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Dave and a few others.... Let this serve as an example of why many people I know don't come on this forum. Instead of it being an excellent place to share facts, people just want to dispute them, and form their own opinions. I've known this fact for years about Belden Village, and the advantages of the lower tax rate. For God's sake, laws were changed to take away their competitive advantage!!

For the supporters out there, how about you answer this question. You own a major corporation. And you post a job opening for CEO. You have a candidate in which you are aware has quite an extensive history like his, and you look at his education level, and realize that it also falls short of the traditional requirement. How confident would YOU be in hiring him? if YOU had millions of dollars at stake? As one of the faculty heads pointed out recently in an article, this is like a multi-million dollar corporation. And all the rest of us associated with this University have a stake in this, even if it's not our life's work at stake. I just still hope and pray that someone comes to their senses before it's too late.

You're getting way off track now. Listen...Retailers just outside of Cuyahoga County have benefitted from it for years, the growth of Belden Village has been attributed to the lower sales tax rates in Stark County, and the state lawmakers passed legislation because of it, because car dealerships cried about having a disadvantage. That's what I posted originally. Those are the facts. I'm sharing this information with my fellow posters. Choose to do what you want with the information. If you choose to ignore it and think people don't care, that's your choice.

It's been cited repeatedly, my friend. Please, go ahead and try to make the argument that Bath/Montrose is a "worse area" than N. Canton. Yet, Summit County residents will go to Belden Village to shop? Coincidence maybe? I know you're just trying to get your hopes to fit into the facts. But, you're being incredibly naïve about human behavior.

First of all, Nobody is arguing about predictions about whether he will or will not get the job. That's completely out of our hands. Secondly, I think it's a horrible decision, it's bad for Akron, and it's an embarrassment. Why would I root for that?

Yes, seriously, how are we measuring his "performance" in a position like that ? Is "student success" on the rise? Can there possibly be any way to measure that in 2 years? It's all a big joke.

I had to do that. I'm glad you took it that way. We certainly have a big difference of opinion here on this hire, but we surely both want what's best for the U and the Zips. And that's the important part. I wish there were more people like us that were this passionate about Akron. Actually, make that THOUSANDS more people like us.

No, not at all. And I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm just suggesting that you might want to consider who you might be debating with when attempting to make a point by boasting that the people you know are somehow more important people than the associates of another poster. Even if you "couldn't" care less, I wasn't going to post it anyway.

You know, I cut you a little bit of slack on the the "all of my friends say....." comments, but this is getting ridiculous now. You're trying too hard. This doesn't make your opinion any more valid. Do you want me to post my resume on here too? All the boards I've served on? All of the major people I do business with?

I pretty much agree with you. I really want this to happen. I'm no necessarily happy or unhappy that it will take a tax increase to make it happen, but I have tons of doubt that county residents will jump on board. Someone made the point that sales tax increases proportionally hurt the middle to lower income people more. That's true. But from my standpoint, I'm just glad it's not being proposed as a property tax increase.

There's another perspective that some people are failing to see. Twenty years ago, Cuyahoga county residents were voting for a new facility for the INDIANS, a major league baseball team, to replace a decrepit 80 year old facility. And many of them now have regrets today. Summit County voters will be taking the viewpoint that they are doing the same, but for the Akron Zips, a college sports team that many of them couldn't care less about, to replace a facility that is only 30 years old? When many of them have never seen the Zips play a basketball game in their lives? It's going to be a very tough sell, even if they try to somehow position it as a "benefit to the entire community" project.

I can tell you this. If that's what sports fans in the area thought would happen, they'd all jump on the Zips bandwagon. And it wouldn't even matter how many of the others citizens showed up to vote it down.

That's ANOTHER good one. Why do people drive across town to a gas station where the price is cheaper, when they will just waste most of that savings on the trip over there anyway. Or, why do people save up their Giant Eagle points to earn 10 cents off per gallon, which might save them a dollar or so, about once every month. Say what you want, or think what you want, but that's what people do.

Then I guess you've now joined the much-criticized "people I know all agree" method for trying to prove a point on Zips nation. I'll be fair about the people I know, and say that those who are OSU honks think he's a great guy who's make mistakes, and they want him to get the job. Those who care about Akron, have an association with Akron as an alum or supporter, and everyone else outside of any of those categories all think it's a joke that he's even being considered.

Maybe that's your opinion. But, there has to be some reason why Cuyahoga County residents float to surrounding counties to buy cigs and alcohol. Let me give you another example: Numerous business reports over the years have raved about the enormous growth and success of the Belden Village area of N. Canton. Do you know what they cite as one of the major factors? Believe it or not, the .25% that people save in sales tax by making the trip down there from Summit Co. And More: Many years ago the laws were changed about buying cars, whereby you paid the sales tax rate where you lived, rather than where the dealership was located. Why? Because people were traveling to buy cars in another county where the sales tax rate saved them a few bucks, and it was creating a competitive advantage. So, get out of your fantasy world of thinking that people don't care about these kinds of things.

I agree that this seems like a thin list of candidates. But, you should see the Youngstown list. I just thought we'd do much better. One of the 50 or so largest Universities in the country, and this is what we have, after a nationwide search?

His supporters are doing the same thing. You don't think they are just as rabid? They are just vastly outnumbered, which is my point. I'm not exactly sure sometimes where you stand on an issue, Dave. You seem to often walk the fence. But, I hope you aren't indicating that you might be siding with those who are naïve enough to think that, if he is hired, the U of A will not be the subject of laughter across the nation. The posts presently left by "single-minded zealots", as you call them, are just the tip of the iceberg.

I'm sitting here thinking about the possibility of a new arena this morning, as I see yet another news story displaying how disappointed Cuyahoga County's residents have become about the fact that they paid for sports complexes with self-voted, long term tax increases.

Exactly my point. It's a true indication of how people feel. Thus, the impression about UA that will prevail if this perceived "joke" actually becomes a reality.

For every Ohio press "writer" who might choose to display their blind love affair with him, because anything associated with OSWho can do no wrong, there are dozens of common citizens commenting at the bottom of many of those article who don't quite have the same opinion.

That's exactly what I did in my last post. I presented the facts as they related to each candidate, and asked the masses to decide Dave, by the way, I still haven't sent my letter to the selection committee. I need to get on that. And I will still take your valuable advice which you gave to me earlier in this thread.

Sorry guys. Just catching up on news and comments. This one really got my attention. My first thought is, if another candidate curiously left a former position rather abruptly with no further details ever emerging, I wonder how it would be judged in terms of professional integrity in comparison to another candidate who, among many other things over the entire length of his career, allowed a team he was the LEADER of to play an entire season with ineligible participants, concealed the evidence, lied when he was caught and shamelessly stayed on the job (at least temporarily), then launched a series of ridiculous excuses about why he did it, and THEN had an unceremonious departure of such magnitude that Sports Illustrated turns this person's series of events into a featured cover story. And that only covers the LAST year at his previous employer. You decide.

Just go to the "comments" sections at the bottom of national articles that have popped up recently about him being a candidate. You'll see the same thing.

This is a great point. Let me elaborate. If this guy is prime Presidential Material, where's the competition for his outstanding services? OSWho just hired a president too. Did they court him as a candidate? Was his name even mentioned at all? Even as a possibility?? At the school who's robotic followers still worships him? Where 100,000 people at a football stadium roared when his ex-players were carrying him around the field in iconic fashion at a recent football reunion? A reunion that the school invited him to, and wanted him to attend? If some people would actually stop for a moment....and really THINK about all of this....and genuinely examine his career and his history.....I don't know how it can't make you really sick.

QUESTIONABLE moral clarity?? You're being kind, don't you think? Not that I normally think public opinion should be a deciding factor, but I should share some of the e-mails I have gotten from people across the country. Just the fact that he's gotten to THIS point in the process is spreading a tremendous amount of laughter in reference to my alma mater, along with the "you don't think they are seriously aren't going to hire this guy, do you?" questions. My wife got a voice mail from a friend in Texas asking for confirmation, because she thought it was a joke. When she called them back, they STILL couldn't believe it wasn't a joke. I can only imagine what will happen if he would get hired. It will explode. Embarrassing indeed.