Balsy

Go Zips! Lady Zips are having a remarkable season so far this year!

The only problem with having YSU in the MAC is it would (again) make uneven numbers. I like a balanced number of teams in East vs. West. And YSU is IMO, an upgrade over UMass being in the MAC.

Way to early prediction with high optimism: L @Oklahoma W vs Pitt W vs Savannah St W @ Lousiana L vs Buffalo L vs CMU W vs Can't W vs Ohio W @ EMU W @ UMass W @ Miami L @ BGSU 8-4 Baby, And Bowden Makes history

When did we lose Zipmeister?

I have one and would bring it for the cause.

Not a chance Miller would come to Akron.

Don't worry, we'll be playing NIU soon enough (2016).

None of these games look insurmountable. This will be the year that we break throo (to borrow from the Lady Zips). This is a good time IMO to discuss what we should expect from the Zips team this year. How would be measure success, and is it obtainable. Set all other programs aside and strictly use Akron's past and present success as a barometer for where the program is headed. The list below should have been considered for when Bowden first came here. (check) Bring in transfers who can make an impact now (check) Win 1+ games a year (check) Bring in Quality Recruits (check) End the Road Game Losing Streak (check) Win more than one game on the Road (check) Win more than one game at home (check) Bring home the Wagon Wheel (check) Win .500+ games at home (Never done before in Infocision Stadium) (check) Play meaningful games late in the season () Get above .500 () Get to a Bowl Game () Win 8-games in one season (Never done before in Akron D-I history) () Get to the MAC Championship Game () Win the MAC Am I missing Any? In order to see progress IMO we need to see one or two of these things checked off this season. I think a reasonable expectation would be to get above .500 and become Bowl eligible would be an appropriate goal and expectation, especially considering our history.

Darn it! I forgot to put up my prediction thread again this year. I was batting 15 of 16 the past two years. But looking at the complex thread of teams we've played and MAC scheduling trends....we probably won't see NIU or Toledo until 2016. Every year we play most of the MAC East: Miami, Ohio, UMass, Can't, BGSU...last year was the first year we've played everyone in a single season in the MAC east, as we do again this year. I'd be willing to wager that when UMass leaves, MAC east teams will all play each other every year (5 games) and then the other 3 games will be a rotation of teams in the West, with home-and-home match-ups. Next season I'd expect we play at CMU, play vs WMU at home and NIU (or) Toledo. But I'll wait on 2016 predictions.

1. Alright then, we should plan in advance then to perhaps the "Big Games" that we'll have in the MAC. IMO that looks like a list: @ Toledo (tmrw) @ WMU (1/21) @ Ohio (2/4) @ Buffalo (2/24) There's a chance that more games could be televised on SportsTime Ohio, I'm not sure what they're schedule looks like. 2. Also an option that hasn't been explored with this: They might not have to be televised for us to still get together. Many establishments have radios that they sometimes play in the background (Pints and Many's used too during quiet nights) maybe if we called the management to see if it would be possible to make that happen. That way we still have an option available for more games. I'm just spitballing this, someone let me know if I'm off my rocker 3. Perhaps visit a local establishment as ZipsNation before going to the home games. Women's or Men's. (some more spitballing).

Agreed. I was going to bring up Friday's game as well...but for reasons you just mentioned, it's a little short notice. Anyone have a pulse on games are possibly going to be aired on ESPNU and the like?

I don't agree. They're supplying a trip. And it's the NCAA supplying the trip, not the school. Those top athletes would have been going to those top programs anyways so it's somewhat of an irrelevant thing.

Ditto! Now add a freakin' score and time clock and we'll be in business.

That was the main reason for the suggestion But I do agree, that show the community at large about Zips fans we need to branch out from campus. I still think we can do both, but supporting establishments that display love for the Zips is a must.

I haven't been to any of the watch parties in the valley, and I like the valley, but if we really want to maximize the impact on locals, I think Old Pints (what's the name now?) is a great place to start. It's closer to campus too.

I got the same as LZip, except my card was signed by people I used to work with over in Simmons. RooCrew, which is a inexpensive way for alumni to help with recruitment/orientation/random other official events I only found out after signing up for an alumni newsletter.

How is it beyond dumb and stubborn? If coaches are putting any stock in "recruiting sites" they should be looking for a job sitting with the fans. Same thing with recruits. If they're putting any stock into what school they want to commit too, they also should be looking to sit in the stands with the fans. These sites have ZERO meaning or substance except to bored reporters trying to fill up space in articles and fans.

Most of that attendance bump was students; and I remember there being very VERY good advertising/engagement of students on campus to get students attend.

Agreed skip. I think it starts with us alumni and our interactions with the community, other people and current students. To bring this thread BACK to it's purpose...WHAT CAN WE DO engage/encourage new fans of the Zips.

Trust me...it hasn't always been on the website. But this is after you've gone looking into buying tickets yourself. As a Rowdie I never heard of this, working for athletics I'd never heard of this, while graduating I never heard of it. For all the mail/emails/pamphlets I received towards graduating, it wasn't included in it. Now perhaps thats because I graduated in December... I'm just saying...getting the word out about an Alumni package is easy and inexpensive.

Yes it did! Because I am currently one of those alumni! The only problem with it, is that it isn't heavily publicized. I only learned about it after I purchased season tickets and my ticket rep said "hey...we do have an alumni package"...

Everyone was upset last year that we only had 13 recruits. At the end of the day, with greyshirts and late commits...we ended up with 18. I'm not as worried about it as you. I prefer quality over quantity: and quality is better assessed by coaches than by BS star rankings. For goodness sake, most of the recruiting "services" can't even agree on the grade of a player. The quality of players Bowden has brought in are 10x better than what we had in the two coaches before. We have less to be concerned about than BS numbers on some recruiting services website.

I'm talking about fan speculation.