jaycevs

The combined idea of convention and arena is one done before, and it could be beneficial to Akron and the University. The Cobo center in Detroit is another example, which hosted or hosts the North American Auto Show or whatever, and has an 11000 seat arena. Is it as visible and attractive as an arena on Main Street by Canal Park, no, but I guess we could deal with that, especially since our football program dominates the views of Akron from 8 and 76/77.

I have seen this now a few places, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear the mention of Texas. The Pac 10 went after them, they have had disagreements with the Big 12, especially after it cost them a potential National Title last year, and their academics are a Big 10 Fit. Them, along with Ohio State, are the two richest athletic departments in sports as well. With that said, it would be a complete shock to see them actually make a move like that. They would geographically be in a difficult place, but to me if they kept the OU rivalry, anything is possible.

Big 10= more money than Mizzou will ever see in the Big 12, plus in a West Division they would avoid PSU and OSU in football more often than not. They are already a rival with Illinois, and are close enough to Iowa to make a good rivalry as well. How is that crazy?

I personally think Temple is screwed. They didnt have a commitment to winning in football to get thrown out of the Big East, even though the conference was a lot better then, but Penn State really left the East Coast market and should have expanded their opportunities to recruit and be seen in Eastern PA. And as far as media markets, they dont increase the Big East with Villanova there, and they cant beat Nova in football now, the conference would be better off with Villanova going FBS like UConn did and playing an independent schedule for a couple of years.I dont think the ACC would want them, they are a good football conference, and basketball wouldnt be better than Huggins WVU teams. Advantage goes to WVU to go to better places.

Even if it is Notre Dame (which is a possibility being that congress seems to want to get the anti BCS ball rolling and they are a main factor), I dont think Akron is in bad shape. The Big East would lose a lot of OOC games with the Irish, who play usually Pittsburgh and 1 or 2 other Big East schools every year, and as already mentioned, they need to get more teams already to make their scheduling easier. Also, for ND, I think the pressure will be on them, after this their suitor will be gone, and there are no other real places for them to go. Its almost now or never.I also read more on the possibilities of Memphis as a Big East member, they would be ready to compete in the country's best basketball conference, and need improvements at their already large stadium, but have huge booster support from FedEx,etc.In general, this could be the biggest development of Akron athletics ever, bigger than joining D1, bigger than going to the MAC, bigger than a fantastic stadium. It would however, cost more money and need a greater commitment, but they would also make more as well and I think it would do positive things for enrollment, local support, etc. I could put up with a couple more 3-9 seasons if we were supposed to be a lower team in the league, and get the ball rolling faster in Akron on a new arena.

I dont think the Big 12 would go with any CUSA or WAC team. IF they lost Missouri, there is mutual interest with Arkansas, a former SWC member and rival of Texas, which their fans have wanted for years. The old SWC had them with Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State among the others. If they went, the SEC needs a 12th team, and would go after an ACC (FSU, Georgia Tech, Miami, etc or maybe Louisville from Big East). Then the ACC takes a Big East school because they need a 12th. No one is taking a CUSA except for the Big East, I could be wrong but as you see anyone can compete in the Big East in football in short time (UConn, Cinci, South Florida, etc). The only way that scenario doesn't play out to me is if the ACC goes after Central Florida, the one giant school in CUSA (6th largest D1 I believe) and a good market, new stadium, etc.

CBS sports said 3, some outlets say 4, some are saying 4 central time, and some say theres no conference but a release. If this was big news, they really are sitting on it and not handling it well. I cant see the possibility of needing 12-18 months to make a decision on this. There are few schools ready to make a switch, and I would think they have all been evaluated by now.

This only happens to the national picture once every five years or so, fans already are creating shifts like Iowa State or Mizzou, Arkansas to Big 12, Florida State to SEC, WV to ACC, Marshall to Big East( thats from Michigan State's forums). I doubt many things about that scenario, but the impacts it will have would be similar, even if it is Midwestern teams like Mizzou or Iowa State. Consider Rutgers, they wont be Big 10 ready in football or basketball, but have facilities, market, size, and fit with the Big 10 in most other areas. Is that similar to Akron and CUSA?

In five minutes, the Big 10 is having a press conference on future expansion. Obviously they have talked about this for years, with people wanting ND, Pitt, Rutgers, WVU, or Syracuse mostly to join the league and tap into bigger TV markets. They obviously need it, with a 12th team and conference title game that would go along with it. So, the question is what will happen if they take a Big East team? Will Temple get an invite back to the Big East (unlikely)?, will a CUSA team make a big jump that we dont expect? Will a spot in CUSA open up to a MAC program? If they got ND, they would not upset the other conferences, but this is unlikely and chances are that 3-4 conferences or more could see changes if they do become less stubborn and do what they needed to do long ago.So, how will this impact UA?

I don't see ever playing 2 FCS schools, unless one is Youngstown and the other is Can't State someday. I understand the confidence aspect, but players are not all stupid either and realize they are playing teams they should destroy. A mid level BCS still lets you do things on offense and defense to improve and be ready for conference play, and the potential bonus of a win and the ability to let it all out playing a BCS school is big also, thinking about NC state or Central Michigan vs MSU,etc. Besides that, when TW, RI, etc talk about a program, or a brand, and selling this to people, no one is going to come watch Akron play the Morgan States of College football every season, and it wont attract players or new fans, so it wont ultimately make us better.

3-2

2-2, UA advantage

Wow, already taking shots at the hopefully new q coach/o-coord, whatever his role may be. All I know about Powlus is that the expectations out of him for a high school kid were a lot to ask anybody, and as far as I know he didn't have a Ryan Leaf breakdown and instead went back to ND and coached two very good quarterbacks in his time there. I think this is the most important move for our young QB, and his experiences as a player and so far as a coach will be pivotal in the development of Nicely. I hope with his arrival that B Quinn will be available for Nicely to speak to on occasion, I know it helped Colt McCoy at Texas when Peyton Manning reached out to him, and we will likely be running a familiar offense to what Quinn ran at ND.

Put a O lineman or linebacker in that spot, just find a way to run the ball. I like what the Browns did a lot last year, moving an O lineman to the TE spot and playing a TE as a tackle on the other side, and running the ball to that strong side. The Browns sucked, but still that was an aspect that was good and covered up a weakness. As far as us moving a defensive guy I think we need all the defense we can get, but still the opportunity is out there for someone willing to work hard who otherwise may not play.

ND of the MAC? I wish we were the ND of anything, and yes we should take our spot in this conference as the leader and best. I have heard what he said yesterday, and heard the talk before in coaching, etc that this is a place you can win, and an opportunity. To me its a lot like UCF, big school, bigger market than most in the conference really being in NE Ohio. If you can win here and energize this Alumni base, then being the premier school in this conference is there for the taking. I remember a few years ago, when Can't was playing in the Elite 8, trying to go to a sportsbar in Parma, and it was completely full of K.S.U. people, as was most bars and places like that as we tried to go to a few different places that night. It was incredible as I grew up in Ravenna and went to countless Can't State bball games as a kid with maybe 1000 people there. We have the same type of Alumni numbers in this area, and if we can ever wake ours up and keep them awake, then Infocision can be a special place and a difficult place to win, and can get us on a whole different level than the rest of the MAC. To get this rolling, eventually we will need to knock off someone we shouldn't (a top half BCS team, not Syracuse) and then follow it up by winning this conference. A close game at OSU in 2 years or so would help, giving them a scare and making people realize that we play D1(FBS) football up here too.

Two interesting things. One, he said he was going to talk to current staff? Are there coaches like Vince Okruch (he was a bcs coordinator for some successful programs and has done a good job with our undersized linebackers) that he would want to keep on board, or others? Also, why does the media suck in general? Can somebody ask a specific question about Powlus, or Patrick Nicely as the QB and position he will be building this team around with its current cast. I like the ND offense, if he can find the offensive lineman to be tough and let us run 2 backs, a TE, etc.

What difference does the star ratings make again, and why is that a concern. His results with players were proven on the field, Jeff Samardzija, Clausen, Tate, etc, his players were developed and became big time guys. I saw Clausen as a freshman, against Penn State looking like Matt Rodgers vs Indiana, and saw how he progressed. I saw Samardzija go from a baseball layer to a #1 receiver, and Tate become a playmaker after being a rb. Anyone seen Owen Daniels for the Texans, the guy is a beast and puts up #1 receiver type numbers, Ianello was responsible for a lot of that success. I like the hire, I think Nicely will like the hire, and if Powlus does in fact come here then he has had the experience or high expectations, and working with two great QBs while coaching at ND, besides the opportunity to work with one of the best offensive coaches in the game.

The same players would be rated two star if they went to Akron? Are the players not already rated during their high school careers, or are our players really no different than the Irish. Would Jimmy Clausen be 2 star here? His career, in what some may see as lacking, has been successful in every stop. He also worked with one of the best offensive minds in all of football, offense was never a problem in South Bend the last few years, only in Clausen's freshman year. Him or Warriner or anyone else, I don't think offense will be a problem, but I want to see what we do defensively and special teams. Also, he does know our athletic director, so I'm sure Tom has a good idea of what Ianello brings besides the resume.

I think Mangino got a raw deal a KU, he was winning games at an impossible place to win and all of a sudden in a down year these allegations come out. Sorry, but a lot of players need to get their ass kicked a little bit, I dont think it would hurt our bunch here at UA. Could that hurt some recruiting, maybe, but do we want soft players anyways or do we want toughness. Also, if he wasn't giant I don't think he would be getting this bad pub or even forced out at KU possibly.

Thanks, so at least we are accepting applicants, and yes we are flying way under the radar.

I've seen coaching rumors on everyone including NAIA teams, but heard nothing at all about Akron. Are we bringing anyone in soon? Were we waiting until the SEC title game was over to go after Meyer or Saban? Anyone heard who are actual candidates besides what the journalists want to see?

OU=solid team, good physical football team, good coach that was unjustly thrown out of Nebraska. That wins a majority of football games. We need to get some of that toughness, and beat up teams. I would rather see us play like Temple or Northern Illinois any day than be like CMU, but some balance is needed. Thats why CMU may be good in the MAC, but they cant beat BCS squads. Northern Ill, when they were beating BCS teams, were tough, Miami was when they ran the ball and had Ben.

Flying A was the best by far. I also generally like old school, my favorite NFL are both New York teams for the classic look, Chicago, etc, but these are sweet.This is the Oregon helmet I was talking about.

The new ones are not good, too much white on the sides, I dont like the team name on the front either. Oregon's are sweet, especially the all black with silver letters and the carbon fiber helmet.

Its a mistake to offer a huge salary for this job. Keep it in line, and put a lot of incentives to get the pay up as high as you want. Attendance, wins, championships, grades, these are the incentives I would get behind. So, would I want a coach that wouldn't come here for 380 plus incentives? No way, he should have confidence with all the support that UA has given football to be able to win games here and get bonuses. If not, then why bring him here. Also, in the event that the choice is bad, how could UA eat that contract? Big schools like Illinois are keeping coaches around in order not to pay them, how would we walk away from a bad choice without all other sports suffering.