GP1

They are saving some of you from yourselves. Find something more interesting to do. It shouldn't be hard.

I once took a whiz next to Kobe Bryant in the Ritz Carlton in uptown Charlotte.

Politicians talk about the NCAA, I guess we have to talk about it. God, I hate doing this, but here it goes. First, executive orders like this aren't small government Republicanism. It's the government sticking it's nose in where it doesn't belong. Executive Orders are pure laziness. It's more of the same buffoonery Americans have been watching for around 11 years. Most are exhausted with him and the polls show it. Like building a wall, staying out of foreign wars, releasing the Epstein Files, and any of the large number of things he said he would do, he won't do it. He won't do it because he can't do it by himself and is not willing to put in the work to get things done. He's not an authoritarian. He's not a small government Republican. He's not a Nazi. He's not a Fascist. All of those things take hard work. He's just a lazy, buffoonish, reality TV star sitting around putting together Truth Social posts. I don't really worry about him because I don't think he has the will to actually do anything. I do laugh AT him. He's a silly old man. I was born in 1969. I can't believe in my life the Republicans have gone from a competent giant surrounded by other competent people in Reagan, to a buffoonish clown surrounded by Fox News personalities, nihilists, conspiracy theorists and general crackpots. Here is your daily dose of an example. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/us/fema-gregg-phillips-waffle-house-teleportation.html. The only thing that could make the NCAA worse is this group of clowns trying to solve a problem they don't really want to or are willing to put the work into solving.

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse than being the coach at Kent.

The arena is squeezed into an existing block and the entrance is almost at the sidewalk. If you didn't know it was a basketball arena, you might not know what you are standing outside of. One has to go in, show your ticket then go up to the concourse then down to your seat. There is a small club level at the top. Most of Charleston did not exist in revolutionary times and was mostly swamped so you can't really dig down to build because it's mostly fill and the cost of waterproofing alone would send the project skyrocketing. That's why the court is on sidewalk level. An expensive problem in downtown Charleston is getting your design through the historical society's review board. Akron wouldn't have that problem. Akron could save money by putting some of the arena below ground and not having to use products that blend into a city that is a museum. CofC has a nice arena. I wasn't awestruck, but did appreciate it. I just don't know how Akron pulls anything off in the next decade or two given their finances.

Because there would be no athletic department.

Charleston is an extremely trendy place. There are loads of people looking to impress and be impressed. I'd bet it is part of the driving force. Compound that with a great game day experience and there is the success.

The CoC discussion is interesting. I didn't know their attendance was so successful until today so I'm learning along with everyone. I live in SC and go there about once a month. The people I know don't talk about going, but it's a big area and it doesn't take many people to fill their arena, which is a takeaway for Akron. Everyone in NE Ohio can't go to every game. They just need more people who are interested and willing to go. CoC does get a big student crowd, which doesn't strike me as unusual because they tend to live on campus and going to the beach isn't an option during basketball season. The students also take a lot of pride in going there. I've always heard that their baseball team gets good crowds. They play over by the aircraft carrier at Patriot Point in Mt. Pleasant, I think and it's a convenient place to go. What they have executed on is the goose that laid the golden egg in sports attendance. The key to success is selling as many season tickets as possible. CoC has three consecutive seasons of sell out season tickets. That's amazing. If people buy tickets, they tend to go or give them to someone who will. The downtown area of Charleston is slow in the winter and there are far fewer activities because their organized activities tend to be outside and it does get cold there in January and February. CoC allows a high quality indoor event separate from the cold so that has to be attractive. Moreover, it's cold but there are not several inches of snow on the road. The parking situation isn't the greatest, but with fewer tourists in the winter, it's manageable. I don't know. Call me crazy, but maybe making their athletic department benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around the school pays off.

Akron is in a great spot to be aggressive, or not. The website shows Ford as the Head Coach. Akron is the gold standard for MAC basketball and I'm not sure a career assistant is the right person.

In all seriousness, I agree. Fans are too quick to panic when there is turnover. Honestly, I've been guilty of it in the past. Again, my experience following a well run athletic department is Wake Forest. When I saw Dave Clawson getting hired after Grobe around 10 years ago, I thought they were doomed because I simply didn't know who he was or much about him. As it turned out, he was the right guy, at the right place, at the right time. When they hired Jake Dickert I thought they were screwed for the same reasons and he won 9 games in his first season and were better than the last two years of Clawson. He was the right guy at the right place at the right time. Wake finds football coaches who are right for Wake Forest. Akron has successfully found two consecutive successful coaches in a row who were the right guys for Akron at the right time. At some point, we have to admit that the culture around Akron basketball is a good one. Culture matters and leads to good decisions. In recent years, Akron has through the TP and NIL brought in high quality players and people. Akron isn't desperate and doesn't need to abandon this cultural foundation. The question isn't about who is out there to hire. The question revolves around who is out there and who is a good fit for Akron. There are many good coaches. We need to find the best one for Akron.

I don't think a young Gerry Faust is the answer.

Maybe it's not just about the job.

Akron is being left on solid footing. You may need to plan better.

They could have asked to be given the last look, JG shows them the offer and they told they couldn't do it. Decision made.

I'm hoping there were enough conversations behind the scenes so that the AD was not caught off guard and already has formulated some thought about where he will go next.