Doug Snyder

How about the MAC and the S.belt. Better fit. They already play each other anyway. Cheaper travel too.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/foo...ts-database.htmThis data was from last year but it should still be relevant.

@DiGI guess we all owe BiZip for creating the "@" standard. Thanks BigZip

...just saying that there can be no more than 2 ties!!!!!

@mes102There was a poster during last basketball season who argued that your group (he is a member) should isolate and ridicule those who do not participate in making crowd noise. The idea was to run them off… they need not come back as they were not true fans.THAT ATTITUDE IS PURE _ULL _HIT. So I am pretty sure there are members of your group who are offended when they expend so much energy to help the Zips while others sit on their hands. But the truth is...we don't have sell outs. We need EVERYBODY. We want to be inclusive. Start with a crowd...then energize the crowd. Do not alienate anyone. So when you have one of your members advocating that anywhere….it hurts your group’s image.

I think that would work. But I was in college and drank some beer...as I recall. It is impossible to keep everyone’s mouth clean. But I think the way to do it is to discourage profanity rather than encourage it. When you huddle up before the game/match...let everyone know that they should keep profanity to a minimum and show all Zip fans respect. The short-term goal is to impact the game and the long-term goal is to grow the organization. Everything else that happens is OK. Loud-OK. Rude to the other team-OK. Have fun-more than OK. I really think the Rowdies are great. Everything goes through an evolution. If you want it to remain a tradition and grow, be as inclusive as possible. I would encourage students to come to the games with you but NOT get involved the first few games. If they like it...they can join in. REDUCE the pressure...not increase it. People will join in because it IS cool and they will see the reaction of the team and other fans to the chants and passion of the group. The carrot...not the stick.

It would be really cool if she gave him the shirt off her back. Actually...that may get more fans to the games!!!!!

The large MAC schedule is why I believe in the worst of rebuilding years we should be 6-6. If the scheduling is done properly, we get two OOC wins (vs. D1-AA and Sun Belt-esque team) and 4 in the MAC (Can't and UB need to be guaranteed every year and two other wins should not be hard to come up with especially if EMU is on the slate).Unfortunately, we've had the poor fortune of picking the wrong Sun Belt teams over the next few years. Unless Cristobal gets plucked away, FIU should be decent for a while. And has anyone else noticed to fantastic job Mark Hudspeth has done with the Ragin' Cajuns in his 1st year (more on him in one of the coaching threads). I personally think many of us MAC fans should have higher regard for the Sun Belt. They're basically at the same level now, and time is on their side.+1

Miami was the far superior team today. They had size advantage and far superior ball control. It was disappointing to watch...especially in person with intermittent rain.

@mes02Looks like the weather is changing and I will take my daughter to the game. We sit in the west bleachers. Stop by and say hello.

Good post Lee and if we read between the lines there probably is some frustration. If someone could see in the mind of TW, we might see a guy who believes he has done everything he can, in terms of scheduling, to make this season tolerable. I think this is a great schedule and perfectly set up for a team to have early season success and then carry that success into the home stretch. If TW is using the scientific method to evaluate the program, he is probably eliminating the schedule as one of those reasons they are doing poorly...I would. Now he has to start looking at other reasons and this is how change happens.Now the questions become: Is it the coach? Is it the players? Is it the facilities? Was it TW's decision making? Is it the band? Do we need to build a playroom for the FB players to watch TV in?You can't be serious. This post is a joke right?? I know your arrogance knows no bounds but to suggest that this schedule was set up for early success is mind boggling.

Sometimes putting someone in position where people are counting on you and looking to you for direstion forces them to mature. I will leave that up to people close to the situation. Look at the Serb in Basketball...leadership matures people. Look at all the single parents and what effect it has on maturity and accountability (obviously not all).

What do you want them to do? Hold hands with every new student? The Rowdies can't get every student involved. You know why? Because the student has to be willing to get involved as well. You saying what you did basically means that you're not willing to get involved. If they see you trying to get involved, they'll put forward their effort. When I was a freshman, I didn't get that involved the first month of fall semester. I decided to try and get more involved, and now I'm as comfortable as I've ever been. You have to understand. The Rowdies isn't an organization to get a t-shirt and sometimes free food while watching a sporting event. You're there to support YOUR SCHOOL and not there for YOURSELF. Big difference there. There's a reason why we have a 46 game unbeaten streak at home in men's soccer.My last point I'll make is this. No one stopped you from going to the other side in the second half. The score was 0-0. It was a conference game. Trying to do everything in our abilities to give our team an edge. Stop complaining and start getting involved...My problem continues to be with the alienating thing. I hear this often. You should work within your group to eliminate it. And here is the proof.... you just admitted as a freshman you were not that interested in getting involved but your involvement grew. It is impossible to join a group who intentionally alienates you. Moreover...you probably will make those possible future rabid fans stay home making the situation even worse.From what I can see....you are a great Zip fan. Can you help your fellow Zip students and fans??I was hoping to meet you today but with the chance of rain at 90%, I can't take my 3 year old daughter out in the cold rain. I like your passion and commitment.Go Zips

Maybe EMU is not as bad as we thought?? Ohio will be interesting to say the least.

Sometimes it is better to apologize than to ask permission I think it is hard to debate this issue without acknowledging the parallel debate going on in our society. So...I don't think I will edit it at this time. I just wanted to acknowledge the issue and not comment on it.

I drove from California to Ohio and took the long and winding route. The goal was to see the US...my wife is Balinese and I wanted to show he the beauty of the US. What surprised me was how beautiful the bridges and public buildings were in some states...especially Madison Wisconsin. They were stunning. That made me think...why not make more beautiful bridges, buildings and more beautiful public parks?? If over 50% are not paying a dime for it...I am surprised there are not more areas like Madison (and others). Just vote for others to pay for things. For me...this is a cultural issue and is being fought out politically right now. How much should one expect and who should pay. We could have had this argument a few years ago and all agreed that it was a good thing to have universities subsidize athletes. But salaries have doubled in the last 10 years. Does that impact the decision we made before?? And what if salaries and costs double again?? My personal belief is that we place too much emphasis on playing sports for the sole purpose to be the best. Don't get me wrong...that attitude makes the US great...but it can get carried away. And in this case, I think it has. UofA students pay $1,240 per year just for sports subsidy (2 semesters). They really have no vote. I think things will change. Because when enough people get tired of paying for others without having a say in how things are spent...they leave or revolt. I am not the only person living outside the US and taking investment dollars with me. So…you could say I took G-Mann’s advice and left. Understand that I have no problem with Alumni putting up money for athletics, arts or whatever. Building the Info with donated money is a good thing. My issue is with the "tax" students have to pay to subsidize college athletics. I think it is wrong. But G-Mann and others have a right to their opinion as well. Having said all this...I really think the biggest problem is college football. If we eliminated football (not something I am proposing) we would cut the deficit by more than half. I think we would all be better off if there was a minor league for the NFL and college football was more about student athletes. Just my opinion... I also want to apologize for the political references. Also…this is my opinion and not a reflection of how I feel about G-Mann…a poster who I highly respect….or any others.

But tonight is the only night you can get this, before or after. checked the link.... I think I will start calling you "lard arse" when I see you now Growing up in the Massillon area it was always considered a treat to go to Barberton for chicken. Being part Slovenian, Barberton was knd of an obligation and was part of my mother’s heritage....definitely went often. Chicken yes...but never blood sausage. Now...the chicken is verboten too. Too bad...it was always something to look forward too.

What would your decision have been if all the programs remained the same except football was a D1A and playing in the tournament for the national championship every year?? As a current student...your opinion is relavent.

I would like to see the budgets and shortfalls at schools like Mount Union, Case, Dayton, Xavier and others before I made a decision. I agree that there needs to be sports to enhance the school experience...but at what coast and at what level. I know Dr. Z would not continue to support a D2 program at the level he currently supports this program and I agree...it would be kind of the same for me. I would not support a D2 loser...but I would be an avid supporter of a winner at any level. Without doing any research, I don't think there are many perennial loser programs in D2. It seems to me that you can build a winner a little easier

There are 120 D1 programs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA) If there are 5 division and if they all get to 16 teams it will mean 80 of the 120 will be in BCS division conferences. It will effectively shut out the other 40 schools. Will they create their own division?? I think it is inevitable. But I believe it will eventually be destroyed from within. If they start paying players and raising costs, not all will be able to compete financially. The college football landscape will continually evolve over the next 15 years. I don't agree with GP1...Akron should not chase this but focus on improving their performance, athletically and academically, and student commitment (attendance). Dayton used to have horrible attendance and they dropped back 2 divisions and started to win (football). Attendance increased. Marshall thought they were ready to make the move up…how did that work out?? My advice…relax and try to dominate the MAC. Also…work within the MAC to improve the MAC.

Can you imagine the cost increases that would occur if schools were required to pay athletes?? Many schools would choose not to play and student/athletes in general would suffer so a few true athletes could benefit. Those who would benefit from pay would probably NOT be STUDENT athletes. The student athletes should be happy the get a tax free benefit (education). It could be argued that the UofA students received 17M of unreported, untaxed benefits. For me...I am not sure college athletics justify the cost. I am undecided at this time.

Are there any substitution retrictions in college soccer?? I thought the rules were similar to international rules.

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index...pend_on_st.html

No...just logic. They can't keep ducking us forever Agreed...would like to play N. Illinois at home and Toledo on the road.

Well...we better get used to the weather. This is Akron, not Phoenix