Balsy

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. There is no doubt in my mind some very vocal, angry Alumni made Baseball come back. And that's why it was an illogical decision that they went with anyways. Appeasement instead of leadership.

Awe, you really do care, and appreciate having me around on this forum! I'll take your criticism under advisement. Though I believe you're a bit unfair to Balsy circa 2012 as he was a much more timid, Akron undergrad just looking for an outlet for Zips fandom that really didn't exist, and rarely made posts that pushed the envelope even slightly. Of course there were issues, no one is denying that! Recruiting still sucked (but was better than before), offensive play calling was a mystery after 2013...among other issues for which I probably am not aware of...but there is a level of nuance there that Bowden's detractors don't want to talk about. Predictable, sure. Bowden had a 1-11 first year. But beyond the simple prediction you have to have something tangible. Simply saying "all coaches struggle their first year" is a whitewash excuse. Bowden may have been 1-11 that first year, but there was a tangible improvement that could be seen that wasn't subjective: competitive late in games almost winning (FIU, BGSU, Miami that year...including a surprisingly competitive game against Tennessee) and overall defensive and Offensive statistical improvement. What are we seeing with Arth that is tangible, right now?

I've been saying this for years, and ridiculed on this forum for saying it. Nice to have you around! I'll take 6-5, 5-7 with a good season every couple of years or so then 0-12. Which is going to happen this year. It'll take a miracle for 0-12 not to happen.

He's way in over his head with D-1 football.

Because a contingent of vocal alumni became blinded by delusions of grandeur, and a relatively new Athletic Director who wants to pad his Resume with another hire before he jettisons off to somewhere else; were getting their underwear in a bunch.

#Facts. Tough Love.

Critical does not mean disrespectful/hateful or spiteful. Even your own family has it's faults, better to help them see those faults through the safety of people who care about them , so that they can be encouraged and helped to build through those faults and become better people/stronger people. So not utter hogwash. If you are not most critical of something you care about, other people certainly will be. You improve through criticism. You do not improve from sunshine and rainbows and apathy.

What has he said that wasn't true though? Like it's okay to be negative...oh wait, it's only okay to be negative if it's against Terry Bowden when he was here... The melting of snowflakes on this forum...I mean buck up, what is there to be positive about with Akron Football, Soccer, Basketball (the main drivers on this forum) right now!? Why is there ALWAYS an ineptitude of leadership at UA!? Acceptance lends itself to apathy. Apathy leads to nothing changing. I'm sure as hell not going to stop being negative because I want something to change; and if you really care about something you've got to be the most critical of it.

Turned the corner with the program!? Seriously? Seriously...he took a perennial 8+ win team, with 3-straight years in the FCS divisional playoffs; and made them a 3-win team. One more year of lackluster performance and he likely would have been gone. The excuse is always given that a coach is terrible in his first year because it's "still the other guy's players..." At Chattanooga the guys Arth inherited was a 9-4 team that lost in the divisional playoffs. He took that team and made them 3-8. Tom Arth was in no position, to be seen by ANYONE, as the person to "Elevate the Zips program to the next level". Us Arth critics are not "tough" we're simply spouting hard truths.

Wow...where were you three/four years ago when it was rampant on this forum but in the other direction?

dre has some of the best posts here...better than the normal crap-show we have on this forum that's for sure. Oh...I'm probably one of the "few others" so you probably won't see this.

That's what I was saying for years. I'd take 5-7 with a chance at better, any day over 0-12. Arth ain't no PJ Fleck. Athletic Director has to go. Every decision he has made has been atrocious, and while we're at it...get rid of those on the BOT that thought supporting this move was a good idea. Probably? We are. Yesterday confirmed it as we lost to 0-4 UMass. Here coms the first winless season in Akron History; and you can go ahead and add in addition to all those costs you just mentioned; we'll be having to pay what reamains of Arth's contract when he's jettisoned. The point is because we give a damn. We're tired of seeing our University as the punchline of a joke. I refuse to sugarcoat anything.

That's fair! And yes...yes it did, lol. I wasn't in the best of moods while typing that particular post.

The Zips are never going to be anything other than basement dwellers if they stick to the "recruiting local" model.

No. If only more Zips fans gave a damn...people keep asking about why not more people go to games...people don't care or give a damn. I won't apologize for caring...well, I won't apologize for used to caring. And note: I did not say that I wouldn't wear my Zips stuff...it's that I can't wear it with any shred of pride. In anything. You and I both know it's overly optimistic, borderline futile, to think that the Zips are going to turn around before Tom Arth is shown the door.

No, I'm not happy about this. I'm absolutely miserable that I can't wear my Zips stuff with pride and talk to my students/other people about the Zips...or get excited about the Zips. "Mr. B how'd the Zips do this weekend" ... "they lost...again". I'm just waiting for all the hypocrites to come out of the woodwork and try to defend losing to 0-4 UMass. Hopefully the Zips will prove me wrong and find a way to win this. Experience has taught me not to hold my breath.

Oh...it looks like a Blowout is on it's way. Remember when losing to UMass when they were in the MAC caused everyone to lose their minds?

They certainly pains...I wouldn't say they are growing pains...

They aren't open on the weekends, and have strange summer schedules.

It's been that way since I was on campus in 2008. I remember I used to try to drum up support for going to athletic games to all my incoming students when I worked in New Student Orientation; I'd hand out the sports schedules and give out posters for them to hang in their dorms and stuff...but I've never seen a campus-wide effort to drum up attending stuff other than the 2-/3-ish year stint of "Roo-Wards" which sorta worked it's first year and then fizzled out quickly because the guy who created it moved on to greener pastures because Akron never attempts to keep it's own.

Hey there! Welcome to the Forum! This is a topic that has been discussed to death on this forum (student attendance). It hasn't improved since I was on campus back in 2013...but times have also changed. College sports on campus are no longer the draw they once were to young people because there is so much other stuff you can do. Especially when the team sucks so bad, for as long as it had. The most attended (student wise) game we've ever had was the one when they were offering free tuition for a year...and it was a downpour...weekday game. Losing badly doesn't help. I used to be an absolute diehard Zips fan...still am, but I no longer plan my weekends around watching Zips football like I did years ago. Because...as you picked up on...apathy. I've gotten excited so many times to then be let down, I don't see the point in getting excited about Zips athletics.

What are you smoking that the new guy has some how added all of these "facts" to the conversation that other people haven't brought up/mentioned/discussed before? Nothing more than conjecture just like EVERYONE else.

Then the people running The University of Akron are dumber than they already appear to be. You don't fire the most successful coach in Akron D-I history, with two years remaining on his contract when your university is in as dire a financial situation as it is. No wonder UA is a disaster the mindless are running the asylum.

I think it's pretty obvious that the players/coaches knew by that point that Bowden wasn't coming back. It was pretty obvious by the epic melt-down of the end of the year...lack of motivation/coaching was a direct result of communication that they were not coming back. Bowden should have been extended after beating Northwestern (the first Big-10 win in history, and starting 2-0); instead the administration decided to bide it's time. It was complete disrespect.

Fair enough.