GP1

Thanks for the story CK. One thing about the story is there were so few scholarships to be had early in the Faust years, Jeff had to walk on the football team like so many others did. Another thing the story references is his baseball ability. A good football player, but a better baseball player. If I remember right, he hit a walk off HR to lead Brooke to the OVAC title. He could have played baseball at a couple of ACC schools and decided to play football at UofA. He also lettered in baseball at UofA as a walk on.

This is a good article about the goings on in college football as it relates to the Big 12. One line stuck out to me about MO, Can't State and UK going to a conference in their price range. We need to think that way as well only I-AA.

Both are terrible and boring to watch.

I've been feeling a little "off" about the program the past couple of years as well. Maybe it is the distance, but I don't think that is it....it probably has more to do with going to ACC games and seeing a little school like Wake get good at times and knowing we are miles behind them. I believe I have had a bit of an awakening the past couple of years and it goes beyond the AD and JD and everything at UofA. In fact, I think things at UofA are about as good as they have ever been...new football stadium, WBB getting better, MBB functioning at a high standard and last but not least...soccer. I hate the league we play in, but that is where we belong. I hate that we are so far behind BCS schools, but that's the way the NCAA wants it. I hate that we allow ourselves to be punching bags for BCS teams, but that is the state of college sports as well. I could go on. I just think so many things are stacked against us and we can never overcome them because college sports are designed for us to be at the back of the bus. I really hope the NCAA realigns so there is something to look forward to in terms of fair and better competition. Captain Kangaroo says being a Zips fan is "work". That's putting it mildly. I work enough and I am exhaused at the end of the week. More work is the last thing I am looking for on a Saturday.

George, What the heck are you thinking!?!? You are too smart to go back to Athletics being surrounded by morons. I hope you left the door open to go back to civilized fundraising after you realized what a huge mistake this is. Then again, if you're happy, I'm happy. Cheers, GP1

I'm not ready to crown him savior and star, but I would at least crown him starter. The raw material is there to be a good MAC player if not the best QB in the MAC. While I didn't see the spring game, my biggest concern about him last year was accuracy...second was lack of touch (maybe they go hand in hand). A player will take his biggest growth spurt in terms of body size and intellectual ability from his freshman year to his soph year. Everything sort of comes into focus. By the end of next season, we are going to see what is very close to the finished product for the kid. I certainly think there is room to improve, but at the same time, that doesn't make him a bad player. The ball is in his court so to speak and he needs to take some big steps this summer. What this kid really needs to do is win some darn games. If not, we are going to be exactly where we have been most of the past 20 odd years. He is there to win games, not to be a source of fan evaluation of whether or not he is "growing" as a player. If he can't win games, there is no reason to not evaluate options. We will know a ton about him this coming December.

This makes sense. If Nebraska goes to the PAC-10, the are middle to low level team. If they go to the Big Ten, they will compete for the conference championship next year. GP1! ??? Did you mistakenly flip your conferences above? Nebraska might be a once-in-a-while contender in the Big-10, as they were in Big-12. In the Pac-10, they are a constant threat to win it all (even if SC were allowed to compete). We are talking about American football, aren't we? Nebraska is like the Boise State of the Great Plains. Except their WBB team was awesome last year, and VB ain't bad -- that's it. I'm sure our Great One follows the LadyHuskers fortunes. IMHHO, Nebraska would not be able to put up enough points in the PAC10 to compete. They have more of a midwest style of play.....low scoring and a defense that can hold off average offenses. They will finish in the top two or three in the Big Ten their first year.....maybe even win it all.

This ship has sailed. The reputation of the MAC is going to be even worse after realignment unless it becomes part of a lower division. No self-respecting conference would invite a MAC school to join.

Actually, really smart people are rarely delivering the news. There are too many people in the mainstream media who where former staffers for various political figures. George Stephanopoulous (sp?), Bill Kristol, etc. People in politics are really stupid people. We have really stupid people talking on tv about politics. Our society is getting more stupid because we listen to stupid people. Seems simple to me. MSNBC is owned by General Electric and it is a small part of their business portfolio. They literally don't have time to care about what is said on that network.

This makes sense. If Nebraska goes to the PAC-10, the are middle to low level team. If they go to the Big Ten, they will compete for the conference championship next year.

Enjoy

The only way Can't State gets 90K total is if they give away free joints to all paying customers.

I think you are spot on. It's hard to believe the MAC could be any more irrelevant than it already is, but just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. The only way to salvage any dignity for the MAC is for it to drop to I-AA and have a team competing for a championship every year. The Zips could be that team. Instead, we are happy to get our asses kicked by BCS schools three times a year and play in a crappy conference. If realignment does not happen AND the NCAA does not accept the Great GP1's proposal of separating D-1A, the top 30 teams should leave the NCAA and start their own league. There is already an NAIA, why not another type of league? This could be a good thing for college sports as the destruction of the NCAA would be a good thing and this would destroy the NCAA.

The problem Conway has is eventually he is going to have to start talking. Once he does that, the rest of the state will realize he is a leftist. This could be as close as he gets to Paul. Very true. This election is very much about defining Rand Paul. I hope I can watch their debates this summer online. Dems have gotten pretty good during recent elections at tacking to the center and peeling away at the middle; I bet it gets much closer. The only thing the Democrats have gotten good at is keeping quiet while Republicans slouch to the left and lose public support. Democrats are as far left as they ever have been....with Republicans not far behind. KY is too Red of a state for Paul to lose this one. Democrats are in heap big trouble this year in states far more Purple than KY.

The problem Conway has is eventually he is going to have to start talking. Once he does that, the rest of the state will realize he is a leftist. This could be as close as he gets to Paul.

John Steigerwald is a long time Pittsburgh sports reporter and has an interesting blog where the discusses this issue. He brings up an interesting issue in I think what is the second to last paragraph. That is, if these super conferences come about, it eliminates the seventh game a year teams play against lower level conferences such as the MAC because the TV money will be huge and the money from the seventh game will be unnecessary. This is exactly the opportunity schools like UofA need to wedge themselves from being a sacrificial lamb a couple of times a year. If these super conferences are created, it opens the door for the NCAA to reform the highest level of college football. Instead of pretending the MAC is at the same level as BCS conferences, they can be honest about the disparity between BCS and non-BCS conferences and separate those teams from one another to maintain the integrity of competition and college football. These moves are purely about money. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the fraud the BCS schools pull on their fans when they sell them tickets to, for example, UofA vs PSU. When you go to these games, you are having your money stolen from you by the home school.

IMNHO, the number one reason (there are many reasons) to renew tickets is an answer to the following question. Am I entertained by the product I see on the field and is that enough entertainment value to spend my hard earned money on? If the answer is yes, then renew. If the answer is no, some of you may have some thinking to do. A college football game is a huge investment in mostly time so you at least want to be entertained by what you are going to spend a day doing. I think it is stupid that they are not having fan interaction outings such as the golf outing, but that is a side issue compared to whether or not one finds the product entertaining. If I still lived in Ohio, I would have season tickets this coming season. I am entertained by going to the games regardless of the ability of the team to win, regardless of who is the AD and regardless of my concerns about the philosophy of the new coach. I like watching D-1 college football and anything lower than the MAC I would not spend my money on.

I'm sure you gained so much insight while riding the pine. You have any idea how much talking goes on behind the scenes? Any idea how decisions are made, or how coaches find out about other jobs? You really think TW didn't have the entire staff knowing what was going to happen if they failed? Do you really think the coaching staff didn't already know going into the season what was going to happen? TW started September 10th (officially). Reno resigned 10/31 (officially). A whole 41 days. Everyone wants to blame the new guy, but Hunter had more information on the goings on than anyone. If any decision was made TW only signed off on it. It was JD's hire, he had as much say in it as anyone. But you guys jump on the AD. With no proof of what went on from the University's side. Someone sold you a bill of goods. People believe what they want to believe, regardless of what I type, so I say to all - enjoy your weekend. Going with the new direction of this thread, but preserving its recent tenor, just let me say, where do you get off telling me to enjoy my weekend? If I want to abhor my weekend or detest my weekend, then that's what I am going to do. Go Zips. I take it you will be watching the Golden Girls marathon today and then the Thirty Something marathon tomorrow on Lifetime.......

Believe what you want. RF DID make a mistake and WAS some place he should not have been during a time when coaches are NOT allowed to recruit. I liked every encounter I ever had with RF but the fact of the matter is that he did screw up and hopefully he learned from his mistakes and gets another opportunity to follow his dreams. OK, where was he and why was it a violation?

See I would disagree with this statement, if no violation occurred then he would have no problem finding another job. So what does that tell you? Additionally if he left on "bad terms", and he didn't do anything wrong, he would have a lawsuit on his hands that any lawyer would take up and it wouldn't cost him a cent. Reno may very well have been a "good guy" but it doesn't mean he didn't make a mistake. Either way I stick by my belief that he was given an opportunity after everything came out and he chose to walk. So ask yourself, why did he walk? It's Friday...maybe you've started happy hour a little early. For someone trying to salvage their career, a suit against your former employer is a pretty stupid thing to do. Talk about being unhireable. The next interview would go as follows: Interviewer: "How did you leave your last job?" Reno: "I sued them." Interviewer: "Thanks for coming in." What his not getting another job tells me is the unnecessary stink TW left on him is following him around. He is a good guy and he didn't make a mistake. See CK's response. There is not a piece of evidence showing he did anything wrong. He walked to get away from the stink and try to salvage his wrecked career. Every time I think of the Reno situation is makes me sick and I didn't even know him. Here is a West Point graduate who worked his ass of for UofA and his career is ended by a lazy, bumbling fool of an AD.

Interesting take on the Reno situation. Has anyone heard anything public about this issue? My guess is no, because there was nothing there. I know of no University rule that requires a suspension while being investigated. There is no doubt he would have been fired at the end of the year. He would have had to look for a new job. Does he have one yet? Google his name and see why not. Everything that comes up is about this issue. When you hire an assistant coach, you don't want the fans to Google their name and that is what comes up. Basically, TW ruined his career by going off half cocked. Reno is a good guy who didn't deserve this. TW's handling of the situation reminds me of every sleazy guy I knew when I worked in corporate America. With any luck, what goes around will come around.

An amazing thing about the call you received was there was no concern at all from the caller about your situation. Just a terrible sales call all the way around. Calls like this to a long term fan should be from the AD. Would anyone like to ask Dr. Proenza the following question?..... What the Hell were you thinking when you hired the new AD? I have zero confidence in the guy. I think some of you feel the same way, only you are too nice to say it out loud.

I double dog dare you to sit and watch nine innings of an Indians game. Come back and post after. I'm a Pirates fan. I could watch an Indians game standing on my head. It's all about conditioning and 15+ years of watching the Pirates has me in the best "watching bad baseball shape" I have ever been in. I fart in the general direction of this challenge.

Response #1: If the Cavs lose LeBron, they are toast. He was a once-in-a-lifetime, miracle draft pick that staved off the inevitable. There would be an Oklahoma City Cavaliers if it weren't for LeBron. Response #2: The Indians can't win. They traded away all their great players for a sack of beans and some Dollar General jewelery. Their run of being competitive is over. They don't have the personnel or the bankroll. Response #3: Most Zips fans were pretty excited about Getsy in 2005. Response #4: The Celtics needed to find a way to win after Bird. It took them 22 years to do it. And they are the Celtics. The Cavs are the Milwaukee Bucks, sans LeBron. Once he's gone, they are essentially a MAC basketball team. I can't wait to watch South East Milwaukee State play the Zips in a couple years. Response 1A: Then move the team today because at some point in the future they are going to be without LBJ. Response 2A: Someone has to win the Indians division. Everyone can compete in that division even with Chicago. The Indians may not be good today, but they could be good in the future. Response 3A: Especially the Great GP1. Response 4A: Bias was Boston's ticket and he went the way of a drug overdose.

It requires no more staff than they currently have. Run the promotion from now until the end of July. The results can easily be tracked on a spreadsheet by someone in finance. Believe me, there are enough people sitting around the University with their thumbs up their butts that tracking this for Athletic Department staff would not be hard. This is a way for everyone in the Athletic Department to get involved and earn some extra cash. They all complain about not making enough, well...here you go.