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Ok, so a University like Akron is trying to think of new ways to present themselves to attract students, donors, athletes, etc. etc. This should always be an ongoing process, just like it is in corporate America. I'm guessing this only became real news because everyone got fired up about a possible name change to the entire University, and rightfully so. But, by the Wikipedia definition of "rebranding", we hopefully have at least closed the book on the idea that differentiating yourself from your competitors would NOT include the damn #TeamOhio concept.

True Dave. The challenge is that the voters will see it as a basketball arena with the Zips as the primary user, since that's the meat of the project. Not sure if making it part of a huge project diminishes that. And even if it does, it adds considerable cost. It's a tough sell to the other 95% of Summit County that couldn't care less about the Zips.

Scott. I love the thought. It really is the right "idea". The reality is the problem. The whole "work, live, play" thing has not yet been proven that it will ever work in a city like Akron. We have a new downtown that's developed in the last couple of decades, for sure. But, after the initial Baseball Stadium with Restaurants generated the start of some excitement 20 years ago, we haven't made much progress. Many of those restaurants or bars have changed hands several times. They've been trying to sell the old Vault for years. The condo complex on Spicer ended up having to be turned into rentals. I think many units at Northside might still be unsold? And the supporting infrastructure of gas stations and grocery stores has still yet to materialize. Would private investment see great opportunity if we proposed a basketball arena "complex" for a college team that draws 3,000 people on 15 out of the 365 days in a year? Everything would have to wrap around the arena, and until Akron Basketball raises it's profile, the people here overwhelmingly will see this as a major waste of money for a basketball team that not enough people care about. The situation in Cowlumbus was certainly dramatically different.

Just one piece of information Captain.......Knute retired several years ago. I loved going to Knute's services. He was a big sports fan, and always proclaimed his love for the Zips, and would often post pictures of Zips Athletics up on the screen behind him.

I agree with you, GJ Good. We're not Penn State. We need things to get excited about. Colorful logos and uniforms and field paint, etc., excites people.

If the byproduct of all of this is that it re-energized the pride among alums and Zips sports fans, that's fine. But, this doesn't appear that it was planned that way. I really believe that they miscalculated the impact of allowing "name change" to even be mentioned in a discussion about "rebranding".

This is a UNIVERSITY. And it's made up of Colleges. It's a large, vast, and comprehensive educational institution of higher learning. In my opinion, changing the name to anything that narrows or diminishes this "grandness" in any way is a ridiculous move. Go ahead and market your specialties in any way you like. Give a great name to the COLLEGE that awards degrees in that specialty. Yes, I have a Liberal Arts education from Akron. Does anyone realize that the last I checked, we had the Top 5 program in the country in Industrial/Organizational Psychology? Maybe people like me should be pushing for "Akron Institute of Behavior Studies"? That would also allow us to attract students based on a nationally-recognized program too, right? There's so much that can be done without a name change to the entire university. As athletic supporters, does anyone realize how long we'd be referred to as that school that "used to be The University of Akron"? It's stupid, and extremely shortsighted.

You got it, Dave. They are a Trade Organization. I mentioned this back in Post #188

He must be done with classes for the year, and has plenty of time on his hands. Oh wait, I forgot. He "Ain't Come to Play School"

Oh boy. Here we go. Big article on the front of the Beacon this morning. The name "Ohio Polytech Institute" is what people are talking about? The president is supposed to discuss this topic in an upcoming speech. But there is already overwhelming opposition in some surveys. And Change.Org apparently already has a petition started. This is starting to make me a bit ill. What purpose does this serve except to highlight those with Polymer or Technology degrees? How about the rest of us? I really hope the previous information is true. This better be more about branding than a serious consideration of an actual name change.

That's correct. Their distributions make them unprofitable, so they won't pay taxes anyway. It does lead you to believe that there is some other motive.

Yes, the NFL did make that announcement, but also said that it is not an indication that they are going to change the way that they operate. Very strange.

RowdyZip...the NFL gained non-profit status because they are an organization made up of "football clubs".

For the most part, you have to be a religious, educational, club/trade association, or some form of charitable entity. And it's a federal designation. In my experiences with this, I can't see any conceivable way that a marketing group who promotes entertainment could find a way to claim that status, and apply and be accepted. Maybe the fact that they are "Educating" the public about how to avoid making an investment in a crumbling sports stadium could qualify

Rowdy Zip - The property tax exemption only applies to the owner of the property, and their exemption status.

Following our lead? Maybe. But, we got a very experienced HEAD coach.

This is actually getting funny. 1) When does anyone announce a "Completion DATE", and then list the YEAR? And haven't we had two "years" listed already in previous announcements from these people? 2) Lance99, my information is the same as yours. The FAA already nixed the idea of a dome at that location many years ago, if my memory is correct. 3) "Structurally Sound"? Does this include the sinking sections of the End Zone because it was built over a Spring? 4) I'm still wondering how they will account for the large amount of maintenance that the UofA spent just to operate from game to game with repairs. If the U considered these expenses unsustainable, why would it be any different for a new owner? 5) The yearly property taxes, and the property taxes of nearly 100k that are reported to be unpaid right now....alone....would seem to be impossible to get caught up. This just seems crazy to me, still. I can't even see it even reaching the point of "usable" again, so I certainly don't see it drawing enough revenue to justify massive improvements. This is reminding me of that "money pit" boat that everyone buys at some point in their lives, that they never use enough, can't keep up on repairs, and it ends up rotting on a trailer in the back yard. I'd like to know if anyone here ever sees any of this ever becoming reality? I'm voting that this place looks more like the ruins of the Roman Coliseum in a few years, rather than a football stadium.

A game against Bradley would have been a lot more fun if Ford was still the coach

Hilltopper, Pratt was originally listed on the White roster. I didn't see the change. I really wasn't watching each play that closely today. My puzzling comments about the WRs is based off of the teams that they put them on. The fact that it appears as if 5 WRs may have moved ahead of Bickley and Pratt, after 3 graduations, considering their previous frequent playing time, is a mystery to me until I learn more.

Has anyone else been following the WR situation? Bickley and Pratt, who had been in the regular rotation of WRs for 2 years, were relegated to the Offensive Reserves (White Team Offense) for this game. With the departure of 3 WRs, I figured these guys would be playing much bigger roles. But, today there were 5 WRs on the Blue team, which now appears to have put these two guys way down the bench? It just seems like a dramatic change. Was wondering if anyone knows more.

If these are the likely opponents, this is a JACKPOT for us.

This will be a good one, if it sticks. I'll look forward to "The most exciting 25 seconds in sports", when the players run down the hill and touch the rock. What an interesting tradition. What most people don't know is that it starts with the players being loaded on busses and driven up a road that goes up to the top edge of that side of the stadium, through a tunnel of fans lining the street the entire way. Come to think of it, we could have done something like this at the Rubber Bowl, since the top side in the one end zone was at street level. Maybe we could have had them all slide down those Tarps that covered the abandoned/sinking seating area.

Thanks for all of the information. I'll figure it out. Yes, I am aware of the new Windows 10 coming our way.

Dr. Z.....I remember seeing Bobby Knight being asked once if it was more important that he was Liked or that he was Respected. He didn't hesitate, and emphatically said....Respected. I think Hurley is a jerk. So was Knight. But, years later I even started respecting Knight more. He got a lot of out his players, made them go to school, built character, made them behave themselves, and built a giant of a program. Although he had faults, he also had tons of attributes that I wish every coach had today. Maybe someday we will find that underneath all of Hurley's faults he ends up being good for college basketball, and good for the young men he molds. But.....I enjoyed the two years I spent yelling at him to Sit Down and Shut Up !!!!

The "quote" feature will not copy the quote to my reply. I also cannot copy and paste anything into a reply. I just upgraded to Windows 8.1 the other day. Not sure if that is causing it? But I am still using the same IE browser as before.