Smaller, Leaner athletic program...

[ZippyRulz]

I think the task force is going to need its own thread sooner than later. Everyone needs to come up with their numbers as to the PR value of Div. I membership vs. lower divisions in order to hash out what the real net cost of athletics is. 

 

[Spin]

Well you can start with the money that comes from the TV networks for coverage, esp on weeknights. Then factor in the money from bowl games. FBS buy games. Sponsorships for the team and the stadium. Ticket sales. As we’ve discussed, he’ll I can’t count that high

Edited July 24, 2020 by Spin
Dang spell chekkir

[fknbuflobo]

3 hours ago, Zip_ME87 said:

 

The football stadium was not needed, which implies requirement. Akron could have made the decision to dump football, drop out of the MAC, and join a conference without football...like Gonzaga, Butler, etc. Upon what information do you make the claim that the football stadium made financial sense at the time? Projected attendance because Akron won 1 MAC Championship in 2005 with a 5-3 Conference record? 

 

... And Georgetown, Creighton, St. Joseph, Cleveland State etc.  The list of schools fielding sports programs excepting Football is not a small one.  It is not a novel idea.

 

These are indeed desperate times.

[LZIp]

And the number of schools fielding soccer programs is continually decreasing. The sport is literally dying at the collegiate level.

[GP1]

4 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

A few questions:

 

How deep does the task force really need to dig...isn't it as simple as reviewing Akron's budget and comparing it to like-minded programs? It should take roughly 15 minutes?

 

Does anyone on the task force have a vested interest in the finding's outcome?

 

Was anyone on the task force responsible for putting the football program in the hole it's presently in? (i.e. did they sign off on hiring guys like Wistercil, Ianello, etc)?

 

The George Thomas article from a week or so ago pretty much laid it all out. The task force should read it.

I think we are at the "counting paperclips" portion of this ongoing PR disaster. 

 

Only a moron incapable of sitting on whatever committee they put together doesn't know how this all went bad, so when they are done they can rehash negative points with the public again. Are we ever going to get a forward looking committee?

[kreed5120]

Unless someone has a time machine to go back 12 years to prevent the construction of Infocision it's a waste of time dwelling on by both us and this committee. Like it or not we have it and are going to be forced to make debt payments on it for the next 20 or so years

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, fknbuflobo said:

... And Georgetown, Creighton, St. Joseph, Cleveland State etc.  The list of schools fielding sports programs excepting Football is not a small one.  It is not a novel idea.

 

These are indeed desperate times.

And they aren't going to make any decisions hastily during a pandemic regarding athletics when all the schools in MAC and elsewhere have the same issues.   The academic cuts were a work in progress.  

[clarkwgriswold]

12 hours ago, fknbuflobo said:

... And Georgetown, Creighton, St. Joseph, Cleveland State etc.  The list of schools fielding sports programs excepting Football is not a small one.  It is not a novel idea.

 

These are indeed desperate times.

 

Georgetown has football.  They play in the Patriot League as I recall.  I actually like their athletics model.

 

Kreed makes a good point- Infocison can't be deconstructed and the debt forgiven.  It's a reality the committee and UA will have to live with for years to come.  Rather then lament its existence, they need to figure out a way to make UA events the biggest events in Infocision every year rather than the Hoban- St. V game and Founder's Day.

[zippy5]

16 hours ago, Zip_ME87 said:

 

The football stadium was not needed, which implies requirement. Akron could have made the decision to dump football, drop out of the MAC, and join a conference without football...like Gonzaga, Butler, etc. Upon what information do you make the claim that the football stadium made financial sense at the time? Projected attendance because Akron won 1 MAC Championship in 2005 with a 5-3 Conference record? 

 

But they didn't, time to move on

[TennZip]

13 hours ago, LZIp said:

And the number of schools fielding soccer programs is continually decreasing. The sport is literally dying at the collegiate level.

Akron soccer made 3 final fours from 2015 to 2018 and was in the NCAA final in 2018.  NCAA finalist in 2009...NCAA champion in 2010.   The athletic department has not done a good job of marketing the tremendous value of having an elite top 5 team ...almost every year.  Akron soccer is the shining star of the Zips athletic department.

[94zipgrad]

 

[Zipmeister]

6 hours ago, TennZip said:

Akron soccer made 3 final fours from 2015 to 2018 and was in the NCAA final in 2018.  NCAA finalist in 2009...NCAA champion in 2010.   The athletic department has not done a good job of marketing the tremendous value of having an elite top 5 team ...almost every year.  Akron soccer is the shining star of the Zips athletic department.

 

I heard a rumor that the athletic department has taken your comment to heart and is about to unveil a new advertising campaign with the theme: We have a great soccer team, come watch our football team.

[Zip-Grad '13]

On 7/22/2020 at 10:48 PM, NWAkron said:

They are doing the slow roll cancellation of football and fall sports.  NCAC cancelled all sports.  Division 2 will be next.  Followed by Division 1.  same pattern as in the Spring.  

It sucks being right sometimes.  I was hoping I would jinx it.   

[Zip-Grad '13]

20 hours ago, LZIp said:

And the number of schools fielding soccer programs is continually decreasing. The sport is literally dying at the collegiate level.

And baseball isn't?  Baseball is a dead sport walking...

[Zip_ME87]

20 hours ago, LZIp said:

And the number of schools fielding soccer programs is continually decreasing. The sport is literally dying at the collegiate level.

 

D1 Football at other than Power 5 conferences has been dying for years. Schools are digging holes they cannot afford and getting worse. 

 

178 positions to be eliminated but not the 2 at the top of the Ath Dept,? And the new Prez wonders why folks would call for the BOT rubber stampers to resign.

[ZippyRulz]

1 hour ago, 94zipgrad said:

 

FWIW, the article says they doubt Akron will leave the MAC and D1.

 

[GP1]

1 hour ago, 94zipgrad said:

 

The ongoing PR mess just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. What would you think if you were a football recruit and you saw this?  How would you use this if you were a coach at another MAC school.  I don't know much about the head football coach, but how can you ever hope to be successful at Akron when there is a steady drip of this poison coming out of the University? How can so many smart people be so stupid?

[GP1]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardvedder/2020/07/20/the-great-college-depression-begins/amp/?fbclid=IwAR2T6-d0aL1UO9lTqvH2-Y9nKp0pzchKfs3FSGcorylLELL0tJWSZCq6Vow

 

Forbes piles on. A merger with Kent?  No thanks. Close Kent.

[LZIp]

11 minutes ago, GP1 said:

The ongoing PR mess just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. What would you think if you were a football recruit and you saw this?  How would you use this if you were a coach at another MAC school.  I don't know much about the head football coach, but how can you ever hope to be successful at Akron when there is a steady drip of this poison coming out of the University? How can so many smart people be so stupid?

Without a doubt. When is it going to stop!?

[GP1]

37 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Without a doubt. When is it going to stop!?

"If you don't like what is being said, change the conversation." - Don Draper

 

They need to change the conversation. 

 

The kids in the athletic department do a lot of great things. Maybe someone around them could stop counting pennies and stand up for them for once and point out some of the good things they do. 

Edited July 24, 2020 by GP1

[Zip_ME87]

25 minutes ago, GP1 said:

 

The kids in the athletic department do a lot of great things. Maybe someone around them could stop counting pennies and stand up for them for once and point out some of the good things they do. 

You’re absolutely right about that. We have and have had a lot of great student athletes who are and have been proud to be Zips!  Stupid UA leadership that can’t give Clayton Murphy the time of day is disgusting. He cares enough to try to find a way to restore a team of which he is proud without cost to the university and they don’t even want to talk with him. A number of our former soccer players who are playing with their MLS teams in Orlando have been nice enough to respond to my DMs through Instagram and Twitter because they appreciate what they had at Akron and that an Akron fan Still follows and supports them. I’m not as close to UA football or basketball but I’m sure some of you have similar stories. 

[Zip-Grad '13]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

How can so many smart people be so stupid?

Because they already got paid, so do they really care?

[Spin]

If football goes, I might be done with my old school.

 

A program that is not only self-sustaining, but covers a lot of the athletic dept. budget deserves better. 

[GP1]

3 hours ago, Zip_ME87 said:

You’re absolutely right about that. We have and have had a lot of great student athletes who are and have been proud to be Zips!  Stupid UA leadership that can’t give Clayton Murphy the time of day is disgusting. He cares enough to try to find a way to restore a team of which he is proud without cost to the university and they don’t even want to talk with him. A number of our former soccer players who are playing with their MLS teams in Orlando have been nice enough to respond to my DMs through Instagram and Twitter because they appreciate what they had at Akron and that an Akron fan Still follows and supports them. I’m not as close to UA football or basketball but I’m sure some of you have similar stories. 

Thanks for your response. I think they should talk about kids in school now. I don't mean the staged stuff they promote, but things more substantial. 

[NWAkron]

Beginning of March, the basketball team was on its way to bringing some much needed revival to the university.   Buchtel Hall had launched a 150th year fundraising drive which was to culminate in some big events.  Arth was beginning his rebuild.  Then COVID hit just like the 2008-2009 housing crisis and just stopped or destroyed not just at the university.