MaxZIP

5 wins is not exciting. Not getting blown out 10 times is getting there.

Perhaps the Athletic Dept. could invest in one of those hand-held credit card machines like all the airlines have to charge you for their boxed lunches. That is an easy solution because of the campus's WiFi network. They could take credit card for all events and concessions with little investment.

The Zips must win at least 5 (4 MAC 1 FCS) every year or else it is an embarrassment. You don't put 50+ million into facilities for a program that can't win half of their MAC games. The football played last year was unwatchable. Icoach will need to make a quantum leap to even win 4 next year. Do you think that he can make another quantum leap in year three to compete for the MAC title? 4 wins next year means Icoach gets the ax because he is not even close to competing for the MAC title (an easily attainable goal).

I think the Zips and Browns will be close next year. Mangini is gone and Icoach will follow next year if Akron doesn't win more than 5.

Because he is the majority shareholder in a company, in an industry, he is not familiar with and needs help from someone who has been around the block at extremely large building products companies. He also needs an HONEST opinion. I think we all know on this board I'm an honest opinion type of a guy. At this point, he needs to decide whether his investment is toy or a business. If it is a toy, he should dump the company and sell it to someone who wants to turn it into a business. If it is a business, he needs to put more of the $35 million he got on the way out the door at his company to really get it going. My guess is it is a toy for him and he wants to protect his fortune. He owns a large part of an oil exploration company in Houston and that is really his passion. No matter how old you get, always do something you are passionate about. He loves the oil business. If you find oil 10% of the time, you are considered great at what you do....his record was 13% over 35 years....He was in Dubai years ago when there were no roads and they had to land equipment on the beach and then make the roads to the oil fields....Very interesting guy. I was joking but your are welcome for the opportunity to talk about yourself.

I see the same thing. The last time gas prices got real high was right before the recession. You can't take that much money out of the economy and expect anything good to happen. 2011 is going to be a tough year for this country. The price of gas is nothing more than a tax...the more you pay, the less money there is for the real economy. Oil companies will do well....how many of you work for oil comanies? I do some consulting work for a guy who ran a major oil company. He worked in the oil industry for 35 years and has a Masters Degree from MIT in Geophysics (BS from Texas A&M). He is convinced the world is quickly running out of cheap oil. There is plenty of oil out there...if you want to pay $6.00/gal. for it. Everything has a cost and just saying drill baby drill is a childish way of avoiding a real problem. The solution isn't urban rail systems either. We need electric cars and quickly. In order to keep them running, we need a lot of nuclear power plants built asap. Americans like to drive and the electric cars do that with little polution. Right now, we just need the power plants. If your friend is so smart...why does he need your help?

The stadium should also have a ticket booth equipped to accept credit cards. The ticket tent is very highschool. Also, there has to be a way to arrange the restrooms, concession stands, and ticket booths to serve soccer, baseball, softball, and track. I trust what they have going. Keep up the good work.

Restrooms would be great. The field will host at least 13-15 men's games and 12 or so women's games.

Do any of you know if the concession stands and restrooms will be added to the stadium this offseason? Also, are they planning to extend the main grandstand?

Please, someone tell me what we're not understanding. I see all of the Akron guys making somewhere around 50K. 50k is a hell of a lot more than most fresh grads will make in their entry level first jobs. 28-35k is the norm. GA contracts are higher than the "league min." Look at Zakuani... his guaranteed 2010 is over $160,000. I would expect that the GA guys will be making around $100,000ish. $100k is a hell of a lot more than most college grads will make. I think they were wise to sign a GA contract when one was on the table. It keeps all of their options open and gives them an boost when entering the MLS. They can always come back to school in 3-5 years if they are not offered a long term deal after the GA contract is up.

Please, someone tell me what we're not understanding. I see all of the Akron guys making somewhere around 50K. 50k is a hell of a lot more than most fresh grads will make in their entry level first jobs. 28-35k is the norm.

Ohio.com article on the 7 starters set to leave for the MLS. "Zips standouts Darlington Nagbe, Kofi Sarkodie, Michael Nanchoff, Zarek Valentin and Perry Kitchen signed professional contracts with Generation adidas and will forgo their remaining college eligibility to enter the 2011 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, sources have confirmed. The five players are projected to be first-round draft picks along with UA senior midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong. Zips senior defender Chris Korb is also receiving interest from MLS teams."

I think they pulled the offer because he is shrinking. He is now listed on ESPN.Com as being 5'9" 202. He probably is more in the range of 5'8" 190 as a LB.

Do you know what is a real negative for future recruiting? Losing. Do whatever it takes to get better players even if some feelings get hurt.

I agree. However, he didn't get to New England because of his great coaching record at Can't. He got there because of his personal/professional relationship with the head coach. Being a HC at Can't didn't hurt his career.

All good points. The real question is, can you do that from Can't? I say no. I also say UofA is a great opportunity for a coach looking to do exactly what all of the coaches above did. It has everything a program would need to be successful. All Coach I has to do is turn a losing mentality into a winning mentality and they can go all the way. Fans sometimes confuse a coach who goes from a MAC school to a BCS school as a great coach. Most coaches, and people working in college athletics, are opportunists. I don't blame them for making the moves they do, but I also don't confuse the moves they make as proof they are great at what they do. (For those of you who think you have to pay a coach a ton of money to get a good one need to have the fact pointed out to them that Haywood was the lowest paid coach in the MAC last year.) I have no problem with guys like Kill, Gill and Jones duping low level BCS schools into paying them a lot of money. They all have families to support and a million dollars at a BCS school goes a lot further than $200,000 at a MAC school. Most of these guys want to do great at their schools and then cash in even more like the greatest opportunist of the first decade of the 21st Century did, Brian Kelly. Kelly took short bursts of success at various schools and used it to cash in at the easiest to dupe school, Notre Dame...they hired Faust for crying out loud. Here is what I want to happen at UofA. I want Coach I to go 9-3 next year, win the MAC and dupe a BCS level school to throw a bunch of money at him. It sure would beat the losing we have watched for the past 20+ years. Dean Pees did pretty well from Can't. He replaced Mangini at DC for the Pats. Pees left Michigan State for a HC position with Can't and I would say it worked out for him in the long run.

Was that TW at the end?

Is that Steve's brother that made that prediction? Maybe it was this guy --> "History: 25th NCAA appearances, with two title-game losses, in 1986 to Duke and last year to Maryland on penalties" Maryland??? Nice Work!

I am probably going to go that route as well. I can't justify spending $500 again for the product on the field.

"I liked the facilities, and the coaches said I'll have the opportunity to play as a true freshman," said the 5-10, 190-pound Robinson, referring to the official visit he and Morgan took last weekend." "Ohio University offered me a scholarship but Akron really wants me, and the chance of playing right away there is good," said Morgan, a 6-1, 185-pound safety. "It's less than an hour away from home so my family will get to see me play." Sounds like Icoach has changed his game a little. He is begining to sell the program too bad it revolves around being bad enough for pretty much anybody to start as a freshman. Does anybody know if any of the other recruits had DIV1a offers prior to comitting to the Zips?

He would be an upgrade over the 5'7-8" 165 pound sleds we have now.

Probably - my letter included a 'thank you' for attending all the games I have four reserved season tickets and attended all games. Still waiting for my letter. Thanks for keeping us little guys updated.

I got that letter when I got home last nite... it wasn't funny.. it was pathetic..... I haven't received one yet...did it call for you to renew your season tickets?

They have a Can't state logo on the Tap House homepage. The Menu has changed for what looks to be the better.

I was burned by the TH a couple of times last year and I will never go back. They guaranteed/confirmed that they would be showing the Buffalo Football game last year and the A&M Basketball contest just hours before game time. Needless to say they didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked for them to turn on the Akron game. The Tap House is crap. We frequented it during my 4 year stint of employment on Waterloo road. The beer is stale and the food is tired. The Zips need an on or near campus official bar just like they needed an on campus stadium. Pick a bar near the campus. I bet Manny's would love to host game day activities and official watch parties when they reopen .