New Strategic Direction?

[Dave in Green]

Dave chooses his words wisely. Note his last sentence. If the BCS schools ever go on their merry way, we will still be competing at the highest level available to UofA.

Exactly. You can't compete where you're not allowed to compete. You can only compete at the highest level where you're not deliberately excluded.

And speaking of exact wording, @Legend Of Zippy, there is no specific date given or implied for creating and implementing a master facilities plan. It doesn't take 6 years to create a master facilities plan, especially when you're already working from a general outline. I expect a master athletic facilities plan will be announced sometime within the next year. From a cost standpoint, the only major missing element right now is the basketball arena. So it's not as if they have a lot of major facility planning to work out. Implementing the plan will depend on funding, which is addressed elsewhere in the document.

[Z.I.P.]

"Athletics is a window to our university and a way for all of us who care about the Zips to come together and celebrate our success," UA President Luis M. Proenza said."

Thank you Mr President. However, I'm not sure that athletics should be the PICTURE window of our university. I hope that's not the window you refer to.

[GP1]

Exactly. You can't compete where you're not allowed to compete. You can only compete at the highest level where you're not deliberately excluded.

The good news is, if the BCS teams ever go on their merry way, UofA will be in a great position to compete at the level they are not excluded. As much as I make fun of the "building process", it will have left us in a great position if this happens.

[GP1]

Thank you Mr President. However, I'm not sure that athletics should be the PICTURE window of our university. I hope that's not the window you refer to.

Don't you mean "front porch"?

At this point, I would ask everyone to Google "athletics as front porch" and see how often that phrase has been used at numerous universities. It isn't creative. It's more of the same wording used to dupe taxpayers across the country.

[GP1]

Link

I thought this might be a good link for this topic.

[Spin]

Link

I thought this might be a good link for this topic.

You heard the boss man. We're not allowed to talk about that anymore.

[Dave in Green]

@GP1, I appreciate that last link. I like to read the results of a lot of different studies from a lot of different viewpoints. Sports junkies often have a point of view that sports are like a golden pixie dust that you can sprinkle on anything and make it better, and can cite studies that support their view. On the other hand, academicians often have a POV that sports are harmful to the purist world of education, and they also cite studies that support their view. From my perspective the answer is usually somewhere in the middle of the opposing POVs. I think if sports can be kept in perspective that they can be an appropriate part of education, from grade school through college. But sports can become addictive, and addicts make bad decisions. Ideally, UA will take a path somewhere in the middle of what the sports junkies and the anti-sports academicians wish for.

[Dave in Green]

So am I the only one reading all the fine print in this document? Another important statement that no one has yet commented on is the following:

We will provide the best customer-service recreational experience in Northeast Ohio.

That's a huge commitment to make, especially in light of the many criticisms we've seen posted here about the bad experiences in ticket lines, concession service, etc., etc. If UA operates like the corporate world, when you go on record committing to a measurable goal like this, your job performance rating is tied to the results. Either UA operates under the principle that you can blow all the smoke you want without having to deliver, or the athletics department has just signed up for making a monumental shift in the way they cater to their customers. It will take some time to see how this plays out. But it's now formally presented in an official document that we can all go back and measure against actual performance.

[GP1]

But it's now formally presented in an official document that we can all go back and measure against actual performance.

Only, it doesn't provide any measurables.

[Zipmeister]

Only, it doesn't provide any measurables.

It's a fluff piece that I'm certain gave the athletic department a great sense of accomplishment while they threw it together.

[GP1]

It's a fluff piece that I'm certain gave the athletic department a great sense of accomplishment while they threw it together.

Is there any mention in it of my idea to build a "Transformer Arena"? I'm sure everyone remembers my idea about building a dorm that transforms into a basketball arena that can walk around campus and pick up student to increase attendance in the cold winter months and relieve fans from long walks from various parking lots.

[Dr Z]

So am I the only one reading all the fine print in this document?

Probably. You shouldn't have to read fine print to find something of substance in a marketing piece. Most people look for a headline containing important info, if there isn't any, they move on. If the headline read, "(Insert something exciting here) Headlines Impact 2o2o" then you might get attention. I read down to the bullet points before realizing this was a pretty general goal-oriented release. All of those bullet points pretty much go without saying. I have no problem with them releasing this, it's pretty much standard practice. Personally, I would have had something big to headline the release so it would make some kind of "splash" among the general public. This seems general enough that whatever they do between now and 2020, they can say it was part of the "plan." I could read into the fact that some things we have been hearing about for a while now aren't going so well since it didn't headline the release, but I'll pass today.

Your probably the guy that reads your ETF and MF prospectuses too, huh?

[Zipmeister]

Is there any mention in it of my idea to build a "Transformer Arena"? I'm sure everyone remembers my idea about building a dorm that transforms into a basketball arena that can walk around campus and pick up student to increase attendance in the cold winter months and relieve fans from long walks from various parking lots.

There is no mention of your innovative suggestion. I really think they missed the boat there.

They did, however, make clear their intention to renovate any new athletic facilities.

According to the release, the Z Fund raises money, in part, "for the renovation of existing facilities and all new athletics facilities."

Although this is a rather bland document, I give the athletic department credit for breaking with tradition and running the piece through a spelling and grammar check before making it available to the public.

[Dave in Green]

Only, it doesn't provide any measurables.

It doesn't specifically point out which customer satisfaction index will be used to measure whether or not they've achieved the goal of providing the best customer-service recreational experience in Northeast Ohio. I'm sure that ZN.o members won't be shy about helping inform them with comments about whether or not we see progress in improving the many criticisms regarding Zips athletic event attendance that have been previously cited here.

[LZIp]

beating out CSU, Can't State, and YSU should be tough competition.

[MaxZIP]

Is there any mention in it of my idea to build a "Transformer Arena"? I'm sure everyone remembers my idea about building a dorm that transforms into a basketball arena that can walk around campus and pick up student to increase attendance in the cold winter months and relieve fans from long walks from various parking lots.

I have 3 comments on this:

1.) I proposed the 2020 Vision Plan for Success about 6 months ago. Apparently they do read these forums

2.) It is crazy to let an arbitrary date like 2020 frame strategic direction. It was clearly chosen w/o much thought by a marketing hack.

3.) This is the kind of fluff you get when people are learning on the job. All of the buzzwords and lack of specifics call attention to the fact that the plan is merely a paperwork exercise. Also, there are many people employed by the University to drive athletics strategy. Seems to me like they are asleep at the wheel because the new strategy is just regurgitated/warmed over industry jargon and buzzwords. Akron Athletics needs to apply some creativity. Please do not rely on generic plan elements "borrowed" from the historical haplessness of college athletics strategery.

[MaxZIP]

Probably. You shouldn't have to read fine print to find something of substance in a marketing piece. Most people look for a headline containing important info, if there isn't any, they move on. If the headline read, "(Insert something exciting here) Headlines Impact 2o2o" then you might get attention. I read down to the bullet points before realizing this was a pretty general goal-oriented release. All of those bullet points pretty much go without saying. I have no problem with them releasing this, it's pretty much standard practice. Personally, I would have had something big to headline the release so it would make some kind of "splash" among the general public. This seems general enough that whatever they do between now and 2020, they can say it was part of the "plan." I could read into the fact that some things we have been hearing about for a while now aren't going so well since it didn't headline the release, but I'll pass today.

Your probably the guy that reads your ETF and MF prospectuses too, huh?

Feasibility Study 2012

So should the headline have touted "AD spends 50-100K on consultants to run a feasibility study of the arena situation only to leave the situation unresolved through possibly 2020 and the are probably going to decide at that point to renovate the jar and will end up spending more money than building a new arena would have cost and also displacing the basketball team for more years than expected/projected and now looking for bids for a complete renovation of a facility that is not entirely a bad idea but the pooch will be screwed by poor decision making " That has a certain ring to it.

[Dave in Green]

2.) It is crazy to let an arbitrary date like 2020 frame strategic direction. It was clearly chosen w/o much thought by a marketing hack.

2020 is not an arbitrary date, but a date clearly chosen to align with Vision 2020, the previously produced overall strategic vision plan for UA coinciding with its 150th anniversary in 2020. It's a longterm plan leading to where UA will be on its 150th anniversary. It doesn't mean that nothing will be done until 2020.

[MaxZIP]

2020 is not an arbitrary date, but a date clearly chosen to align with Vision 2020, the previously produced overall strategic vision plan for UA coinciding with its 150th anniversary in 2020. It's a longterm plan leading to where UA will be on its 150th anniversary. It doesn't mean that nothing will be done until 2020.

Oh yeah...forgot to look at the details and timeline of improvements. The data 2020 and 150th anniversary mean nothing to the process of improvement and/or mist zips fans. Dates should be set on development timelines and realistic estimates and resources. Until I see the plans the 2020 date will be considered arbitrary. Chosen due to a whim of the marketing department rather than any reason or system that actually is meaningful.

ar·bi·trar·y

ˈärbiˌtrerē/

adjective

1.

based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

"his mealtimes were entirely arbitrary"

[GP1]

Would it be a good thing to wait until 2020 to open a new arena in order to do two things?

1. Get it right.

2. Have it be part of the Sesquicentennial.

[MaxZIP]

Would it be a good thing to wait until 2020 to open a new arena in order to do two things?

1. Get it right.

2. Have it be part of the Sesquicentennial.

Sure assuming waiting would ensure getting it right.

[Dave in Green]

@MaxZIP, I'd like to see you try to explain to my wife than an anniversary is an arbitrary date based on a personal whim.

[g-mann17]

@MaxZIP, I'd like to see you try to explain to my wife than an anniversary is an arbitrary date based on a personal whim.

[Dr Z]

GT writes about it

“It’s a great plan for everybody, but I’ve had a vision since I got her that I’ve plowed straight ahead with,” KD said.

[LZIp]

GT writes about it

"It's a great plan for everybody, but I've had a vision since I got her that I've plowed straight ahead with," KD said.

the importance of proofreading, folks.