Team Shop (Or Lack Thereof)

[UAZip0510]

One of the most disappointing things to me continues to be the lack of Akron Zips merchandise available through the University. There is barely anything online (and 90% of the stuff on there has been on there for 2-3 years), there's a limited selection at the bookstores and the JAR, the football stadium's team shop is still not open. We have a top notch basketball team, a soccer team that's a national power, and an exciting young football team, yet fans wishing to show support by wearing Zips gear have very few options if choosing to do so. This lack of merchandise also hurts the university and the athletic department, as a wider selection would boost sales which would allow for more money coming in to the program.

Some items needed:

- Basketball, football, and soccer jerseys (custom and throwback if possible)

- Jersey shirts

- Basketball shorts

- Basketball warm-up pants

- DVD's (Highlights of last year's Tourney run; complete games (UA vs UB Title Game, Getsy-Hixon Miracle), Year in Review (like what the Indians do)

- Novelty items

- Wider variety of shirts/hoodies

You get the idea. This is one area that is extremely lacking at UA, and it needs to be fixed ASAP. The local Wal-Mart should not have a better selection of items than the University does.

[akronad]

I couldn't agree more. That part of the marketing dept. sucks. I could do a much better job with 3 kids from a local high school's marketig program than what the U is doing.

[Dr Z]

Email your concerns directly to the AD. This topic has been discussed many times here at ZN, and continues to be a concern. The Zips recently hired Dan Satter to take care of such issues.