans beyond what they write on here about the same topics year in and out. The first college basketball game I attended was with my now deceased grandpa 25 years ago. I was a drunk student at the games a decade ago. I was a less drunk fan sitting in lower bowl for 5 years. Now I take my 3 year old daughter and sometimes my 1 year old son to the game. You can see me doing laps with them throughout the second half of nearly every home game. We chase zippy but don't get too close for fear she may actually get touched by zippy. Scared outta her mind but the thrill of the chase is everything. Getting to the point. To me part of the fun of the games is how much the same it is from year to year. I have shared years of boring early home wins with my friends, wife, children, and the same old salt zips fans I give the head nod to in passing. I remember going to the Mac tourney with my girlfriend in college who years later is my wife. I remember taking he bus to Detroit to see the zips in the macc. So many memories from the years. At Mac tourney time we go to Cleveland like it is mecca. We sit down have a bunch of beer and relive the years we have been coming down and what was going on in our lives when x happened. So in closing. I get what I need from the zips. I am not advocating for keeping the status quo or anything. But to me the experience of being a zips fan is in the memories. It will change some day but a new marketing scheme, jersey color, or whatever will have no impact on me or most of you. I go to games because in a world of travel, tv, kids, and so on...sometimes taking the time sit at a game is worth a sore ass and geriatric park like atmosphere. Also I sneak in popcorn and water so Aramark be damned. We bring 20 to 30 people in a year for our alumni tailgate and Conference basketball games. People ask why we are zips fans and all I can answer is that we just are. And after all of these years. Kent sucks worse than ever.

Small pool of potential example teams. Akron only has 1 Men's BB team.

I told you already that there is not an obvious business case for a reno or a new arena in the short term. . Challenge accepted. I have stated that I would like for them to build a new arena or majorly renovate so that I can watch a came w/o a bar and pedestrians in front of me. A personal justification as most of the people posting on this forum have expressed.

It is more than this. Pair a crappy arena with a crappy product and what do you have. I love MAC basketball but will be the first to admit that most people could care less about an early January victory over Copping State. Just like they don't care about a home loss to Middle Tennessee. Sure, I would like to watch a game without a black bar and pedestrians blocking my view. I would like to be able to take people to a game and have them actually get enjoyment from it. There are many things that can be done immediately to generate more fans and improve the value of investing time and money in the basketball program. Short game=do the little things Long game=build an area Really Long Game=Up minimum level of competition (join a new league or devise some diabolical strategy to get good teams on the schedule)

I agree with you that the team may be a better fit in the lower division. Bringing it back to the topic at hand though. The University launched the Athletics Program in the direction of competing with the big boys when they built the Info. They would again be making a statement in the same direction if a new arena was built. The entire University is at a crossroads. They have improved so much in the past decade but the growing pains are coming at a rough time in the economy. I expect the university to pump the brakes on the athletic department by doing a series of minor renovations on the JAR to remain in the zone of respectability for a MAC basketball program. 5-10 million in the first phase to address the luxury seating and the lobby (not great idea) under some pretense of drawing in huge donations from big donors. Doing this will not be an epic fail financially but it will cost the program time and momentum.

So you are proving the point that Akron Zips Basketball is fundamentally different than other university sports. The basketball team can keep winning the type of games currently on their schedule and not progress as a program. The basketball team could win 20 games this year and witness the attendance continue to shrink. I am in favor of building a new arena or a heavy renovation of the current space. I just don't think there is a huge upside when viewing this from the AD's office. There will be minor renovations to the JAR 5-10 million with the promise of a phased vision. Power conference teams are not going to be beating down the doors to play because of a new lobby. Power conference teams will not be beating down the doors to play at a 5,000 seat new area either. The only solution to this problem is to change the complaceny in the program. If the current group leading the charge is not capable move them out. I know it is not a popular opinion but we are at a crossroads. Go big or go home. 20 wins and a MAC Tourney Championship showing will not generate enough money to build a new arena. For that the University will need substantial tv money, cash games, and real hope of national impact. The current funding structure will just not support taking another high dollar risk.

No irony just facts. The JAR, early season home opponents and the halftime entertainment suck. Actually I think we are on the same side of things when it comes to the JAR. I do however think we see it from a fans view and are missing a much larger picture. The JAR sucks...will opponents not come here because the arena sucks or because they may get beat or because the can find a closer cheaper game? Who cares. It is not our job to find teams to come to the JAR. There are people making great money to do just that. The if you build it they will come type of thinking is crap. I am in favor of building a new arena because I would personally benefit from it. That being said somebody needs to play devils advocate on this one as everything is not adding up. Taking a non biased look at the situation would yield surprising results. Maybe the athletic department doesn't care if the team performs any better than they have for the past 5 years. Maybe appearing in the MAC tourney championship game is enough for them when paired with 20 relatively meaningless wins. From this viewpoint it would make sense to do very limited work on the JAR. I have seen no proof that the University is prepared to back the rhetoric about thinking bigger. I am also not convinced there is a true business case for a major renovation or new arena in the current political environment. I am also convinced that they have KD chasing 20 win seasons (that is why we are watching so many crap home games). The basketball program has been on cruise control for years in terms of burden on the department. KD is locked in, they are winning, and the JAR is still standing. It is obvious that the push surrounding the program (not knocking the team or coaches here) has dwindled over the past few years. The zips are one (at least) punch, five pounds of weed, and a flying dinner plate away from being the easiest team in history to manage as an administrator. Why make work if you are the AD?

Coach Dambrot supported shooting 3's as smart when the percentages check out. Passing in the post has been a challenge for the Zips this year.

Great to see Robot ham back in

What...no game thread for this exciting Saturday bout? The Coppin State Eagles soar into the JAR riding a 1-13 record. Their resounding 103-50 victory over Goldey-Beacom the lone bright spot on what has been a dismal 2014 run. The Eagles have lost the majority of their games by greater than 20 points and are projected to be in the MEAC cellar. Enjoy the game with about 1,500 fellow season ticket holders and youth basketball group attendees.

Nice. I hear air guitars are also pretty cheap these days. You would need an intern or two and about 30 minutes of planning to make this happen.

They need to try something to showcase the vibrant university culture, clubs, and group for free!...Steel Drum Band, putting contest from the golf team, soccer team juggling, some type of concert, anything. Believe it or not there are many people (my wife and daughter included) that attend games for entertainment often beyond what happens on the court. I am not advocating to go straight minor league baseball screwball type stuff.