GP1

So, do they play the same pod plus two other pods? Not sure how they figure out the other six mac games.

I saw something about Pods next year. Can someone please explain what is and why it matters?

Excellent hire. He won at a dump like Kent. Imagine what he can do in the most beautiful city in America.

Thanks for the link. It's a good read. Society has changed a lot. OSU is struggling to sell out games. It's not just us or FCS schools. The trendy thing to do years ago was athletic directors boosting their resumes by convincing schools to expand facilities. Now those stadiums are empty. A lesson is to be careful of who you listen to and their motivations. This is a very complex problem and is probably a new normal at this point.

Barely beating Akron is worse than some of the losses.

Good post. Further, if we kick the crap out of them, we learn nothing. If we bring in a Sun Belt team, or something similar, we learn how our team is stacking up against teams from like conferences. We need this more than a gimmick game against YSU.

I don't blame the tarped seats for the tarped seats.

I don't think they would. They need home games just like us and they need a payday just like us. We can't take up a spot on their schedule for either if there is nothing in return.

To me, it's about what fans think is a good crowd. I believe 10,000 actual people in stadium is an achievable goal. Expecting sell outs isn't realistic. Wake Forest only has a 27,000 seat stadium and for many games there are only 15,000 actual people in seats and they are in the ACC. Nobody complains about attendance because gameday experience is good and the football is entertaining. If nobody wants that, that's their issue but the university does everything possible to make it a good event for those in attendance. I don't think free tickets are good because nothing is really free. I also am no a fan of middle men giving my customers something because of my efforts (Acme Zip Game). The people of Ohio are paying for Mac sports. Taxpayers should see the benefit of their tax dollars by getting four general admission tickets to two MAC sporting events every year. Give the public what they are already paying for.

Good post, but I respectfully disagree with this part. Akron needs to work in conjunction with the other mac schools to move to a 9 game conference season like the Sun Belt. The rivalries need to be within the conference. YSU would want home and home. That would not benefit the program in any way.

The guy in the bottom right of the photo looks like he is pi$$ed he had to wait in line to take a dump at halftime in the doorless stall containing the only toilet on the pressbox side.

Joe should be hesitant. Actually, he should be thoughtful. Nine years is enough for any coach to be at any school, unless you're a hall of fame coach, which their current meathead isn't. Wait the situation out. His play, assuming he wants to coach at another historically bad program, should be to wait for Narduzzi to get fired after what will be a horrible season next year and go after the job. Joe would be the lazy Yinzer pick because he's from the area which would put him at the top of the candidates for their meager fan base. If losing at Akron won't hurt him this year, it won't hurt him next year.

It's a decent schedule. There is a lot of time for the athletic department to screw this up between now and then.

He's 67 years old. I'm certain it is.

Good post. This is the real problem. If they made the athletic department a benefit to those on campus, those who have been on campus and the community, the financial losses would be more acceptable. It's never going to break even. The athletic department is a public service and I mean that for the entire MAC. Treat it as such and give the public access to what they are already paying for. The worst thing that can happen to college athletics is if the general public realizes how much they are paying for it and how little they are getting out of it.

It's pretty freaking hot in Florida. These games would be early season when most snowbirds are up north and the rest of the state is hiding from the heat inside. I'd be hard pressed to go to one.

Don't you mean "replace"?

Thinking outside of the box would be to benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron in lieu of television networks.

Here is some more thinking outside of the box. Feature a MAC vs Sun Belt weekend the week before what is called Week Zero. Here is some more. Stop making revenue generation the driving factor in every decision. It's a public institution. Make benefiting the public the driving factor. Hint: Florida isn't Ohio.

I just saw this and laughed at the stupidity of the Tweet. I think they should start thinking outside of the box by stop letting the television networks do their thinking for them.

I think you are largely right, but there are degrees of competitiveness. Akron is on the low end. We can compete for a couple of quarters against good MAC schools, but not nearly enough for four quarters. When I think of competitiveness, I think about more than talent. I don't know how many have watched the Netflix series about the Florida Gators during the Tebow years, but there was an almost psychotic level of competitiveness on their team. It isn't something any fan could see because the competitiveness was being developed away from and out of sight of the fans at times when most fans are asleep or in bars. The competitiveness translated into wins. Florida won not because they learned how to win. "Learning how to win" is a stupid phrase because winning isn't learned, it's earned away from gameday. They won because they competed hard on every play at a level the average person couldn't imagine during practice, off season workouts and games. That's where Akron needs to get to.

The term is "complementary football". Akron played it in the first half of the game Friday. Not so much in the second.

The problem at Akron is they aren't good at maintaining the program whether in the form of facilities or people. It drives them to make bad decisions in order to maintain the program. There are many, many, many programs at our level who are good at the maintenance part while winning. Miami, OU and Toledo come to mind. The "Building Process" Hilltopper references is a smoke scene thrown in front of you in hopes you don't notice the bad management. It's death by a thousand cuts.

There were more people at the game than I anticipated.

They suck. Good riddance to the 2023 team. Bring on 2024.