LZIp Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 1.1 million to hand out a B1G ass-whooping sounds like a sweet deal to me! http://www.hustlebelt.com/2016/2/29/11135730/illinois-to-play-akron-in-2019?utm_campaign=hustlebelt&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 Love it. An opportunity to knock off a Big (however many schools they have) school, and it's a very doable road trip. And I don't think too many people here have probably ever been in Champaign Illinois. I actually drove through there once recently, but didn't stop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrship35 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Good addition ..... Nice payday !! And beatable ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 I'll take it. Illinois is consistently near the bottom of the B1G. Unlike the Oklahoma and Ohio State of the world, this is a team Akron has a realistic chance of upsetting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Easy there, 2019 is still a few years away. Don't make assumptions yet. I do like this though. 1.1M to play an unfamiliar opponent that is geographically friendly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 9 hours ago, LoyalZIP said: Easy there, 2019 is still a few years away. Don't make assumptions yet. I do like this though. 1.1M to play an unfamiliar opponent that is geographically friendly. I agree. Illinois has been a bottom of the conference team recently but I wouldn't say it has always been like that. I certainly remember some New Years Day bowls and BCS bowls with them involved. Its hard to say where Illinois may be in 2019. They could be at the very bottom of their conference or in the running for their division title. Either way, a good team to get on the Zips schedule... just wish we could have worked a 2-for-1 series or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Was there a former Zips AD involved in this scheduling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 6 minutes ago, GJGood said: I agree. Illinois has been a bottom of the conference team recently but I wouldn't say it has always been like that. I certainly remember some New Years Day bowls and BCS bowls with them involved. Its hard to say where Illinois may be in 2019. They could be at the very bottom of their conference or in the running for their division title. Either way, a good team to get on the Zips schedule... just wish we could have worked a 2-for-1 series or something. The last 10 years: 5-7 6-7 4-8 2-10 7-6 7-6 3-9 5-7 9-4 2-10 1 out of 10 ain't bad, I guess. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Just saying that this is a program that jumps up from time to time and competes pretty well, they aren't a perennial 2-10 team. By 2019 who knows what they will be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 15 minutes ago, GJGood said: just wish we could have worked a 2-for-1 series or something. If we were able to get that from Indiana, you'd figure we could get that from Illinois, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 They had that one decent year with Mendenhall and Juice Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 At the end of this year, CBS Sports ranked the Zips 65 and Illinois 75. 78% of readers thought that ranking was too high for Illinois. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) 22 minutes ago, GJGood said: Just saying that this is a program that jumps up from time to time and competes pretty well, they aren't a perennial 2-10 team. By 2019 who knows what they will be? In the last 25 years they have only had 3 seasons where they have won more than 7 games. In comparison. 6 of those seasons they won 2 or fewer games, including 1 winless season. Them having a good season is an anomaly, not the norm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football_seasons Edit: In last 25 years they have only finished above .500 in Big 10 play 3 times. Edited March 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 2 hours ago, kreed5120 said: In the last 25 years they have only had 3 seasons where they have won more than 7 games. In comparison. 6 of those seasons they won 2 or fewer games, including 1 winless season. Them having a good season is an anomaly, not the norm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_football_seasons Edit: In last 25 years they have only finished above .500 in Big 10 play 3 times. And Akron only had 5 seasons with 7 wins and 6 seasons with 2 or fewer wins (4 1-win seasons). Not sure we can judge other team's historic futility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 1 minute ago, tpsjugglerdude said: And Akron only had 5 seasons with 7 wins and 6 seasons with 2 or fewer wins (4 1-win seasons). Not sure we can judge other team's historic futility. I'm not sure where you are getting at with this. I'm not saying Akron has been better over the last 25 years. Just that Illinois along with perhaps Purdue and Indiana have been the cellar dwellers of the Big 10. I'm not saying the Zips will win. In fact, I'll say more than likely we will lose. However, if Akron was to beat a B1G team it will most likely be a program of Illinois caliber, not a OSU or MSU. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 If there is a choice to make between $1.1 million or a 2-1, we should take the money every time with a team of this caliber. To be extremely optimistic, let's say Illinois would increase attendance for a home game by 10,000. They wouldn't, but let's say they would. The Zips would have to charge $110 a ticket to recoup the money lost from a payday game. If you could get a 2-1 or even a 3-1 with a team that would sell out the stadium, that would be a different story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 K92, you're right about taking the large payday, regardless. And as a home game, from a pure one-game financial standpoint, it doesn't add up either. But from the perspective of using these opportunities to get more good home opponents, it's a disappointment. My point is, if we could bargain with an Indiana or a Syracuse, why were we not able to accomplish the same with a very poor program like Illinois? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 It has been made clear how Akron intends to schedule its OOC schedule. 1 - home guaranteed game vs. FCS 1 - guaranteed game on road vs. P5 team 2 - games vs. other FBS opponents. Both typically home and homes. 1 at home and the other on the road. Since Infocision has opened, the Zips have hosted Indiana, Syracuse, Marshall, and Pitt. Why would we give Illinois a 2 for 1 when we haven't had problems getting similar caliber programs to agree to a 1-1 format? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 13 minutes ago, skip-zip said: K92, you're right about taking the large payday, regardless. And as a home game, from a pure one-game financial standpoint, it doesn't add up either. But from the perspective of using these opportunities to get more good home opponents, it's a disappointment. My point is, if we could bargain with an Indiana or a Syracuse, why were we not able to accomplish the same with a very poor program like Illinois? Maybe we didn't even try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) If we would explore the option of doing multiple games on the road for 1 home game, I would inquire about seeing if OSU would do a 3 for 1. The return game would be at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Fans could get the option of paying $70 for an upper bowl seat or pay $100 for GA season tickets that includes an upper bowl seat. You give the Zips preferred STH their rightful seats in the lower bowl, but milk the OSU fans that only intend to go to 1 Zips game. Edited March 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 51 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: It has been made clear how Akron intends to schedule its OOC schedule. 1 - home guaranteed game vs. FCS 1 - guaranteed game on road vs. P5 team 2 - games vs. other FBS opponents. Both typically home and homes. 1 at home and the other on the road. Since Infocision has opened, the Zips have hosted Indiana, Syracuse, Marshall, and Pitt. Why would we give Illinois a 2 for 1 when we haven't had problems getting similar caliber programs to agree to a 1-1 format? Actually Syracuse was a 2-1 deal. I wouldn't count Marshall in the same category with the other two, but we were fortunate to get 1-1's with Indiana and Pitt (and we have one upcoming with Iowa State). When we can work a 1-1 with a P5 of any sort we should do it, but I'll take the cash on a one-time payday if not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 40 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: If we would explore the option of doing multiple games on the road for 1 home game, I would inquire about seeing if OSU would do a 3 for 1. The return game would be at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Fans could get the option of paying $70 for an upper bowl seat or pay $100 for GA season tickets that includes an upper bowl seat. You give the Zips preferred STH their rightful seats in the lower bowl, but milk the OSU fans that only intend to go to 1 Zips game. That's almost exactly what Toledo did a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance99 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 45 minutes ago, kreed5120 said: If we would explore the option of doing multiple games on the road for 1 home game, I would inquire about seeing if OSU would do a 3 for 1. The return game would be at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Fans could get the option of paying $70 for an upper bowl seat or pay $100 for GA season tickets that includes an upper bowl seat. You give the Zips preferred STH their rightful seats in the lower bowl, but milk the OSU fans that only intend to go to 1 Zips game. Didn't Toledo do that when they played them? Even if we could get that, they would more than likely demand 70% of the Gate also.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Is Iowa State a 2-1 or 1-1 deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) 45 minutes ago, lance99 said: Didn't Toledo do that when they played them? Even if we could get that, they would more than likely demand 70% of the Gate also.... @MDZip was gracious enough to post the details behind that Toledo game. Apparently all OSU asked of Toledo was for a home and home where Toledo agreed to play w/ no guarantee in Columbus and OSU got 12,500 tickets for Browns Stadium. That's actually a lot less than what I 1st suggested. The Plain Dealer estimated the game would net Toledo $4-5 million before stadium rental costs. Akron is obviously much closer to Cleveland than Toledo so I could actually see Akron having an easier time selling tickets and have an easier job of getting people and businesses to opt in for season tickets. Edited March 1, 2016 by kreed5120 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.