Here's a 1st

[tpsjugglerdude]

On Big Soccer there are ACC fans wishing AKRON would join the ACC for soccer. First time I've heard this on the internet on websites not named Zipsnation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhosereh

I only wish Akron was back in this region later to go watch them play.

I wish Akron joined the ACC for soccer.

Barring that, I think each ACC school should agree to play them.

[skip-zip]

Could be an opportunity to start a dialogue to get Akron into the ACC....period. I'm sure Dave in Green can provide us with information on the economic impact. I don't think we're much further away from the atlantic ocean than schools like VTech and Wake, so we can certainly make the argument that we're a fit geographically.

Remote chance. But I can dream. Right?

[Big Zip]

You have to love reading that on ACC Boards. It shows a level of class not seen in areas closer. You would wonder why the BigTen hasn't reached out to Akron or why they wouldn't for soccer. The BigTen only fields seven men's teams in Soccer, but they are all BigTen teams. We already play the teams and it would legitimize our 6-0 BigTen title from last year

[GoZips]

Joining the ACC for soccer only is not as far fetched as it appears on the surface.

The MAC men's soccer is shaky at best. Only five of the seven men's programs are full MAC members.

That means that Florida Atlantic and Hartwick are in a position to change conference affiliation at any time.

MAC men's soccer could collapse at any time. Already (last season) the automatic bid was taken away.

While the ACC has not been previously mentioned associating with either the Big Ten or the Missouri

Valley has been. The Zips need to plan on going somewhere. All three of those conferences are

attractive homes for the Zips.

It is highly unlikely that Akron would switch out of the MAC for men's soccer as long as the conference

supports men's soccer. The one caveat here is maintaining an automatic NCAA tournament bid.

Permanent removal of the automatic bid should prompt the University to quickly change conference.

[skip-zip]

Joining the ACC for soccer only is not as far fetched as it appears on the surface.

The MAC men's soccer is shaky at best. Only five of the seven men's programs are full MAC members.

That means that Florida Atlantic and Hartwick are in a position to change conference affiliation at any time.

MAC men's soccer could collapse at any time. Already (last season) the automatic bid was taken away.

While the ACC has not been previously mentioned associating with either the Big Ten or the Missouri

Valley has been. The Zips need to plan on going somewhere. All three of those conferences are

attractive homes for the Zips.

It is highly unlikely that Akron would switch out of the MAC for men's soccer as long as the conference

supports men's soccer. The one caveat here is maintaining an automatic NCAA tournament bid.

Permanent removal of the automatic bid should prompt the University to quickly change conference.

Turn the clock back to the early 90s...........

I know a primary reason for joining the MAC was for a uniform conference affiliation for all of our sports teams. Would we risk alienating that just for a chance to get our soccer team a little more recognition?

I say YES!! Even though few people, relatively speaking, care about soccer, it's still a chance to play with some big boys in a sport. And as remote as it may seem, it's at least an OPPORTUNITY to get the Akron Zips and the University noticed outside of this region that doesn't exist now, and could maybe lead to bigger things for all of sports programs down the road.

[ZachTheZip]

I think joining the Big Ten would be ideal. Akron joining them could transform them into an ACC-level league and get some competition going at the top levels of the sport. And Indiana and OSU make better rivals than any ACC school. We could even bring NIU and Buffalo with us. The Big Ten only has 7 soccer teams, just like the MAC, and so could stand to add a few more teams.

Joining the ACC would be bad for college soccer, making the sport even less competitive than it is already.

[OldZipper]

The Big Ten will never have affiliate members. And there is no danger of any of the 7 schools dropping soccer. Keep looking...

[Dave in Green]

..... I'm sure Dave in Green can provide us with information on the economic impact. .....

Doesn't the ACC pay in Confederate currency?

In any case, as long as Coach Porter is at UA, the Zips should remain a consistent top 5 or 10 team almost every season.

As long as they're so highly ranked, the need for an automatic conference bid is irrelevant. Unlike basketball, the Zips soccer team should have a lock on an at-large tournament bid every season.

Likewise, as long as the Zips are recognized as one of the top teams in the country, they will have no problem scheduling games with other top-ranked teams. So no need to belong to a strong conference to put together a tough schedule as in football or basketball.

What Boise State of the lowly WAC is to college football and Butler of the lowly Horizon League is to college basketball, UA is to college soccer, only more so. Neither Boise State nor Butler have ever been ranked #1, though like UA Butler did reach the national championship game before losing.

UA soccer is currently in a rare position in college sports comparable to what Notre Dame used to hold in football. UA is currently so good with Coach Porter at the helm that the Zips could be an independent, put together a schedule against virtually any teams they want and be dominant year after year.

It's really pretty amazing just how good UA soccer is right now. We Zips fans just don't have much experience at thinking in terms of leveraging the status of being on top of the heap as opposed to being in the middle or bottom of the heap trying to figure out what it takes to climb out of the hole.

[jem101]

..... I'm sure Dave in Green can provide us with information on the economic impact. .....

Doesn't the ACC pay in Confederate currency?

In any case, as long as Coach Porter is at UA, the Zips should remain a consistent top 5 or 10 team almost every season.

As long as they're so highly ranked, the need for an automatic conference bid is irrelevant. Unlike basketball, the Zips soccer team should have a lock on an at-large tournament bid every season.

Likewise, as long as the Zips are recognized as one of the top teams in the country, they will have no problem scheduling games with other top-ranked teams. So no need to belong to a strong conference to put together a tough schedule as in football or basketball.

What Boise State of the lowly WAC is to college football and Butler of the lowly Horizon League is to college basketball, UA is to college soccer, only more so. Neither Boise State nor Butler have ever been ranked #1, though like UA Butler did reach the national championship game before losing.

UA soccer is currently in a rare position in college sports comparable to what Notre Dame used to hold in football. UA is currently so good with Coach Porter at the helm that the Zips could be an independent, put together a schedule against virtually any teams they want and be dominant year after year.

It's really pretty amazing just how good UA soccer is right now. We Zips fans just don't have much experience at thinking in terms of leveraging the status of being on top of the heap as opposed to being in the middle or bottom of the heap trying to figure out what it takes to climb out of the hole.

I agree with what you've said. As long as Porter's here it doesn't matter if we're from a top conference. Unfortunately, its probably unreasonable to expect Porter to be here for his whole career. If we took this opportunity to switch conferences, wouldn't this help us with recruiting if, god-forbid, Porter decided to move onto another position?

[Captain Kangaroo]

What Boise State of the lowly WAC is to college football and Butler of the lowly Horizon League is to college basketball, UA is to college soccer, only more so. Neither Boise State nor Butler have ever been ranked #1, though like UA Butler did reach the national championship game before losing.

Boise has a good shot at a #1 regular season ranking in 2010.

[skip-zip]

..... I'm sure Dave in Green can provide us with information on the economic impact. .....

Doesn't the ACC pay in Confederate currency?

In any case, as long as Coach Porter is at UA, the Zips should remain a consistent top 5 or 10 team almost every season.

As long as they're so highly ranked, the need for an automatic conference bid is irrelevant. Unlike basketball, the Zips soccer team should have a lock on an at-large tournament bid every season.

Likewise, as long as the Zips are recognized as one of the top teams in the country, they will have no problem scheduling games with other top-ranked teams. So no need to belong to a strong conference to put together a tough schedule as in football or basketball.

What Boise State of the lowly WAC is to college football and Butler of the lowly Horizon League is to college basketball, UA is to college soccer, only more so. Neither Boise State nor Butler have ever been ranked #1, though like UA Butler did reach the national championship game before losing.

UA soccer is currently in a rare position in college sports comparable to what Notre Dame used to hold in football. UA is currently so good with Coach Porter at the helm that the Zips could be an independent, put together a schedule against virtually any teams they want and be dominant year after year.

It's really pretty amazing just how good UA soccer is right now. We Zips fans just don't have much experience at thinking in terms of leveraging the status of being on top of the heap as opposed to being in the middle or bottom of the heap trying to figure out what it takes to climb out of the hole.

Confederate money, yes. It has to be more valuable than ours right now.

I thought I may have prompted you to present some data on the economic difference between being a MAC member and an ACC member.

[Dave in Green]

I agree with what you've said. As long as Porter's here it doesn't matter if we're from a top conference. Unfortunately, its probably unreasonable to expect Porter to be here for his whole career. If we took this opportunity to switch conferences, wouldn't this help us with recruiting if, god-forbid, Porter decided to move onto another position?

Jacob, I thought about that as I was writing my last post. It's a valid point worthy of consideration. One school of thought is that UA was already a fairly big soccer power before Porter's arrival, and he has taken it to the next level. So I think it's safe to assume that UA would be attractive to another top coach if Porter decided to leave. Would the position be even more attractive if UA was part of a bigger, stronger conference? Probably it would to some degree for at least some coaches. But I'm not sure if it would be a big advantage. When Notre Dame was at its peak as a football power, it did not need to be part of a conference to attract good coaches. A lot depends on how UA performs over the next few years under Porter, and whether other aspiring top coaches see UA as a longterm perennial soccer powerhouse should Porter move on.

I thought I may have prompted you to present some data on the economic difference between being a MAC member and an ACC member.

Skip, I have to feel motivated in order to go into research mode. I just don't feel motivated to go off in search of data related to being an ACC member in only the sport of soccer. I don't think this data would be easy to find, and I'm just not motivated to spend the hours required in search of numbers that may well not be available anywhere. It might be possible to find numbers related to belonging to the MAC and ACC in all sports. But everyone knows that UA is never going to become a full member of the ACC.

[Spin]

I'm all for getting into a better conference (I prefer the Big Ten because of travel and fan familiarity with the other schools). It improves our overall competition.

What do the MAC schools offer us as far as competition to prepare us for the post season? The Big Ten has four teams in the top 25 right now.

Think about the rivalry with a regular season and most likely a B10 final against tOSU.

I just don't see how weighing down our schedule slaughtering MAC fodder does anything to prepare the team, or improve their ranking.

Independent wouldn't be bad. But you sit and wait while everyone else goes through their conference tourney. And you miss out on that revenue. And we get to see less games (even if they are MAC fodder).

[Spin]

I thought I may have prompted you to present some data on the economic difference between being a MAC member and an ACC member.

Skip, I have to feel motivated in order to go into research mode. I just don't feel motivated to go off in search of data related to being an ACC member in only the sport of soccer. I don't think this data would be easy to find, and I'm just not motivated to spend the hours required in search of numbers that may well not be available anywhere. It might be possible to find numbers related to belonging to the MAC and ACC in all sports. But everyone knows that UA is never going to become a full member of the ACC.

Not only that, but what kind of revenue are you looking for in college soccer?

Even if we got a stipend from Wake and NC, would that offset the difference in travel to the other schools?

[Blue & Gold]

I'm all for getting into a better conference (I prefer the Big Ten because of travel and fan familiarity with the other schools). It improves our overall competition.

What do the MAC schools offer us as far as competition to prepare us for the post season? The Big Ten has four teams in the top 25 right now.

Think about the rivalry with a regular season and most likely a B10 final against tOSU.

I just don't see how weighing down our schedule slaughtering MAC fodder does anything to prepare the team, or improve their ranking.

Independent wouldn't be bad. But you sit and wait while everyone else goes through their conference tourney. And you miss out on that revenue. And we get to see less games (even if they are MAC fodder).

I only know this from listening to Caleb Porter on the Akron Press Club last night (I'm not, like many on this board, trying to sound like a know-it-all). But Caleb said he's alright with being in the MAC.

According to Caleb, the negative of MAC membership: The MAC doesn't have an "AQ," as he calls it - Automatic Qualifier, and he believes it is important for the conference to have that.

According to Caleb, the positive of MAC membership: The MAC only schedules a single game against each conference team, so it enables us to be extremely flexible with the rest of our scheduling - it allows us to play as many of the toughest teams in the country as we want or that will play us. As it is now, we have the flexibility to schedule the toughest Big 10, ACC & Big East schools we want/can. Caleb actually seemed very happy with having that sort of freedom.