Support Coach Kennedy

[GoZips]

Dear Director Rhoades:I protest the sacking of Kelly Kennedy.This is an incredibly BAD decision. It lacks wisdom. It smacks of petty politics.Kennedy inherited the worst division one program in the country. Not one of the worst;the worst. In four years she has managed to finally get the program turned in the rightdirection. The incoming recruiting class is her testament. Women's basketball hinges on havingtaller post players. For years no Akron coach could get a player over 6' 1" to comeplay at Akron. Now Coach Kennedy finally obtained the services of two decent, not great, decent taller players.They along with the prize recruit out of West Virginia are likely to bolt to a better programYou have single handily set the Lady Zips women's basketball program back into the stone age. You have made a disgusting, evil decision. May your days at Akron bethe shortest tenure ever held by an Akron Athletic Director. Shame on you.

[gozips19]

5 wins is in the right direction???? i am sorry but this is the right move.

[zipsbandman]

I disagree with this move, but that is only because of the $$$ we eat. Kennedy had to go. All we heard from her was, "This recruiting class is the best we've had" over and over only to see the same results. On the bright side, this tells me that Mack has guts and will do whatever is necessary to ensure excellence in all phases of Akron athletics. I support our AD. Please tell me you did not send that letter to him. :blink:

[RowdyZip]

Wow...that's a rough post. I agree that Ms. Kennedy was a nice person, as for a good basketball coach, I dont know. Yes, she did inherit a downright AWFUL program. But you have to realize, under coach kennedy the zips went from 2-26 (1-15) to 7-21 (2-14) to 3-25 (3-13) to 5-23 (1-14). Sure, we can say that the team is in good shape to contend sometime in the near future. Sure, we can say she put us in position to have a chance to win, but the bottom line is schools want to win NOW. That's no different with UA. If you saw a coach at a bigger school have HORRIBLE or even mediocre records for 4 straight seasons with no noticeable improvement, would you expect them to keep their job? Job security is fleeting if you cant show some signs of success, the same in coaching as other jobs. I dont know about you, but if I had a poor performance in my most visible aspect of my job for 4 consecutive years, I dont think I'd have much chance to still be employed. I wish coach kennedy all the best, and I can only hope that this program was so bad that it wouldve taken anyone 5+ years to bring it back to respectablity.GO ZIPS!

[zip37]

SAD TJHAT SHE HAD TO GO, BUT LIKE OTHER POSTERS HAVE NOTED, PROGRESS WAS NOT EVIDENT. SEEMS LIKE HER HIRING WAS THE ONLY POOR ONE THAT MIKE T. MADE, AND THAT'S SAD FOR HER AND THE UNIVERSITY. I DON'T THINK THE PLAYERS SHE SIGNED WILL WANT TO LAY FOR THE ZIPS, PLAYERS COME TO A SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE COACH, NOT THE SCHOOL IN MOST CASES, LET'S HPE THAT IS NOT THE CASE THIS TIME. WBALAL :macc:

[Balki Bartokomous]

May your days at Akron be the shortest tenure ever held by an Akron Athletic Director. Shame on you.

Are you an idiot? It was a women's basketball coach. Its not like he just fired JD because he had a friend who needed a job. Maybe one too many bad passes from the women's team have hit you in the head. What ever it is, do us a favor and keep your stupidity to yourself.

[Valpo Zip]

You have single handily set the Lady Zips women's basketball program back into the stone age.  You have made a disgusting, evil decision.  May your days at Akron bethe shortest tenure ever held by an Akron Athletic Director.  Shame on you.

Wooow !!! this is too much ! Mr. Rhoades, If you read this board, please be aware that this is nothing but the opinion of a single fan. As for me, (and definitely a lot others), i have all the respect and support for you and the job you are doing to keep our athletics on the rise.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Dear Director Rhoades:I protest the sacking of Kelly Kennedy.This is an incredibly BAD decision. It lacks wisdom. It smacks of petty politics.Kennedy inherited the worst division one program in the country. Not one of the worst;the worst. In four years she has managed to finally get the program turned in the rightdirection. The incoming recruiting class is her testament. Women's basketball hinges on havingtaller post players. For years no Akron coach could get a player over 6' 1" to comeplay at Akron. Now Coach Kennedy finally obtained the services of two decent, not great, decent taller players.They along with the prize recruit out of West Virginia are likely to bolt to a better programYou have single handily set the Lady Zips women's basketball program back into the stone age. You have made a disgusting, evil decision. May your days at Akron bethe shortest tenure ever held by an Akron Athletic Director. Shame on you.

Man, that is flat-out wrong.

[InTheZone]

I'd actually like to write a letter commending Rhoades on this. He's following a nice tradition set forth by his predecessor of kicking coaches who don't produce in a timely fashion to the curb. There's a new standard in Zips athletics, even for a sport as insignificant as women's basketball, and if you aren't committed to excellence, don't expect your stay here to be long. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya Miss Kennedy.

[Balki Bartokomous]

There's a new standard in Zips athletics

Amen. Winning 17 games in 4 years is crap. I don't care if you have midgets playing out there, you should be able to win more than that.

[KeeprOFtheHous]

TO EVERY ONE WHO READS THIS FORUM AND THIS SECTION ABOUT COACH KENNEDY, THE FOLLOWING IS WHAT YOU ALL NEED TO UNDERSTAND. DIV 1 athletics MID major school, have you been watching march madness, do you think our womens team was anywhere remotely close to even being in that tournament, do you think they wouold have been next year? the answer is no, so instead of delaying the inevitable Mck did the right thing, you have Akron zips moving up in most sports and making huge advancements, accept W basketball, I was at their game the night of the mac FB championship and i counted 33 people in the stands. College athletics is a Buisness just like college is a buisness, if you want hugs and kisses and everything hunkydory go to D 2 and 3 Way to go Mack if you can get womens on the same page as the mens team you did an amaizing job. good luck.

[Dr Z]

In four years she has managed to finally get the program turned in the right direction. 

Head Coaching Record2002-03- Akron 2-26 (.071), 1-15 MAC (.063)2003-04- Akron 7-21 (.250), 2-14 MAC (.125)2004-05- Akron 3-25 (.107), 3-13 MAC (.188)2005-06- Akron 5-23 (.217), 2-14 MAC (.125)prog·ress (prgrs, -rs, prgrs) n.1. Movement, as toward a goal; advance. 2. Development or growth: students who show progress. 3. Steady improvement, as of a society or civilization: a believer in human progress. See Synonyms at development.

[msopher]

I can see the logic of letting her go, but it would have been interesting to see how these 2 recruiting classes could have done with her at the helm.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I think the most telling statistics can be gleaned for her final (4th) season:5 total wins: Lafayette (non-scholarship program)MSUW (whoever the hell that is?)Jacksonville State (2-9 after their loss to the Zips, 11-17 at year's end and fired their coach)Toledo (11-18, last in the MAC west) Miami (8-20 on the season)Included in her 23, 2005-6 losses are: A 45point loss to PittTwo losses to Can't: By 24 and 19 pointsLoss to YSU (finished 8-20) at the JARAfter 4 years you can't blame your losses on the previous coaching staff. You have to show SOME sort of steps towards being competitive. The MAC is an absolutely HORRIBLE women's basketball conference. To have such a cakewalk schedule year in year out and boast a 0.15 winning percentage is atrocious. The Zips are 1 "Cheryl Bowles" away from 16 wins. That's all it takes to bust into the MAC's upper echelon is one standout player. Kennedy could never get that player and 4 years. With no visible signs of progress, enough is enough.BTW: An comparison can be made to NIU's Joe Novak, who took over an atrocious football program and struggled mightily for 3 years. His win percentage was actually worse than Kennedy's if you can believe it. But, in his 4th year, with his players, he began turning things around. If Kennedy would have followed Novak's improvement pattern, she'd still be coaching.Joe Novak Year-by-Year 1996 Northern Illinois 1-10-0 1997 Northern Illinois 0-11-0 1998 Northern Illinois 2-9-0 1999 Northern Illinois 5-6-0 2000 Northern Illinois 6-5-0 2001 Northern Illinois 6-5-0 2002 Northern Illinois 8-4-0 2003 Northern Illinois 10-2-0 2004 Northern Illinois 9-3-0 Silicon Valley Bowl 2005 Northern Illinois 7-5-0 Total 10 seasons 54-60 (.473)

[RatFink]

GOZIPS, sorry can't back you on this one.It was time for Kennedy to go.Mack Rhoades had plenty of input, feedback,call it what you will. He did not make this decision in a vacuum.I attended a number of women's games this past season. Most of the time theyplayed like they were unaware of basicbasketball skills. New recruits were notgoing to improve the lack of skills so welldemonstrated over the past four years.It is high time to stop the experimentingand get a proven division one headcoach who wants to move up from a lowmajor program. The MAC is at least a decentmid-major conference for women's sports.

[w00t]

Are you an idiot? It was a women's basketball coach. Its not like he just fired JD because he had a friend who needed a job. Maybe one too many bad passes from the women's team have hit you in the head. What ever it is, do us a favor and keep your stupidity to yourself.

There's a new standard in Zips athletics, even for a sport as insignificant as women's basketball

Zips Nation boasts some funny members!!!

[KingZip]

Boo the f hoo. That has got to be one of the most pathetic records ever after four years. I think she is lucky that the new AD did not ring her bell during the season. Please go get a male coach - all of the best MAC women's coaches are males, see Can't State, Toledo and Bowling Green as the examples.

[zipsbandman]

Try reading the buchtellite. There were more quotes She was pretty pissed.

[zipshoops]

great decision to get rid of the awful coach. her personality is nice as pie, but she had to go. she doesnt belong on the sidelines for any university. just awful. no coaching ability.

[zippyrifle32]

Please go get a male coach - all of the best MAC women's coaches are males, see Can't State, Toledo and Bowling Green as the examples.

now that's uncalled for and your sexist opinions show your ignorance. yeah if you want to compare yourself to the mac which isn't that great of a conference, but look at the elite women's teams: tennessee, duke, maryland, unc, utah, lsu, and stanford all have women as head coaches. in fact, the only team that made the elite 8 this year that had a male head coach was uconn. don't give me this "we need a guy crap" cause women are just as capable and looking at this year's ncaa tourney proves it. oh and i agree that kennedy needed to be replaced. good luck to her where ever she goes.

[KingZip]

Having a male coach seems to work well for the rifle team you feminazi... and as for the UCONN coach he has only won 3 of the past 5 NCAA titles and was just put into the Hall of Fame. Akron needs the best coach available and should not be focused on a woman only. We have never had a man coach for the womens team so maybe that would be worth a look.

[w00t]

now that's uncalled for and your sexist opinions show your ignorance. yeah if you want to compare yourself to the mac which isn't that great of a conference, but look at the elite women's teams: tennessee, duke, maryland, unc, utah, lsu, and stanford all have women as head coaches. in fact, the only team that made the elite 8 this year that had a male head coach was uconn. don't give me this "we need a guy crap" cause women are just as capable and looking at this year's ncaa tourney proves it.

Saying that men are better at coaching basketball is not sexist so much as it is factual. That's great that seven out of the women's elite eight had female coaches... but nobody else would know because no one watches it. How many female coaches were there in the men's elite eight? (Y'know, the one that matters). Gimme a break. Also, I'm pretty sure that Tennessee's women have a male coach.

[zippyrifle32]

Akron needs the best coach available and should not be focused on a woman only.  We have never had a man coach for the womens team so maybe that would be worth a look.

now that is something completely different from what you said earlier. i am not opposed to having a male coach (and i had a male b-ball coach all through high school), but i am opposed to saying that we need a male because they are more successful than a female.oh and w00t, pat summitt of tennessee is a woman.here's a bit of her bio which i think will also surprise you. she can be considered one of the best college basketball coaches ever (men or women).It seemed only fitting that Pat Summitt, the University of Tennessee head women's basketball coach, would break the most significant record in her coaching career in the NCAA Tournament. On March 22, 2005, Summitt led her Lady Vols past Purdue, 75-54, in the Second Round of the 2005 NCAA's. The victory was the 880th of her coaching career which moved her past the legendary Dean Smith of North Carolina (879) as the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history men or women.Six NCAA titles, 24 Southeastern Conference tournament and regular season championships, 12 Olympians, 18 Kodak All-Americans named to 30 teams and 62 All-SEC performersIn all of men and women's collegiate basketball history, Summitt trails only UCLA's legendary coach John Wooden for the most NCAA titles. Wooden grabbed 10 titles in 29 years; Summitt has picked up six in 31 complete seasons (including the NCAA's first back-to-back-to-back women's titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998) to pass Kentucky's legendary coach, Adolph Rupp. Additionally, Summitt passed Wooden's NCAA record for Final Four appearances with her 13th in 2002.In this elite company of the legends -- of the top NCAA Champion titleholders -- Summitt's teams have played in and recorded the most NCAA tournament victories, winning 89 of 107 NCAA contests. Wooden's Bruins played in 57 NCAA games, winning 47 times, while Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers played in 60 NCAA games, claiming 41 victories through the years. Rupp's Wildcats won 30 games while making 48 appearances at the "Big Dance." Summitt, a living legend? You bet. AMAZING NUMBERS * Summitt has faced 153 opponents in 1,054 total games and teams from 32 conferences * 47.0% of her 1,054 total games have been played versus ranked teams (497 total games against ranked opponents) with 355 victories versus ranked opponents * 137 all-time Lady Vols have contributed to 882 wins * 70% of those all-time players have gone on to be decorated as Olympians, All- Americans, USA National Team members, All-SEC performers, Academic All-Americans, Academic All-SEC, etc.

[msopher]

now that's uncalled for and your sexist opinions show your ignorance. yeah if you want to compare yourself to the mac which isn't that great of a conference, but look at the elite women's teams: tennessee, duke, maryland, unc, utah, lsu, and stanford all have women as head coaches. in fact, the only team that made the elite 8 this year that had a male head coach was uconn. don't give me this "we need a guy crap" cause women are just as capable and looking at this year's ncaa tourney proves it.

Saying that men are better at coaching basketball is not sexist so much as it is factual. That's great that seven out of the women's elite eight had female coaches... but nobody else would know because no one watches it. How many female coaches were there in the men's elite eight? (Y'know, the one that matters). Gimme a break. Also, I'm pretty sure that Tennessee's women have a male coach.

Now I understand why feminism exists. To prove a$$holes like you, wrong.

[Balki Bartokomous]

I love it when people cut and paste a ton of stats into their post to prove their point. Pat Summitt does kind of look like a dude.