Zips at BGSU. Battle for first place.

[zippy5]

I'm not sure the solution to creating more fans but I'm positive it's not by telling them how bad of fans they are.

[Dave in Green]

Was posted by someone last week

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/news/local/2015/01/28/football-fans-rating/22468633/

There is absolutely no way to understand or apply this study without knowing all the metrics. They only cite 2 of 11 key metrics -- number of NFL and college football teams and average ticket prices. Since the study was done by WalletHub, I'd guess it's related to how much money WalletHub makes from various markets, and the story is designed to create publicity for WalletHub to generate more business. Maybe Akron fans have found better options to use than WalletHub.

To identify the best cities for football fans, WalletHub analyzed 142 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional football team based on 11 key metrics, ranging from the number of NFL and college football teams to average ticket prices.

EDIT: OK, if you take the link from the story to the full study, you can see all the metrics and decide for yourself if they apply to Akron fans. A cursory look tells me the hottest markets are the ones with the winningest teams. DUH!

[skip-zip]

A cursory look tells me the hottest markets are the ones with the winningest teams. DUH!

Exactly my point when I responded to a-zip. They can apply that logic to why we don't support a football team, but the situation with basketball is completely the opposite.

[a-zip]

Exactly my point when I responded to a-zip. They can apply that logic to why we don't support a football team, but the situation with basketball is completely the opposite.

BTW - I don't need and article, Wallethub or whoever to tell me our fans are terrible……I played at UoA and was always disappointed in our crowds.

Also, my original comment had nothing to do with the link. It had to do with somebody posting about losing to a pathetic team before the game was over (when in fact we came back and won in dramatic fashion). I find that defeatist attitude pathetic but unfortunately typical of Joe Akron.

At the risk of repeating myself, I am confused by the attendance dilemma and after playing for UoA and decades of supporting them…..the only conclusion I can draw is that NE Ohio doesn't care. The football people say the reason nobody goes to football games is because we haven't won in a while. I do understand that. I don't expect a sellout at the Info but I would bet many high school teams out draw our football team. The basketball people say the reason nobody goes to the basketball games is because the JAR sucks, BUT our basketball team is one of the winningest in the last 7-8 years of any NCAA team. I don't get it.

Let me ask you all a question. If we were to re-wind the clock in Terry Bowden's tenure and replay all the home games in front of a full Infocision, do you think we would have won more games?

[ZachTheZip]

our basketball team is one of the winningest in the last 7-8 years of any NCAA team.

And here's what a non-Zips fan would ask: "Well, what have they won, exactly?"

Nobody cares that we win a bunch against MAC teams, because they know most of the MAC is garbage. Nobody cares about our OOC wins because 95% of them are also garbage. We haven't won a single NCAA tournament game, and only play one or two P5 teams per season, always away from the JAR where nobody will notice, and even then we only beat some of those teams and hardly any that people around here actually care about or pay attention to.

[a-zip]

And here's what a non-Zips fan would ask: "Well, what have they won, exactly?"

Nobody cares that we win a bunch against MAC teams, because they know most of the MAC is garbage. Nobody cares about our OOC wins because 95% of them are also garbage. We haven't won a single NCAA tournament game, and only play one or two P5 teams per season, always away from the JAR where nobody will notice, and even then we only beat some of those teams and hardly any that people around here actually care about or pay attention to.

So if what you say is true then we shouldn't invest any more money in new arenas, coaches, etc because WE ARE IN THE MAC and WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET OHIO STATE or any other big name to come to the Info or the JAR.

[ZachTheZip]

So if what you say is true then we shouldn't invest any more money in new arenas, coaches, etc because WE ARE IN THE MAC and WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET OHIO STATE or any other big name to come to the Info or the JAR.

It just means we need to take advantage of the chances we do have to beat notable teams. Never winning in the NCAA tournament is the most obvious example.

We don't need to play them at home to see an interest spike, we just need to beat teams that people around the area have actually heard of and know as a good team.

[Blue & Gold]

It just means we need to take advantage of the chances we do have to beat notable teams. Never winning in the NCAA tournament is the most obvious example.

We don't need to play them at home to see an interest spike, we just need to beat teams that people around the area have actually heard of and know as a good team.

I like our games against Penn State. If it were up to me we'd travel to Happy Valley every year. They're a quite-beatable marquee B1G team. But I'd also strongly encourage Dambrot to travel to one more marquee B1G school per year - Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana. I think we need to show people we're on a comparable level with those schools.

Honestly, when I take people to Zips games, many of them don't even realize we're in the same division as the B1G.

[Balsy]

Honestly, when I take people to Zips games, many of them don't even realize we're in the same division as the B1G.

That's because we play in the JAR.

[dirtyolcrowe]

It just means we need to take advantage of the chances we do have to beat notable teams. Never winning in the NCAA tournament is the most obvious example.

We don't need to play them at home to see an interest spike, we just need to beat teams that people around the area have actually heard of and know as a good team.

i said this last week. there should be an exhaustive approach to scheduling other area schools. OSU and cinch will not come here for basketball. so get dayton, xavier, CSU. schedule shittier teams like seton hall, detroit, northwestern or other down school from big conference. and if we do play osu. wear your akron gear and root for your alma mater. i know some people that when we played them a few years back at the shoe, wore OSU gear instead of akron. safe to say that 2 of those guys were over 60. i told them they were lucky they were older or i would knock all their teeth out. true story....nothing pisses me off more than an akron vs. osu game and alumni root for the F*%$eyes!

[Valpo Zip]

But I'd also strongly encourage Dambrot to travel to one more marquee B1G school per year - Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana. I think we need to show people we're on a comparable level with those schools.

The problem is that Dambrot knows that we're NOT on a comparable level with those schools. That's why he doesn't schedule them.

[zipnetter55]

I go way back to the Wyatt Webb/Gordon Larson(A.D.) era and the problem then was the same as the problem today. The administration and the A.D. have never committed the resources necessary for a top tier basketball program. Instead, we have foolishly invested in football. The problem is that N.E. Ohio is strong on high school football,O.S.U. and the Browns-U.A. just can't compete for attendance against that combination. Basketball,however has less competition-few in our area care that much about Buckeye basketball and the Cavs are so expensive that tickets are beyond the reach of many fans.

There are many examples of mid-major schools with highly successfull,well attended basketball programs(Gonzaga, Villanova,Butler,Creighton) all of these programs spend 2-3 times more than U.A. on hoops. DIG had a posting not too long ago comparing budgets for basketball. We have the coach, we are getting better and better recruits(see next years crop) and we have a winning tradition. We need 2 things to upgrade our program- a new arena(or at least an improved one) and a basketball budget about twice the current one. This would enable us to travel to play better OCC teams and to pay teams to come here. Face it-basketball has always been a second class citizen at U.A.and now we have the albatross of InfoCision draining our athletic budget for years. I said it before-follow the money (you have to spend on basketball if you want to upgrade the program)

[skip-zip]

The problem is that Dambrot knows that we're NOT on a comparable level with those schools. That's why he doesn't schedule them.

The only thing I ever recall getting repeated often is that he doesn't like taking them on out on frequent road trips in December. I've never heard anything in regards to him feeling that we can't beat big schools. If he felt that way, we probably wouldn't schedule them at all.

[skip-zip]

I go way back to the Wyatt Webb/Gordon Larson(A.D.) era and the problem then was the same as the problem today. The administration and the A.D. have never committed the resources necessary for a top tier basketball program. Instead, we have foolishly invested in football. The problem is that N.E. Ohio is strong on high school football,O.S.U. and the Browns-U.A. just can't compete for attendance against that combination. Basketball,however has less competition-few in our area care that much about Buckeye basketball and the Cavs are so expensive that tickets are beyond the reach of many fans.

There are many examples of mid-major schools with highly successfull,well attended basketball programs(Gonzaga, Villanova,Butler,Creighton) all of these programs spend 2-3 times more than U.A. on hoops. DIG had a posting not too long ago comparing budgets for basketball. We have the coach, we are getting better and better recruits(see next years crop) and we have a winning tradition. We need 2 things to upgrade our program- a new arena(or at least an improved one) and a basketball budget about twice the current one. This would enable us to travel to play better OCC teams and to pay teams to come here. Face it-basketball has always been a second class citizen at U.A.and now we have the albatross of InfoCision draining our athletic budget for years. I said it before-follow the money (you have to spend on basketball if you want to upgrade the program)

I have two questions for this....

1) What is the solution now that we've already built the Info? We can't turn back now.

2) Where is the money going to come from to double the basketball budget? I wish it was that easy. The only easy solution to that problem is to pack the arena with paying customers.

[ewbrooman1]

I watched the Bowling Green feed. It was comical. Almost every time BG scored we saw a replay of the basket while live action was taking place. Missed some of the Akron offense. They never replayed an Akron basket. Never showed a replay of the game winning basket. The feed was OK but not fantastic. It was worth about 8 bucks. I wondered if the MAC feed was the same with the constant replays of the BG baskets?

The announcers were pretty good and actually commented on some bad calls by the refs against Akron. They only went ballistic once when an Akron player slid on a loose ball and called timeout. The announcers thought a travelling should be called.

It was the same feed. Very frustrating.

For some reason, these feeds come through much better on my Android tablet than on a PC, even with a wired internet connection and better hardware specs. Don't know why, but if you can hook up an Android tablet to your TV you do get better video.

I paid the $6.95 for BG feed too and complained to them about the quality from the beginning. They said it was a BG issue since the feed came from the school. I replied that was not a satisfactory answer since I was paying them, Sidearm Sports, not BG for the feed. I also pointed out I had found out I could have been watching the same feed for free on the MAC Digital network (which I did for a short time on my phone). Regardless, for $6.95 I should get a better feed. It was watchable, but thank goodness for the play by play. They eventually agreed to give me a refund. We'll see if that happens. The initial charge hasn't even come through yet.

In regard missing the action because of replays, I think what we are watching on some of the feeds is the video playing on the video screens/scoreboard in the building. I seem to recall Buffalo doing the same thing. Most schools are still patchworking various feeds together instead of really coordinating them.

[RACER]

ou, Can't thave won games in the ncaa tourney.how has it helped ou . there b-ball progam is a mess.

Can't has decent b-ball team. going to the final 8 teams did nothing for them currently.

you must have missed Michigan playing NJIT,and emu.

[tpsjugglerdude]

ou, Can't thave won games in the ncaa tourney.how has it helped ou . there b-ball progam is a mess.

Can't has decent b-ball team. going to the final 8 teams did nothing for them currently.

you must have missed Michigan playing NJIT,and emu.

Considering we are talking about attendance, I think picking on OU having a down year is a bad example. They still got 9k to their last game. Can't elite 8 was 13 years ago. If they had put the investment in immediately after the run, I think they would be a completely different team now. They corrected that with their baseball run.

[ZachTheZip]

Don't forget that Can't plays in the MAC Center. It's like a Frankensteinian combination of the JAR and Memorial Hall.

[1981 grad]

I went to Gozips.com and they gave me the link to BG where I paid the $6.95. It would have been nice for them to give a link to the MAC digital network and I would have saved the money since it was the same feed. I won't make that mistake again.

[Dave in Green]

Considering we are talking about attendance, I think picking on OU having a down year is a bad example. They still got 9k to their last game. ...

It's interesting to look at OU attendance in more detail. Even with their poor performance this season, their smallest home crowd so far has been 5,611 for Belmont while Arkansas-Pine Bluff drew 5,641. The Kitties drew healthy non-conference crowds of 7,203 and 7,115 for St. Bonaventure and Appalachian State. Their smallest home conference game crowd was 5,743 for NIU and the largest was 9,124 for Buffalo. Not sure how weather and other variables affected those crowds. A 2011 PD story said OU averaged 1,100 students at basketball games the previous season, less than 20% of the average total game attendance.

[OU Dude]

the biggest variable for OU's attendance is always whether or not the students are on campus, it not only affects the students' attendance but I think it also affects the locals' attendance because the students and band are such a big part of the overall game experience and its not the same without them. Just a theory though.

[Zipgrad1990]

i said this last week. there should be an exhaustive approach to scheduling other area schools. OSU and cinch will not come here for basketball. so get dayton, xavier, CSU. schedule shittier teams like seton hall, detroit, northwestern or other down school from big conference. and if we do play osu. wear your akron gear and root for your alma mater. i know some people that when we played them a few years back at the shoe, wore OSU gear instead of akron. safe to say that 2 of those guys were over 60. i told them they were lucky they were older or i would knock all their teeth out. true story....nothing pisses me off more than an akron vs. osu game and alumni root for the F*%$eyes!

I work with an OU alumni who has more Buckeyes stuff than OU and he always roots for the Buckeyes even when they play OU. I asked him why and he said a loss to OU would ruin the Buckeyes season. I told him, maybe it would but it would be great for OU and he agreed but still roots for the Buckeyes. So this isn't a Joe Akron only thing.

Fortunately every other MAC alumni I have asked at work that is also a big OSU fan has told me they would always root for their own school first when playing OSU which is how it should be.

[The Hip Zip]

I work with an OU alumni who has more Buckeyes stuff than OU and he always roots for the Buckeyes even when they play OU. I asked him why and he said a loss to OU would ruin the Buckeyes season. I told him, maybe it would but it would be great for OU and he agreed but still roots for the Buckeyes. So this isn't a Joe Akron only thing.

Fortunately every other MAC alumni I have asked at work that is also a big OSU fan has told me they would always root for their own school first when playing OSU which is how it should be.

Unless he's 6'7" and 275 lbs you can tell your work buddy that the Hip Zip says he's a jackass.

[GJGood]

_{I have one coworker that graduated from OU and roots for OSU who says when they play each other he is just happy for whoever wins. I have another coworker, however, who is a Toledo alum but roots for the Michigan Wolverines over everyone, even if they are playing the Rockets.}

[The Hip Zip]

You see,I just don't get that at all.

Don't get me wrong because I was rooting for the Bucks to beat Oregon as much as the next guy. It just seems to me though that unless you are an alum or someone with a real personal connection with somebody in the program that you are simply a fan of the uniform. How much attachment can you have for stars that come in for a one and done season and move onto the NBA or NFL. I admire the skills they possess, their superb athleticism and all that, but I'm not a fan of any of the factories that produce them.

Give me some solid mid major sports any day over that. I find it rewarding to watch a kid develop as a player and a man over four years( I know, some don't cut it). But we really get to know these kids, that's where the real attachment is for me. And you know what? Sometimes us mids even beat those factories. I find nothing else in sports that is more fun than the improbable slaying of Goliath.