Assessing Coach Arth (and his staff)

[72 Roo]

Arth killed all reason for hope this season. They now have to restore it. Ultimately that can only be done with W's, not excuses or justifications. Those were all used up this season. Williams bears responsibility here also. He staked his credibility on a guy whose claim to fame was that he beat Mount Union (once) and got JCU into the DIII national semi-final game. Other than that what are his achievements? I now seriously doubt his ability to coach, his ability to lead and his ability to hire good assistants, which I have seen none. To have your top assistant (coach Z) in charge of the worst performing unit (OL) on the field does not inspire confidence. I think Zip nation has been more than supportive. Next season he must show he can wins games. I feel lower now than when iCoach ruined the program. He was obviously incompetent, but I actually had hope Arth would demonstrate he is a program builder. If football didn't drain all other athletic budgets I would just say screw it. Yet as long as it is pathetic all other programs will suffer. That's a tragedy because many other teams are excellent or getting there.

[dre22era]

Well said 

 

[Zipmeister]

2 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

Arth killed all reason for hope this season. They now have to restore it. Ultimately that can only be done with W's, not excuses or justifications. Those were all used up this season. Williams bears responsibility here also. He staked his credibility on a guy whose claim to fame was that he beat Mount Union (once) and got JCU into the DIII national semi-final game. Other than that what are his achievements? I now seriously doubt his ability to coach, his ability to lead and his ability to hire good assistants, which I have seen none. To have your top assistant (coach Z) in charge of the worst performing unit (OL) on the field does not inspire confidence. I think Zip nation has been more than supportive. Next season he must show he can wins games. I feel lower now than when iCoach ruined the program. He was obviously incompetent, but I actually had hope Arth would demonstrate he is a program builder. If football didn't drain all other athletic budgets I would just say screw it. Yet as long as it is pathetic all other programs will suffer. That's a tragedy because many other teams are excellent or getting there.

 

2 hours ago, dre22era said:

Well said 

 

 

Really??

I think the loopy pills kicked in towards the end of that post.

[Blue & Gold]

I don't think these stats include last night's game.

 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[kreed5120]

So when's the parade for the winless season?

[72 Roo]

10 hours ago, Zipmeister said:

 

 

Really??

I think the loopy pills kicked in towards the end of that post.

So help me out ZM, what was loopy? You highlighted the drain football is to all other programs so maybe your comment applies to that statement. The athletic dept had a 10% across the board cut in funding this year which was ultimately due to the loss of revenue from football, not the decline in enrollment. You are right about the loopy pills kicking in though. They help with dealing with the shame of an 0-12 season. For any Zip fan this is a depressing kick in the gut.

 

BTW, I think that Arth may have read his contract wrong. I believe there is a bonus for a perfect season. He just didn't realize it was for wins and not losses. He's going to be so upset when he learns from Williams there's no bonus. 

[LoyalZIP]

What an atrocious hire. Even if he ends up building this thing into a decent program, which I don't see happening and have no reason to believe it will, you just can't go 0-12 in 2019. Especially in the MAC East. 

[zipsoutsider]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

 

What a joke. His promises are based on how he feels. Sorry, thatbis not how real life works.

 

 

 

[bobbyake]

What a financial disaster this is. The first mistake was firing Bowden with 2 years left on his contract, $630,000 down the drain. Can we bring him back for next year since we’re still paying him another year?

 

The second mistake was hiring Tom Arth away from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a $370,000 buyout clause. 
 

The third and biggest mistake was giving Tom Arth a 5 year deal at $500,000 per year. He wasn’t doing anything spectacular at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to merit that kind of money.

 

This is a financial disaster and there’s no way to fix it other than enduring the pain for the next 3-4 years. The only thing to do is cut costs.

 

No matter how bad Tom Arth does, even if he goes 0-12 in 2020, he’ll be back again in 2021 and 2022, regardless of going 0-12 3 years in a row. It’s unreal how he got an underserved $2million contract. What was the University thinking???
 

I’m so grateful that I graduated in 2008 and don’t have to pay for this crap. I feel bad for the students that do. What a disaster this is.

 

Those that wanted Bowden fired, this is all on you. I hope you’re happy. 
 

Source on financial figures: https://www.crainscleveland.com/kevin-kleps-blog/hiring-new-football-coach-tom-arth-costly-short-term-akron-banking-future-gains

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by bobbyake

[John Ward]

2 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

What a joke. His promises are based on how he feels. Sorry, thatbis not how real life works.

 

 

 

Hold up a minute there Zipsoutsider. Here is a young man, involved with the team ,who is trying to stay positive . Cut him some slack here. Zach you stay positive and ignore the nay sayers. Some just dwell in the past and can’t move on. Better days ahead.

[ZipsVoice]

1 hour ago, bobbyake said:

Those that wanted Bowden fired, this is all on you. I hope you’re happy. 

Yep...still happy.

[zipsoutsider]

2 hours ago, John Ward said:

Hold up a minute there Zipsoutsider. Here is a young man, involved with the team ,who is trying to stay positive . Cut him some slack here. Zach you stay positive and ignore the nay sayers. Some just dwell in the past and can’t move on. Better days ahead.

He is a "correspondant." He writes stories about the team for digital content marketing. That doesn't make him involved with the program. It makes him a fanboy.

 

3 hours ago, bobbyake said:

What a financial disaster this is. The first mistake was firing Bowden with 2 years left on his contract, $630,000 down the drain. Can we bring him back for next year since we’re still paying him another year?

 

The second mistake was hiring Tom Arth away from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a $370,000 buyout clause. 
 

The third and biggest mistake was giving Tom Arth a 5 year deal at $500,000 per year. He wasn’t doing anything spectacular at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to merit that kind of money.

 

This is a financial disaster and there’s no way to fix it other than enduring the pain for the next 3-4 years. The only thing to do is cut costs.

 

No matter how bad Tom Arth does, even if he goes 0-12 in 2020, he’ll be back again in 2021 and 2022, regardless of going 0-12 3 years in a row. It’s unreal how he got an underserved $2million contract. What was the University thinking???
 

I’m so grateful that I graduated in 2008 and don’t have to pay for this crap. I feel bad for the students that do. What a disaster this is.

 

Those that wanted Bowden fired, this is all on you. I hope you’re happy. 
 

Source on financial figures: https://www.crainscleveland.com/kevin-kleps-blog/hiring-new-football-coach-tom-arth-costly-short-term-akron-banking-future-gains

 

 

 

I have started considering, whether intentional or not, there is not future for football at Akron. What a litany of bad decisions.

[John Ward]

16 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

He is a "correspondant." He writes stories about the team for digital content marketing. That doesn't make him involved with the program. It makes him a fanboy.

 

I have started considering, whether intentional or not, there is not future for football at Akron. What a litany of bad decisions.

Your a pretty hardcore guy. Take a chill pill. Fanboy or whatever you call this young man remember he is a human being ... try some respect.And if you feel football is not for UA than just stop posting. 

[Lee Adams]

10 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

 

Don't know how old this Z. Bush is but he looks like my grandson might look in 17 years. My grandson is 9 months old. Sorry Sack, u have NO cred with the REAL fans.

Edited November 28, 2019 by Lee Adams
spelling

[ZippyRulz]

11 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

I don't think these stats include last night's game.

 

 

I wonder if they would have been better running behind tOSU's OL?

 

[ZipsVoice]

13 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

Don't know how old this Z. Bush is but he looks like my grandson might look in 17 years. My grandson is 9 months old. Sorry Sack, u have NO cred with the REAL fans.

Oh and you do Lee?  So what's your claim to fame that makes you have "cred", and how dare you to decide what REAL fans are?  A little pomposity my Ashland friend....

[zippy5]

27 minutes ago, ZipsVoice said:

Oh and you do Lee?  So what's your claim to fame that makes you have "cred", and how dare you to decide what REAL fans are?  A little pomposity my Ashland friend....

I guess once you hit a certain age you gain some cred. Curious what the age is though

[Ham]

I don't know what Hilltopper's role has been with our BB teams, but I pay close attention to his BB posts.  For the most part, we just post our personal reactions as outsiders to our teams.  Mr. Bush, who has some actual insight on our FB team, should be respected, and his encouragement should be welcomed. 

[ZippyforPresident]

On 11/27/2019 at 11:33 AM, zipsoutsider said:

His promises are based on how he feels. 

 

 

 

His tweet literally says, "based on what I saw." ?‍♂️ 

Not sure why we're trying to cannibalize other fans and drive people away from supporting Zips football. Touchdown-less Tommy and crew do a good enough job of that on their own. I suppose it's just another symptom of the program being an absolute trainwreck right now.

Edited November 28, 2019 by ZippyforPresident

[bobbyake]

7 minutes ago, ZippyforPresident said:

His tweet literally says, "based on what I saw." ?‍♂️ 

Not sure why we're trying to cannibalize other fans and drive people away from supporting Zips football. Touchdown-less Tommy and crew do a good enough job of that on their own. I suppose it's just another symptom of the program being an absolute trainwreck right now.

Trainwreck is an understatement. I hope Coach Arth is reading a lot of personal development books right now to help him get to D1 FBS level coaching status because D3 coaching mentality doesn’t work at this level. No matter what hashtags he thinks is cool.
 

There’s no excuse for how this team performed this year. The players need to hit the weights hard during this offseason and Arth is going to need to learn how to lead their development. It’s going to be difficult to attract top players in the area with an 0-12 season on your resume. He’s going to have to learn how to develop what talent he can get. Otherwise, it’s an ugly 3-4 years for Akron football. Maybe bring Bowden back to help mentor Arth? Arth wasn’t ready for D1 FBS.

[NWAkron]

(would be nice if for the holiday everyone could stop the pile on .)

 

Today I'm thankful for the Transfer Portal and all the gifts it will bring Zips football in 2020!

[DannyHoke]

On 11/27/2019 at 9:40 AM, 72 Roo said:

So help me out ZM, what was loopy? You highlighted the drain football is to all other programs so maybe your comment applies to that statement. The athletic dept had a 10% across the board cut in funding this year which was ultimately due to the loss of revenue from football, not the decline in enrollment. You are right about the loopy pills kicking in though. They help with dealing with the shame of an 0-12 season. For any Zip fan this is a depressing kick in the gut.

 

BTW, I think that Arth may have read his contract wrong. I believe there is a bonus for a perfect season. He just didn't realize it was for wins and not losses. He's going to be so upset when he learns from Williams there's no bonus. 

 

Let's highlight the following statement from above...

"The athletic dept had a 10% across the board cut in funding this year which was ultimately due to the loss of revenue from football, not the decline in enrollment."

 

So, you take a 10% cut due to loss of revenue from football...

 

(a) was this based on the BUYOUT from last year? 

 

(b) a projected loss this year?

(This would be contradictory to the Interim President's assumption that the Arth hire was going to spur on revenues (HA)?

 

Football Revenues have not been anything to base a budget on for the last decade plus so any Administrator who was counting on an increase, or even status quo revenue from football should be immediately terminated for incompetence.

 

The biggest source of athletics funding at Akron (70.2%), or $24,289,339 of the $34,873,226 in expenses comes from student fees.  I would love to see the breakdown of where the other funding comes from...

 

Fundraising/Z Club

Ticket Sales

Sponsorships

Merchandise Sales

Food & Beverage / Concessions

Camps

Stadium/Arena Rentals

Conference Television Deals

Other

 

Once we see the 2018-19 breakdown, compare the revenues to previous years and see where the numbers are trending.  It's one of three answers... UP... DOWN... FLAT.

 

Anyone want to guess UP or FLAT?

 

 

 

[clarkwgriswold]

Let's not act like UA suddenly gave up on winning football or forgot how to field a successful DI program.  From the record since 1987, it is clear they never learned. Since then, no Akron head coach has been successful.  Faust had two winning seasons out of nine.  Owens had three out of nine.  Brookhart had two out of six.  Ianello had none in two years.  Knute Bowden only had two in seven years.

 

I don't know what the answer is.  I suspect it won't be settled on an internet forum.  That type of historical record certainly suggests it's more than just one bad head coach or misguided AD.