GP1

If the product is competition, improve the product by improving the competition. The MAC should begin to look at contraction and not expansion. "Growth" has not been good for the MAC. The more it grows, the worse it gets. I think the idea of adding more bad teams to an already bad conference would not help in the least. Generating a highly competitive atmosphere within the conference should be the goal of the next MAC president, not resume "building" "growth". Super conferences just generate more games against more teams, but not necessarily more/better competition. I'm talking about the kind of competition where the participants are very familiar with each other and FIERCE competition takes place between the participants each time they play.Keep the conference isolated to the teams in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Temple, Buffalo and NIU would be out. No football only. I'd hate to see Buffalo go, but tough business decisions have to be made all the time. I don't know what value Temple and NIU bring to the MAC at this point. This would leave the conference with 10 teams. Every team would have to play nine conference games meaning everyone plays everyone. Alternate home and away games yearly. At the end of the year, the team with the best MAC record is the champion. Tie breakers would have to be established, but that is normal. The Big Ten and PAC10 crown their champions in a similar way. If it is good enough for them, it should be good enough for us.The MAC should require for the remaining three games:1. One BCS school. Everyone needs a pay day.2. One non-BCS, D-1A school.3. Each school gets to select their own team. I would recommend a 1-AA team like the BCS schools do so we can get to 6 wins faster. I used to hate this idea, but it seems to be the thing to do to get to six wins for a lot of teams. In basketball, an 18 game MAC schedule would be played (we play 16 MAC games right now) with every team playing a home and away game against everyone else. At the end of the year they could still have the tournament in Cleveland. The familiarity generated by this type of schedule would make for some great competition in the tournament.Remember, competition is at the core of what the MAC is selling. Improve the competition and improve the product. Improve the product and you generate interest. Improve the product and you have something more people will be willing to pay to go see because there is interest. An improved product will keep them coming back.

Thank God!One more year of the 3-3-5 defense and I was going to be the guy walking around holding his chest.....

Just out of curiosity...what was the new Rutgers AD doing prior to his recent hiring?I'll give you a hint...he's in this photo:Maybe Waddel should go back to sideline reporting......

Yes I have. I know the guy tried his best here, but he did leave a bit of a stink on the way out. I've heard that from more than one person. Some of you may have noticed that my posts about him changed around this time. I know a lot of you think the guy walks on water. I don't. Without the brains of Mike Thomas, MW is still patrolling sidelines waiting to ask a coach, "What are you going to do differently the second half?" I don't believe for a second he could do half the job Thomas did at UofA if he was in the big chair and I'm not willing to take the risk.Again, I give all of you guys some level of respect for your opinions. My opinion could change about this issue, but probably not."Hey missy, make us some sammiches!" Cotton Hill, King of the Hill.

IF the above is true, I would like to respond. I was going to hold back, but he next few minutes of typing will be too much fun.The only way Waddell comes back to Akron is if Mike Thomas comes back to Akron. Waddell has shown no ability to convince even a half ass directional MO school that he is capable of leading an athletic department. If Thomas goes to a better school than UC, Waddell will be right behind him. I'm sure that by now the people at UC are smart enough to see through his self-promotion. Batman goes nowhere without Robin and Waddell will always be in the passenger's seat.IF Waddell did indeed say what is above, he is truely a jack-ass and I can't believe any of you would want him back. Would the kind of person you would want working for UofA say such a low class thing? The guy has been at UC for how many years now? What the Hell does he know about what is going on?There is an old saying, "Criticism is the price of leadership." Every subordinate thinks they know how to do their bosses job. Surely some of my subordinates have said some really nasty things about me behind my back. I'm sure in whatever fantasy land Waddell lives in, he knows how to be an AD. The problem is that one day you have to lead and you never know how you will respond. So far, every school he interviews with does not believe he can lead. Only some of you knuckleheads on this board believe he can lead. Since many of you are Browns fans and therefore not very smart, I'll side with the "every school he interviews with" group.I don't know if Waddell is smart enough to pick up on it or not, but the momentum of the Motor City Bowl was lost the next year when the team had a losing record and the decline of the MAC was becoming more obvious to anyone with half a brain. Other than buying more billboards (laughing while I type), I don't know how he could have changed that or would have even known what to do to change it.Waddell was nothing but a radio guy who Mike Thomas drug along with him to Akron for whatever reason. When Mack was hired, Waddell was still on staff and made a lot of promises, knowing he was going to leave for UC soon, to fans that were never going to happen. I for one am glad he did not get hired....he wasn't up for the job and still is not up for a job like AD because no other school will hire him.I have met Mack. While I don't know him very well, he seems like a good guy. I can't imagine him leaving UofA and then badmouthing the place after he leaves. He wouldn't stoop to such a low level. I wish him luck in whatever he decides to do.Is the program better off? I would say that given the decline of the MAC in the past few years, the program IS doing well. I do not know exactly how to measure it, but it seems better off now."I say good day sir"....Bobby Hill, King of the Hill.

Excellent point on issue #2. We are probably more guilty of this at UofA as anyone in the league.I'm not certain what the MAC president can do when a member school gets hosed other than telling someone he is really mad. The president has no real power to make the NCAA do anything.Marketing the MAC is extremely difficult because the quality has become so poor and historically has been poor. The MAC has had over 60 years to expose itself to the general public and still attendance is poor. Either there still isn't enough exposure, or people don't like what they see when they go to a game. 60 years of going to market with billboards is a long time. At some point, maybe someone will wake up and realize billboards don't do anything.

All good points. Let's try to look at this also from the new head of the MAC position. What are three things the new president of the MAC can do immediately to improve the league?

It's not really community support as much as it is fewer quality high school athletes to draw from.

I put this topic in football, but it could apply to any sport.The MAC stinks and I find this very upsetting because I love UofA and I follow MAC sports as best as I can. The conference is in a very bad way right now and I badly want this to change. There are a lot of reasons for it that make it hard for MAC schools to gain traction. Below are just a few:1. NCAA focus on BCS schools.2. Lack of alumni support at MAC schools.3. Entry level jobs for coachs and athletic department staff creating high turnover.4. The weather makes it hard to recruit.5. The population is shifting to warm weather states.I believe the above are all givens and these givens are not going to change soon. Disagree if you wish, but they are pretty obvious if you ask me and the list is cursory. Add to this incomplete list if you wish.The question is this. What can the new commissioner do to improve the league? I think about this a lot and I don't know what the answer is. At this point, I would take the new commissioner ending the bleeding. Can the new head of the MAC improve it at a faster rate than the other conferences are improving? Remember, we are behind in the race. When you are behind in a race, you need to run faster than the person in front of you just to catch up. Unless you are waiting for the person in front of you to fall down which will not happen because the NCAA has set it up so they will not fall.Let's bring this discussion around to UofA now. Should we not worry about the quality of the league and just try to be the best team in a bad conference? When I really think about it, my thoughts always end here. Let's just be the best team in a bad conference and not worry about all of the outside issues. I think this is a really positive way to look at our sports programs. Marshall never cared that they were the best team in a bad conference. They had fun winning championships and could have cared less what anyone thought of them or the MAC. In basketball, let's not try to be the Gonzaga of the east, or whatever. The worst Gonzaga team in the past ten years would have never lost to that horrible Valpo team last night. We lost. It is what it is and we are what we are. Why can't we just win the MAC? I don't care if we win the MAC and then get blown out by 50 in the first round of the NCAA.....let's just win the MAC tournament. Let the discussion begin......

Valpo was 7-20 going into the game last night. I don't care how young the Zips are or any other excuse. There is no excuse for losing that game last night.At one point, Akron had a very good lead in the first half and they blew it. Should we be surprised? NO! This is the story of UofA sports. When the basketball team loses, KD catches a lot of flack. When the football team loses, JD catches a lot of flack. When the WBB program loses, JK catches flack. Etc. Akron has been losing games like this long before any of the coaches we currently have got here. I'll say it again and again and again. At some point, the PLAYERS themselves are going to need to take control of these programs and say enough is enough and find it within themselves to win some big games.

I always like the Big Ten vs. MAC debate. I guess for me it comes down to the following questions and answers.Is the BT getting worse? The answer is yes.Is the MAC getting worse? The answer is yes.Both conferences are not nearly as good as they were even five years ago.The final question is important. Which conference is getting worse faster? IMHO, the MAC is getting worse at a far faster rate than the Big Ten is getting worse.In any case, one if these two conferences is just plain bad and getting worse. The other conference is just horrible and while hard to believe, getting worse. You can decide which of these adjectives fits which conference.

Try to see the positive. We have a high school all american coming to UofA next year and he will immediately be placed in the starting line up. If he is as good as advertised, he should be one of the best players in the MAC next season. Kids like Zeke don't grow on trees, they are just as tall as one.I would love it if Swiech, a guy who can't beat out Bardo, would transfer and come back to try to show our high school all american how basketball is played. I'm sure Zeke would welcome the opportunity to compete against Swiech.

It's Cardinal, not Cardinals. If it was Cardinals, their mascot would be something other than a giant redwood tree.Anyhow, it's not April 1, so it can't be April Fools Day. Harris is an excellent QB coach and Jacq will benefit greatly from his teaching. Long term, what does this mean? I still think one way or another, JD is finished after 2009. I don't like the idea of Montgomery being the next head coach, but I do like the idea of Harris being the next coach. Harris took Pitt to a BCS bowl the year he was FIRED from Pitt (they haven't been back to one since). He is a strange guy, but the success was there at Pitt. Harris could be the next coach at Akron.This is the second time you've said that Walt Harris was fired (or FIRED) from Pitt. I don't recall it that way. His last year at Pitt was 2004 and he was named the Big East Coach Of The Year that year. He also led Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl on 1/1/05, although they lost decisively to Urban Meyer's undefeated Utah team. According to a Pittsburgh newspaper article at that time, at the end of 2004 Harris's agent wanted Pitt to renegotiate his contract or let him go. It became a moot point when he took the Stanford job, although apparently he interviewed at Stanford without Pitt's permission. If they wanted to fire him, wouldn't they have been encouraging him to look for another coaching job? I recall that some people at Pitt were unhappy with him, but it seems unlikely that they would fire a guy who was just named the conference coach of the year and who took them to a BCS bowl. Are you sure about that? Or could it be that they "fired" him after he announced that was taking the Stanford job?You can call it whatever you want. He was basically fired at Pitt. Pitt started his last season 2-2 and the Post Gazette ran a bunch of articles on who the next coach at Pitt was going to be. Pitt had a great remainder of the season and went to a BCS game. No matter what, Pitt did not want him to come back for another year. Again, call it what you want, but he was fired.Since ALL of the stories of the time, national, Pittsburgh, and Stanford, say that he resigned, I'll call it resigned. There are too many sources to list. If you've got ANY source, even one (other than a fan blog), saying or even suggesting that he was about to be fired after being named conference coach of the year, I'd like to see it. You'd think that someone would have picked up on that story. Just trying to be fair. He's one of our guys now.Some say red, some say cardinal, some say rust colored, etc. I don't think we really disagree. Here is a story from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette saying he was forced out. In my book, forced out means fired. I am trying to be fair to Harris. He was treated horribly at Pitt and the program has not been as good since he was fired.

It's Cardinal, not Cardinals. If it was Cardinals, their mascot would be something other than a giant redwood tree.Anyhow, it's not April 1, so it can't be April Fools Day. Harris is an excellent QB coach and Jacq will benefit greatly from his teaching. Long term, what does this mean? I still think one way or another, JD is finished after 2009. I don't like the idea of Montgomery being the next head coach, but I do like the idea of Harris being the next coach. Harris took Pitt to a BCS bowl the year he was FIRED from Pitt (they haven't been back to one since). He is a strange guy, but the success was there at Pitt. Harris could be the next coach at Akron.This is the second time you've said that Walt Harris was fired (or FIRED) from Pitt. I don't recall it that way. His last year at Pitt was 2004 and he was named the Big East Coach Of The Year that year. He also led Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl on 1/1/05, although they lost decisively to Urban Meyer's undefeated Utah team. According to a Pittsburgh newspaper article at that time, at the end of 2004 Harris's agent wanted Pitt to renegotiate his contract or let him go. It became a moot point when he took the Stanford job, although apparently he interviewed at Stanford without Pitt's permission. If they wanted to fire him, wouldn't they have been encouraging him to look for another coaching job? I recall that some people at Pitt were unhappy with him, but it seems unlikely that they would fire a guy who was just named the conference coach of the year and who took them to a BCS bowl. Are you sure about that? Or could it be that they "fired" him after he announced that was taking the Stanford job?You can call it whatever you want. He was basically fired at Pitt. Pitt started his last season 2-2 and the Post Gazette ran a bunch of articles on who the next coach at Pitt was going to be. Pitt had a great remainder of the season and went to a BCS game. No matter what, Pitt did not want him to come back for another year. Again, call it what you want, but he was fired.

It's Cardinal, not Cardinals. If it was Cardinals, their mascot would be something other than a giant redwood tree.Anyhow, it's not April 1, so it can't be April Fools Day. Harris is an excellent QB coach and Jacq will benefit greatly from his teaching. Long term, what does this mean? I still think one way or another, JD is finished after 2009. I don't like the idea of Montgomery being the next head coach, but I do like the idea of Harris being the next coach. Harris took Pitt to a BCS bowl the year he was FIRED from Pitt (they haven't been back to one since). He is a strange guy, but the success was there at Pitt. Harris could be the next coach at Akron.

A kid going to Tiffin from Steubenville should not be a surprise in the future. Dave Walkosky is the coach at Tiffin and I have known him since high school. Dave was a star at Steubenville CC in high school and lettered four years at Toledo. He coached at Toledo for a long time too and I think his wife is a professor at UT. Steubenville was part of Dave's recruiting area when he was at UT.If we are recruiting guys who end up at Tiffin though, we are recruiting the wrong people.

Interesting thought. Smith is a 4-3 cover 2 guy who might not fit in at Pittsburgh. Smith will contribute next year somewhere, but he may not be a good fit for the Steelers. Could someone please check to see if DomHix is a free agent this year? If I had to decide between Smith or Hix on the Steelers, Hix would be an immediate improvement over Nate Washington. Washington is a free agent this year and they could easily replace him. With an aging Ward and Sweed who seems to have forgotten that part of his job description is catching the football, Hix would be a great fit next year and in the future. The best Hix will ever be is a #2 receiver and he could fit that bill for a long time in Pittsburgh. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea if he is indeed a free agent. He would also be a great kick returner which the Steelers really need to improve upon.I'd rather the Steelers sign a white guy personally. Anybody else agree??There is going to be a robust competition for punter next year.

Interesting hire.Good offensive coordinator, questionable head coach. Being a former head coach will give him some instant credibility with the players. The rumor was always that the players hated him, but I think that is a good thing. Show me a players coach and I'll show you a losing coach. I guess I'm leaning toward this is a good hire.He went to the MAC Championship as a head coach. He must have been doing something right. But then again, if you can squeeze out six wins in the MAC, there is a good chance you could make the championship game.

Interesting thought. Smith is a 4-3 cover 2 guy who might not fit in at Pittsburgh. Smith will contribute next year somewhere, but he may not be a good fit for the Steelers. Could someone please check to see if DomHix is a free agent this year? If I had to decide between Smith or Hix on the Steelers, Hix would be an immediate improvement over Nate Washington. Washington is a free agent this year and they could easily replace him. With an aging Ward and Sweed who seems to have forgotten that part of his job description is catching the football, Hix would be a great fit next year and in the future. The best Hix will ever be is a #2 receiver and he could fit that bill for a long time in Pittsburgh. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea if he is indeed a free agent. He would also be a great kick returner which the Steelers really need to improve upon.

This is an important question. A more important question is, If they left, would they get more playing time somewhere else?.?I'll use another Steelers analogy since I am still in a bit of a Super Bowl after-glow. The Steelers are full of a bunch of guys who could only be good playing in Pittsburgh. Put them on another team and they become very average/bad players because their skill set probably does not fit most other teams.Aren't the Zips this team? A group of guys who are specifically recruited to play in a system suited for their skill set. If they transfer, they become lesser players than they would have with Akron.Is there enough playing time to go around? In the minds of the players, probably not. That isn't a bad thing though. Keeping the players hungry for more PT is important in a competitive atmosphere.

Exactly! When the game is on the line, the QB MUST perform.I'm sorry, but when you have a 2 score lead late in the third quarter early in the fourth, and you lose the game, that's not the on the QB it's on the Defense. BGSU 23 points given up in the 4th quarter.Ohio loss, no turnovers.Both those game lost because of poor defensive play. Buffalo game lost on a bad handoff in the 4th OT. The only reason the game went to OT? Solid play for Jacquemain. Because the defense sure never stopped Willy or Starks.But yeah we'll just keep blaming poor QB play on the losses like typical NEO sports fans.Did you see the Super Bowl this year? The best defense in the NFL had their pants pulled down with 2:30 to go in the game and the QB had to bail them out. Like it or not, it is always about the QB in football. He is the guy who touches the ball every play.

Exactly! When the game is on the line, the QB MUST perform.

This is especially true in coaching. The coaching profession is full of good coaches who got fired at one point or another. Had JD stuck around Pitt for one more year, he would have been fired when Harris was fired. It is the nature of the beast.The Broncos coach was fired this year. He had won multiple Super Bowls. Does that make him a bad coach? Toledo Tom has MAC Championships under his belt, along with a few thousand dollars of Tony Pakos but that is another thread. Is he a bad coach because he basically got fired?Sometimes fans think a winning coach is a guy who holds some secret knowledge that other coaches don't have. That is not the case. The vast majority of coaches basically know the same things. It is more the case that the difference between an employed coach and an unemployed coach is the players. I've said it before and I'll say it again. 20+ years of losing has resulted in a program that has a losing attitude. Some of you can think whatever you want, but a coach is not going to make a player a winner. All a coach can do is teach a player to play. At some point, one or a group of players is going to make the program a winner when they find that attitude within themselves. Until then, the revolving door of NE Ohio coaches will continue.Some of you can rest assured though. JD is gone one way or another after next year. They can actually be a very good team. If they are, he needs to leave and go to bigger and better opportunities. If they don't, he needs to leave in order to freshen up the program. Six years at UofA, or any MAC coach, is enough.

2-3 JC players = "all those JC players". Yikes, the lack of perspective on this board is mind boggling sometimes. Assuming none of the JC players graduated after last year, that brings the total on the team to around 7. Seven is less than 10% of the team. 8 is still less than 10% of the team.I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy that said some guy told him Santa is real. I guess that means Santa is real.

Win 20 games regardless of what happens in the MAC Tournament. Keeping up a pace of 20 win seasons says the team is consistently good....not great, but good. Over the long haul, good is a good place to be. Good things happen to you when you are good.