GP1

Amen. TP never took UA athletics seriously and told ABJ readers that neither should they. This happened for years on end. UA is still fighting this negative perception in the community. Winning will help break it. One day, we'll put a winner on the field and folks will pay attention somehow. I don't know what that "somehow" is going to be, but there will be something. The problem with the Akron media now is...there really isn't one. Who reads the ABJ? Is there even an Akron TV station anymore? Akron sports radio station that has more than five listeners? Pluto did what he did during the final great days of the print media and it really stuck. We need a media that is going to tell the truth about Akron sports. When we do well, they should say so and demand even better. When we do poorly, they should say so and demand better. When UAkron sports get treated as a child, people look at it as a child instead of the adult world it is supposed to be. It's just frustrating.

Maybe the top 100 players in Ohio aren't all they are cracked up to be. A lot of them go to Big Ten schools, but the Big Ten is what it is. Let's just say schools from the north go south to recruit and not many in the south go north to recruit. I can't find the graphic, but espn ran it last weekend and it showed the nuber of kids from various regions in the Top 150. It was shocking how many from the southeast and Texas there were. Ohio only has two kids in the ESPN Top 150 and neither of them are in the top 50. One of them is around 137. With that said, I'm a skeptic of all of the various player rating "things" on the internet. We need to be getting the best players possible regardless of where they are from.

Some of you may not know this, but I have it on good authority CK as spent tens of thousands of hours in the Cleveland Sports Media Hall of Fame pouring over Terry Pluto articles. Anyone else remember Pluto's column on Colman Crawford: "He's Always Been an Underdog." See what I mean... In all seriousness, Terry Pluto was a huge obstacle in maturing the people in and around Akron for D-1A sports in their own backyard.

Some of you may not know this, but I have it on good authority CK as spent tens of thousands of hours in the Cleveland Sports Media Hall of Fame pouring over Terry Pluto articles.

Good post. Some people write about Coach I like he bites the heads off of newborn chickens. Philosophically, I don't agree with is style of football, but I only have a theory he is deploying the wrong style and my theory is up for being proven wrong over the coming years. None of us really know him personally and I think the attacks have been way over the top. Other than going 1-11, what has the guy done wrong? You have to do a lot of things right to get over the 1-11 problem, but I'm sure you guys get the point. Not only that, I don't think any of us will get to know him personally....I don't think he is that kind of person, which is fine with me. As long as he wins, I don't really care what he is like or who likes him personally.

Providence was a bad school to use. A school like Northwestern would be a better analogy. Duke will make the super conference just to have them for the bank breaking basketball tournament. There isn't much to work out once the four 16 super conferences are complete. The break-up of the Big 12 is the key. Once that is compete, they will have all they need and them leaving the ncaa will be nothing but a formality.

I think the day of a super conference separate from the ncaa isn't far off. Once the 16 team, four super conferences are complete, it's all over for the ncaa. There are haves and have nots in D-1A college football. There is also a group of mostly non-bcs schools who would be called "the don't belongs". The charm I see of the ncaa basketball tournament is taking a Thursday and Friday off of work to watch basketball games between teams you don't really care about and getting drunk in the process. That can be accomplished in the current manner or another way. Would watching Providence get slaughtered by Duke be any different than watching Hampton get slaughtered by Duke? Upsets would still happen, they would just be more known teams upsetting the higher seed.

I dont' have it figured out, but I'm confident that if we take the thinking away from the bureaucrats at the ncaa, we will have a better product in the end. Many ideas are better than one. The ncaa creates a singular idea pool full of people looking not to offend anyone because they are looking at their next job. I agree the ncaa football ship isn't going down soon. The non-bcs ship (which we live on) is taking on water faster than the pumps can bail it out and the ncaa is in no interest to bail us out. College football is a cash cow alright..... for the bcs conferences. The cash cow for the ncaa is the MBB Tournament. If the bcs schools are smart, they leave the ncaa, start their own league with a basketball tournament CBS will be more than willing to pay an arm and a leg to broadcast, combine that with the money they will make off of a football playoff and television rights to the regular season and really break the bank. It makes no sense for BCS level schools to stay in the ncaa. If the ncaa rules are so important to the bcs schools, all they have to do is kill a few thousand trees, copy the ncaa handbook, put a new cover on it with the new league name and hand it out to "student-athletes". The ncaa is just a set of rules and regulations...anyone can do that.

Ditching it is the better option. It is broken beyond repair. A new set of individuals with a new set of conflicting agendas is exactly what the ncaa needs. There are no new ideas and bringing in new people is the answer. Everyone at the ncaa headquarters should be dismissed from their jobs and the windows boarded shut because they won't listen to new ideas. A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time with a D-1 athletic director. I ran my idea of a new division and this person told me it would never happen because the I-AA schools would never go for it. They don't want to appear second class. The real concern for all non-bcs teams is the day the bcs schools leave the ncaa. It is getting a lot of attention right now and may be closer than anyone wants to admit. The writing is on the walls at the ncaa and the Titanic is taking on water. When that happens, there is no basketball tournament. When there is no basketball tournament, there is no ncaa as it is 75%+ of their revenues. The ncaa is a dying institution. It's dying because it isn't needed. Again Dave, we can stay on the Titanic and wait for another boat to come by or we can get on a lifeboat. Which do you want? You are welcome on my lifeboat if you wish...don't stay too long though as the Titanic is taking on water quickly.

On many levels, the BCS schools have done everything right. They have won, organized great conferences, started their own TV networks, established huge alumni support, sell out 60,000+ seat stadiums, etc. No organization should come down on them for doing things righ. If they spread all the money around college athletics, the same large schools will still have an advantage and they will find other advantages. tosu is getting hammered? That's news to me. The money they have to pay back is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall money they made. How is turning wins into loses on paper a punishment? Every coach is replaceable and Tressel can be replaced. What tosu has done is write the book for other schools coming into the same situation (Oregon and LSU are having the same problems) on how to get away with breaking the rules. USC could have done this years ago, but they decided to tell the ncaa to f-off.

Because there's a proven path to the top for non-BCS schools in the NCAA. Boise State has done it in football. Butler has done it in basketball. The Zips have done it in soccer. How does the path to the top for non-BCS midmajors compare in your hypothetical system? If the ncaa went away tomorrow, within five years, a better organization could be established where teams can more fairly compete. Like others, I see a 4 conference/16 team league forming and we will be stuck on the outside...again... I wasn't clear enough in my original post. We'll never be able to compete even in a future league with the highest level. We could compete if we banded in with like schools (Sunbelt, CUSA, MAC, etc) and had our own league.

Because there's a proven path to the top for non-BCS schools in the NCAA. Boise State has done it in football. Butler has done it in basketball. The Zips have done it in soccer. How does the path to the top for non-BCS midmajors compare in your hypothetical system? What is this path to the top the ncaa creates for non-bcs schools? Why is the ncaa the only organization that can create a path to the top? If the ncaa went away tomorrow, within five years, a better organization could be established where teams can more fairly compete. The Titanic is going down for non-bcs schools Dave, you stay on board and hope another boat comes along. I'd like to get on a lifeboat. Think of that analogy when you are sitting at The Big Dialer the last game of the season with 1,000 people in the stands. For every Boise State, there are 50 schools who don't have a shot and can't compete against bcs schools in a meaningful way. The ones that can are jumping to BCS conferences. Basketball is different as it doesn't take as many players to be successful as football does. Soccer is like college hockey. There are only about 8-10 schools with decent programs. Akron and Miami (hockey) are good examples of how non-major schools can get good at these sports easily by putting some focus on them.

How is the big government ncaa treating non-bcs schools and why would we (non-bcs schools) want to continue to be part of that organization?

So let me get this straight. The nfl is now going to punish players for breaking the moronic ncaa rules. Doesn't that make the nfl as stupid as the ncaa?

Maybe, maybe not. Are we going to suspend every player coming out of college this season for five games who might have some relationship with a drug dealer? 80% of the rookies wouldn't be on the field for the first five games. The NFL/NCAA agreement is that the NFL will match any NCAA punishment for a player who leaves the NCAA for the NFL to escape NCAA punishment. It only affects players found guilty of violating rules, not players only suspected of violating rules. Kind of fits in with the American system of jurisprudence that one is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, don't you think? I've never heard of this agreement. There is a lot more justice in the American system of jurisprudence than in the NCAA system.

Very well done. See, in the hands of the right designer, it can all come together. Think about it, we already have the Z-Fund. We could have the Z-Town Dance Team dance during timeouts at BB games. We could have Z-Town Kids Fest before football games with things for kids to play on. One letter, so many possibilities. If we are going to be the Zips, let's do the best with what we have. Get away from Akron and stick with a nickname. I don't see anything on the Boise State uniform that says "Boise State" except for the back where the names will be an not Boise State...it says Broncos. The helmet has a bronco on it. The pants say broncos.

I like animal nicknames. When I worked at Georgia Pacific, we rebranded our drywall brand to ToughRock and when we came out with our mold resistant campaign with Dens products, we branded the line DensGuard. Rebranding is a good marketing tool. Like I said above, I'm not officially saying it. Lots of MAC schools have rebranded...some good like EMU and some terrible like Miamioh. I'm not sure what our brand says about us. I'm not saying it though. Wake Forest is called the Demon Deacons. After years of going to games, I don't understand the mascot or name. The mascot looks more like an Angry Minister and is waaaaaaaay overdressed, with the top hat, cane and tuxedo, for sporting events. If they were trying to convey a real southern religious service, it would show 500 Baptists trying to squeeze into the last row of pews at the church. That wouldn't fit on a t-shirt very well though. I'm not saying anything though....

I don't disagee with any of this with the exception I'm not in either of their corners and not against one of them either. I just wanted the best man to win. Let's hope it works out that way. There is a flip side to all of this though. Sometimes (not everytime extreme thinkers) when a player, especially QBs, experiences a great deal of losing, he never recovers. Two years is a heck of a long time to take a beating and it wears on the mind. I know players like to talk about confidence, but none of us really know what he thinks when he is laying in bed at night alone. Many of these players become, for the lack of a better analogy, like shell shock victims from WW I. It's always on their mind and it makes them nervous.

I wonder what Joe Paterno thinks of all these new unis.

His resume? I'd love to hear the interview... HR Department: "So Jim, tell me why you are looking for a new job." Tressel: "I had to resign in disgrace from my previous employer. I'm laughing all the way to the bank though." HR Department: "Tell me about a time when you had a difficult decision to make and how you handled it." Tressel: "I was well aware some of my players were breaking NCAA rules with a drug dealer under investigation by the Federal Government. I had to decide whether it was more important to win games or tell the University compliance officer about it and having my key player suspended. After a lot of praying, I decided to pretend like I didn't know about it and lied to my employer about it. It was a very tough decision. Did I tell you we won the Sugar Bowl?" I could go on all day..... The strange thing is, in every business under the sun, with the exception of athletics, a guy like Tressel would never get another job. In the world of athletics, he will have his pick of scouting and coaching jobs in the NFL.

I know what you want, change the z and p to t's. Pure Genius. Easy to market. An even better idea from Dr Z!!! Now, if we could just get those boobs in marketing to do something, we could sell some tickets. Talk about a great game day experience!!!!

In the hands of the right artist, a white helmet with a blue and gold design might look really good. Personally, I think a change in the kangaroo head is needed in order to freshen things up. There is one change I would make to our branding, but I'm not going to say it here because it might cause a firestorm (Hint: It involves what we call ourselves).

Boise has given us a new look. I don't know how you remember all of those things.

Link I'd like to see the Zips change up their uniforms to something more 21st Century. I love blue and gold, but would like to see a more creative uniform like Boise State has moved to. Any thoughts?

Maybe....maybe not. It isn't a good idea because we have a stadium on campus we are trying to draw people to and going somewhere else sends the message we are drawing people somewhere other than The Bid Dialer. It creates a loss of focus. It costs money to bus a team somewhere, run a high school stadium, clean up a high school stadium, etc. In addition to a lack of focus, there would have to be a return on the investment of the travel. The scrimmage we are going to play at tosu next weekend is at least paid for by the $1 million check we will get from them.