Attendance - Where is it going?

[Blue & Gold]

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc. Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

[infofan]

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc. Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

Couldnt be more correct B&G!! Television is justification to those cleveland lovers of OSU, CSU, etc. They want nothing to do with Akron U and dont want to see/hear about them either. Its an incredible handicap that we live with (no TV station) yet were not alone. Same goes for BG, Miami, OU, And Can't so complaining about it is futile. It was refreshing to see/ hear the interest we got last year when we made the NCAA tournement. U are correct, even the powers that be at 3,5,and 19 didnt ignore us then.

[Spin]

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc.Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

Sounds good in theory, but you have the Akron Aeros breaking attendance records, with the Cleveland stations pimping the Indians. The Force sold out the Coliseum despite being ignored and laughed at by the sports media.So what do these teams have that the Zips don't? How can the Aeros average 4900 fans at 71 home games, against "big name programs" like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the New Britain Rock Cats? With sometimes 6-7 home games in a week? Or the Force playing world power Baltimore Blast in front of 18,000?I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back...

[scottditzen]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone??? I listen to WKNR virtually all day while I'm working....maybe once a month a listener will call to talk about Akron, or about MAC sports in general. They'll have MAC coaches on, but I never hear callers commenting on those great interviews. I live in Cleveland. When the MAC tournament is going on the media, imho has done a great job in an effort to promote those games...yet many games are sparsely attended...why? Is that the media's fault too? I'm sorry, but up here the perception is that nobody cares about Akron or the MAC on a day to day basis. I see neither an organized nor a grass roots effort to counter that perception. This can change, of course. If there was a groundswell of calls and emails letting the Cleveland radio and tv stations know that you want more on Akron and the MAC, there you go. Are you guys ready to make your voice heard, or is it too easy just to say F*** off to the Cleveland media and accomplish what, exactly? Instead of blaming someone for a problem, why not instead think of positive steps to remedy the situation?

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc. Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

Couldnt be more correct B&G!! Television is justification to those cleveland lovers of OSU, CSU, etc. They want nothing to do with Akron U and dont want to see/hear about them either. Its an incredible handicap that we live with (no TV station) yet were not alone. Same goes for BG, Miami, OU, And Can't so complaining about it is futile. It was refreshing to see/ hear the interest we got last year when we made the NCAA tournement. U are correct, even the powers that be at 3,5,and 19 didnt ignore us then.

[RootforRoo44]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone???

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this. All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.

[Dave in Green]

Better marketing would help sell more tickets as surely as a stronger Zips basketball team that consistently won more games and championships. Billions of dollars worth of fluff entertainment and junk merchandise is purchased annually by millions of Joe and Jill Akrons across the country because good marketing campaigns convince them they're getting the deal of a lifetime on goods and services that make their lives more enjoyable. It's not even a debatable point if good marketing would increase the number of spectators at Zips basketball games. The only question is how much marketing it would take to achieve X% attendance increase.

[Hilltopper]

Even the NFL is feeling the pinch from the down economy.Super bowl Ads sacked by economy

CBS is reportedly charging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for a 30-second ad during the game, TNS said. That's down from the $3 million that NBC fetched in 2009.

[Zip Watcher]

If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, .......

Then they'd have to ask for more airtime from the newscast producers, and they'd be unable to cover the pro teams at all. 5-7 minutes a day is more than the nightly news sports segment.

[xu9697]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone???

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this. All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.

Excuse my ignorance= is WZIP the same as 1350? I have started to listen to that (1350) along with 850 on the radio on my way home MOSTLY b/c I want to hear some Zips talk. 1350 talks about the same stuff as 850. Have not heard ONE THING about Akron...perhaps something about Ianallo becoming the new coach, progress of Zeke Marshall, etc. RIDICULOUS to blame or have something against Cleveland with the failings of attendance, proper UA coverage, etc. Cleveland local tv news doesn't even cover CSU that well, and in the PD there are articles about Akron, Zips, etc. Aeros get coverage as well. In addition, when the Info was about to open/opened there was quite a bit of TV coverage on the opening. Quite a few articles about the Zips soccer run as well. Point is= Do something NEWSWORTHY and it WILL get covered in Cleveland!!!!

[zen]

Well, I have a question.Does the athletic department have a press release and media outlet?Almost all the people in the news industry and entertainment who report the news take information off the wire or the fax machine. Very little digging is ever done anymore, and when information is needed, they use cheap interns to google it.If faxes and press releases were showing up on their doorstep on a regular basis, particularly if it is pre-packaged and ready for air (or print), then they wouldn't have to do any work to use it, and on slow news days, we would get coverage.This would be even more true if we had someone working in our (perhaps newly founded) media release department who was savy at putting a sensational twist on the news releases, because the media likes a little bit of zing, gotcha, controversy, or fad in their material.

[Blue & Gold]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone??? I listen to WKNR virtually all day while I'm working....maybe once a month a listener will call to talk about Akron, or about MAC sports in general. They'll have MAC coaches on, but I never hear callers commenting on those great interviews. I live in Cleveland. When the MAC tournament is going on the media, imho has done a great job in an effort to promote those games...yet many games are sparsely attended...why? Is that the media's fault too? I'm sorry, but up here the perception is that nobody cares about Akron or the MAC on a day to day basis. I see neither an organized nor a grass roots effort to counter that perception. This can change, of course. If there was a groundswell of calls and emails letting the Cleveland radio and tv stations know that you want more on Akron and the MAC, there you go. Are you guys ready to make your voice heard, or is it too easy just to say F*** off to the Cleveland media and accomplish what, exactly? Instead of blaming someone for a problem, why not instead think of positive steps to remedy the situation?

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc. Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

Couldnt be more correct B&G!! Television is justification to those cleveland lovers of OSU, CSU, etc. They want nothing to do with Akron U and dont want to see/hear about them either. Its an incredible handicap that we live with (no TV station) yet were not alone. Same goes for BG, Miami, OU, And Can't so complaining about it is futile. It was refreshing to see/ hear the interest we got last year when we made the NCAA tournement. U are correct, even the powers that be at 3,5,and 19 didnt ignore us then.

Hey Scott, thanks for disagreeing "respectfully." That's great! It's fantastic to have a forum where we can toss around & entertain different ideas and viewpoints. But sometimes, recently, the dialogue on ZN has gotten disappointingly personal and combative in spirit, which is a shame. Great thoughts!

[Blue & Gold]

If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, .......

Then they'd have to ask for more airtime from the newscast producers, and they'd be unable to cover the pro teams at all. 5-7 minutes a day is more than the nightly news sports segment.

True, very true. That wasn't really the point I was trying to make though. To clarify, I was simply trying to illustrate the fact that if, in stead of Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes, the Zips received the airtime, the local perception would be quite different. I wasn't arguing for, or expecting, 5 minutes of Zips coverage in addition to the regular sports coverage, that'd probably be, what, almost 15 minutes of sports in a half-hour newscast?Unfortunately, the way things sit presently, the Zips receive less coverage than local high schools.

[Dr Z]

Even the NFL is feeling the pinch from the down economy.

CBS is reportedly charging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for a 30-second ad during the game, TNS said. That's down from the $3 million that NBC fetched in 2009.

The economy has forced the overpriced to get lean. Comparing super bowl commercial cost to an Akron basketball ticket price is apples and oranges. The economy should have little to do with the attendance at an Akron basketball game. I know a few of my friends out of work looking for low cost entertainment. They have no idea about Akron basketball. How would they ever know? Why not take advantage of the current economic situation to advertise the product as such...affordable sports entertainment? How about getting more students to the game. I counted 37 at the RI game. Yes I realize the semester has not started, but plenty of students live close enough.

[Blue & Gold]

The Cleveland media will never allow UA athletics to be a big ticket. The whole "regionalism" idea is a bunch of Cleveland-centric hypocritical bull sh*t. Cleveland wants all of the regional focus and continually refuses to give any credit where credit is due. When was the last feature about UA you've seen on the Cleveland evening news? Yup, gotta think awfully long and hard about that one. What was it about? The hiring of TW? The firing of JD? The hiring of RI? The addition of football staff? LeVon Moorefield as a finalist and winner of the Rudy Award? The opening of the Info? The revitalization of downtown? The $300 million landscape for learning? The evolving plans for the new soccer stadium? The need of a new basketball arena? The narrow defeat to Rhode Island? The thumping of BGSU? The undefeated soccer team? The MAC Champion soccer team? The NCAA Final Four soccer team? The NCAA finalist soccer team? The courting of Caleb Porter by Washington United? Caleb Porter re-signing with the Zips? Dr. P's State of the University address? Human-interest stories on any number of athletes or professors @ UA? Research being done @ UA? Federal grants being awarded to UA? National research and engineering awards being won by UA students, etc., etc., etc.Noooooooope. Nada.You see, we're in competition with Cleveland, not cooperation. Cleveland knows this. Joe Akron, unfortunately, does not. If Cleveland news 3, 5 & 8 would give the Zips 5-7 minutes of sports coverage Monday-through-Friday, win-or-lose, rain-or-shine (just like they do the Cavs, Browns, Indians & Buckeyes) then people would inevitably take notice of Zips athletics and then, on the VERY IMPORTANT SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, view Zips athletics as important, meaningful & the place to be. 3, 5 & 8 sports coverage is not so much news as it is a 10-minute advertisement. You know that. So do I. Trust me, 3, 5 & 8 KNOW this. Are 3, 5 or 8 ever going to do that for the Zips? Deep down, unfortunately, you know the answer to that.Screw you, Cleveland.(On the other hand, if the Zips are a perennial Top 25 team, could they possibly continue to ignore us?)

Sounds good in theory, but you have the Akron Aeros breaking attendance records, with the Cleveland stations pimping the Indians. The Force sold out the Coliseum despite being ignored and laughed at by the sports media.So what do these teams have that the Zips don't? How can the Aeros average 4900 fans at 71 home games, against "big name programs" like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the New Britain Rock Cats? With sometimes 6-7 home games in a week? Or the Force playing world power Baltimore Blast in front of 18,000?I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back...

Excellent point about the Aeros. They do draw exceptionally well for a minor league baseball team. The Cleveland Force illustration doesn't do it as much for me though, because they were always tagged CLEVELAND Force. Idk, I used to love the old Richfield Coliseum. Richfield is an Akron suburb, not a Cleveland suburb. That's when I think Cleveland & Akron were in cooperation regionally. Then they built the Gund in downtown Cleveland, and promised to never host another entertainment event in the Coliseum. That's one of the significant moments when we in the Akron area had to start holding our own against the economic black hole to the north.And you say, "I don't think it's the Cleveland media holding us back..."To this I would concur... partially. I don't think the Cleveland media is the ONLY factor holding us back. I believe it is a multi-faceted problem, with many factors being UA's own fault (lousy teams, marketing, facilities, service, etc.). But I do believe that the pertetual ignorance of UA by the Cleveland media is a piece to the puzzle, even a significant piece.

[Blue & Gold]

Even the NFL is feeling the pinch from the down economy.

CBS is reportedly charging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for a 30-second ad during the game, TNS said. That's down from the $3 million that NBC fetched in 2009.

The economy has forced the overpriced to get lean. Comparing super bowl commercial cost to an Akron basketball ticket price is apples and oranges. The economy should have little to do with the attendance at an Akron basketball game. I know a few of my friends out of work looking for low cost entertainment. They have no idea about Akron basketball. How would they ever know? Why not take advantage of the current economic situation to advertise the product as such...affordable sports entertainment? How about getting more students to the game. I counted 37 at the RI game. Yes I realize the semester has not started, but plenty of students live close enough.

This is my viewpoint on the issue as well. While the current economic downturn should probably put a bit of a dent in the outrageously overpriced tickets for professional sporting events, I believe it should actually help colleges gain even more fans.

[xu9697]

Even the NFL is feeling the pinch from the down economy.

CBS is reportedly charging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for a 30-second ad during the game, TNS said. That's down from the $3 million that NBC fetched in 2009.

The economy has forced the overpriced to get lean. Comparing super bowl commercial cost to an Akron basketball ticket price is apples and oranges. The economy should have little to do with the attendance at an Akron basketball game. I know a few of my friends out of work looking for low cost entertainment. They have no idea about Akron basketball. How would they ever know? Why not take advantage of the current economic situation to advertise the product as such...affordable sports entertainment? How about getting more students to the game. I counted 37 at the RI game. Yes I realize the semester has not started, but plenty of students live close enough.

Ding, ding, ding!!2,500 people at a basketball game where the school has 23,000+, with a large majority living within an hour's drive. The problem begins right there.

[WinZip]

I saw this posted on pussycatattack:

Can't State at Ohio Attendance : 8359Central Mich. at Toledo Attendance : 5199Eastern Mich. at Western Mich. Attendance : 3224BGSUcks at Akron Attendance : 3028N. Illinois at Ball State Attendance : 2725Miami at Buffalo Attendance : 2429 ------------------------------- Total Attendance : 24,964 6 game avg : 4160

1,100 below average despite being one of the best teams in the conference. Student turn out should pick up, so lets hope attendance follows suit as we keep winning...I also don't think we can blame the Cleveland media..aren't there a few people in Akron. If there is enough excitement locally the news will be forced to bump up coverage (however slight that may be). Also, what brought so many fans into Toledo (3-12), who is a horrible team (put nicely). New arena? Marketing? Free chipotle? The opponent (6-7)?

[deacon33]

Lets see under the General Thunder Dan Hipsher in 97-98 the Zips avg 3600 fans. That was the year that they won the MAC East with teams such as Marshall w/ Tamar Slay, Ball St w/ Bonzi Wells, OU w/ Brandon Hunter, a good Can't Team. In the year of our Lord and Savior Keith Dambrot, they avg only 3200 fans. I think we can all agree Dandy Dan was doing something right. And I am starting a petition right here to get him reinstated as Head Mens Basketball Coach at Thee Akron University.Petition1. Rugby (digital signature)2.3.4.5.6.7.

[RootforRoo44]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone???

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this. All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.

Excuse my ignorance= is WZIP the same as 1350? I have started to listen to that (1350) along with 850 on the radio on my way home MOSTLY b/c I want to hear some Zips talk. 1350 talks about the same stuff as 850. Have not heard ONE THING about Akron...perhaps something about Ianallo becoming the new coach, progress of Zeke Marshall, etc. RIDICULOUS to blame or have something against Cleveland with the failings of attendance, proper UA coverage, etc. Cleveland local tv news doesn't even cover CSU that well, and in the PD there are articles about Akron, Zips, etc. Aeros get coverage as well. In addition, when the Info was about to open/opened there was quite a bit of TV coverage on the opening. Quite a few articles about the Zips soccer run as well. Point is= Do something NEWSWORTHY and it WILL get covered in Cleveland!!!!

I'm talking WZIP...the University radio station on 88.1 FM.

[Zips Win!]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone???

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this. All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.

Excuse my ignorance= is WZIP the same as 1350? I have started to listen to that (1350) along with 850 on the radio on my way home MOSTLY b/c I want to hear some Zips talk. 1350 talks about the same stuff as 850. Have not heard ONE THING about Akron...perhaps something about Ianallo becoming the new coach, progress of Zeke Marshall, etc. RIDICULOUS to blame or have something against Cleveland with the failings of attendance, proper UA coverage, etc. Cleveland local tv news doesn't even cover CSU that well, and in the PD there are articles about Akron, Zips, etc. Aeros get coverage as well. In addition, when the Info was about to open/opened there was quite a bit of TV coverage on the opening. Quite a few articles about the Zips soccer run as well. Point is= Do something NEWSWORTHY and it WILL get covered in Cleveland!!!!

No. 1350 is WAKR. Just last week 1350 started a new radio program on 1350 between 3-6 pm, M-F.This is hosted by a local guy, Jon M. He is a UA grad.On his opening show he commented that the program will be dedicated to North East Ohio teams....including the Zips and they will avoid the national sports scene.Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about the Zips and his partner has never been to a game at the JAR. So much for the local flavor...And you guessed it, they are Buckeye fans willing to talk all day about them...The most we get out of the program is some advertising as to the time of the home games....on game day.....

[Blue & Gold]

I couldn't (respectfully, of course) disagree more with your sentiments. Is there any reason whatsoever for the Cleveland media to believe that THERE IS A DEMAND FOR MORE U OF AKRON COVERAGE? For goodness sakes, there's no reason to believe that even the Akron media supports the Zips. The Beacon Journal? WZIP anyone???

That is a good question right there. Specifically WZIP. Have any of you EVER heard anything about the Zips on that station? Never a commercial or mention of any upcoming games or ANYTHING.What's the deal with that?BTW, i dont think it has anything at all to do with the Cleveland media either. This problem is very simple: We do not have anything resembling a real athletics marketing department. Until they clean house and put some people that have a clue what they're doing in those jobs we will continue to waste time arguing over this.All of us on here do more for getting people in those seats than they ever do just by our word of mouth and support.

Excuse my ignorance= is WZIP the same as 1350? I have started to listen to that (1350) along with 850 on the radio on my way home MOSTLY b/c I want to hear some Zips talk. 1350 talks about the same stuff as 850. Have not heard ONE THING about Akron...perhaps something about Ianallo becoming the new coach, progress of Zeke Marshall, etc. RIDICULOUS to blame or have something against Cleveland with the failings of attendance, proper UA coverage, etc. Cleveland local tv news doesn't even cover CSU that well, and in the PD there are articles about Akron, Zips, etc. Aeros get coverage as well. In addition, when the Info was about to open/opened there was quite a bit of TV coverage on the opening. Quite a few articles about the Zips soccer run as well. Point is= Do something NEWSWORTHY and it WILL get covered in Cleveland!!!!

No. 1350 is WAKR. Just last week 1350 started a new radio program on 1350 between 3-6 pm, M-F.This is hosted by a local guy, Jon M. He is a UA grad.On his opening show he commented that the program will be dedicated to North East Ohio teams....including the Zips and they will avoid the national sports scene.Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about the Zips and his partner has never been to a game at the JAR. So much for the local flavor...And you guessed it, they are Buckeye fans willing to talk all day about them...The most we get out of the program is some advertising as to the time of the home games....on game day.....

Lol. I heard that too. The co-host has never been the JAR for a game. It's pretty lame. They refer to Columbus State as "we." They refer to the Cleveland teams as "we." It's hardly local. Same old, same old.But, I'm sure they'd be happy if we called in. We could probably turn the show into a true local show if we'd dominate the phone lines. I usually don't have time to call into a radio show, but I'm sure I could make the time.When I was listening (Monday - the first day on the air) someone did call in and ask about UA's creampuff scheduling & the upcoming Rhode Island game (obviously a ZN member ). Unfortunately, they really didn't have much opinion or insight & pretty much shifted the focus back to Columbus.

[Dr Z]

Just last week 1350 started a new radio program on 1350 between 3-6 pm, M-F. This is hosted by a local guy, Jon M. He is a UA grad.On his opening show he commented that the program will be dedicated to North East Ohio teams....including the Zips and they will avoid the national sports scene.Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about the Zips and his partner has never been to a game at the JAR. So much for the local flavor...And you guessed it, they are Buckeye fans willing to talk all day about them...

That can change if ZipsNation starts calling him and asking questions about the Zips. Jon Marochino & Todd Fisher Show Call the show 1.866.372.1350

[Zip Watcher]

You can also email the show:jon@sportsradio1350.comIt would be good for the Zips if this show survives & thrives. The guys do bring up the Zips on their own .. they're 6 days into this, and I the the show's gonna go where the callers take it. Thus far, I'm guessing there have been about 4 calls / hr .. tops.Go Zips!

[Quickzips]

I'm not sure I agree that the Cleveland media needs to pick up on us more than they do. Don't get me wrong, free media attention is always a huge benefit, but it needs to be earned. What exactly do the Zips do to "earn" it? Why should anyone in Cleveland care about the football team that hasn't had a winning season in what? 4 years now? Why should they care about a basketball team that plays nobody of significance during the regular season and is pretty much a one and done if they get to the NCAA's? There isn't much reason for them to care. You saw a major uptick in UA Soccer coverage when the team was making their run through the tournament. Why? Because that was something people could care about. The soccer team clearly has their house in order, and unlike football and basketball, isn't going to get overshadowed by other state and local teams in the same sport if the athletic department does a piss-poor job of marketing them. I think the first step is to get our own house in order. Start winning games, meaningful games. Put together a functional marketing department. Put together a complete product (team, facilities, side entertainment, concessions, etc.) that people want to come and see and care about. Then I think we can start to complain about a lack of free media.

[Dr Z]

The Browns have arguably been the worst team in the NFL for a decade, people get on the radio and talk about them every day. Newspaper articles are written about them every day. A team doesn't necessarily have to be great, you just have to have fans that care.