Smaller, Leaner athletic program...

[NWAkron]

42 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

I count 4 of them. Several others that work for the university that I personally know are strong supporters of athletics. Overall not what I would call an angry mob looking to abolish sports.

Got it.  Thanks

[ZippyRulz]

2 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

I count 4 of them. Several others that work for the university that I personally know are strong supporters of athletics. Overall not what I would call an angry mob looking to abolish sports.

 

Looks to be a 7-8 month saga, so not a rush to judgment. The chairman is from the faculty, however.

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

8 hours ago, Hilltopper said:

I count 4 of them. Several others that work for the university that I personally know are strong supporters of athletics. Overall not what I would call an angry mob looking to abolish sports.

Since this is in the football forum, it begs the question - are they "Athletics" supporters, or basketball-first or soccer-first supporters? Nothing would make some basketball and soccer supporters happier than to see the Zips football program drop to a lower division. 

 

It would be nice to have someone with a passion, and a clue, regarding G5 football on the committee. There are too many nimrods that think dropping to the FCS level will magically cure all Zips athletics ills. I'm scared of nimrods.

[Hilltopper]

3 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Since this is in the football forum, it begs the question - are they "Athletics" supporters, or basketball-first or soccer-first supporters? Nothing would make some basketball and soccer supporters happier than to see the Zips football program drop to a lower division. 

 

It would be nice to have someone with a passion, and a clue, regarding G5 football on the committee. There are too many nimrods that think dropping to the FCS level will magically cure all Zips athletics ills. I'm scared of nimrods.

There are people on that committee who love the football program. 

[72 Roo]

12 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

Isn’t this simply the AD’s responsibility?

I am all in favor of any effort to be financially prudent while keeping athletics competitive. That being said, I've got to agree that the AD should have a staff of professionals whose job it is to do the work this committee is tackling. We all need outside consultants who may see things we can't, but this looks more like a political move that has a subtle goal of providing CYA to the administration. Oh well, maybe I'm too much of a cynic, but I see little out of UA these days that I would term "inspiring".

[Zip_ME87]

10 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Nothing would make some basketball and soccer supporters happier than to see the Zips football program drop to a lower division. 

 

Nothing would make this soccer and basketball supporter happier than to see UA athletics leadership get their heads out of their collective butts and make good decisions for the Football. I used to enjoy going to games until iCoach and the later Bowden years. ..the product on the field is less than unwatchable as was it last season under iCoach2...I mean Arth. Either put a watchable product on the field or fire each AD who continues to stupidly waste millions on those who cannot. It's a damn shame that Akron Basketball is still playing in an arena that isn't even as good as some high school gymnasiums while AD after AD fails with Akron Football. Stop playing around with these stupid committees and replace Williams and Van Horne with people who have a clue. I guess the problem is that those doing the replacing also need to have a clue.

 

[GP1]

10 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

Oh well, maybe I'm too much of a cynic, but I see little out of UA these days that I would term "inspiring".

Nice post. I'll focus on this last sentence. I don't know if I would use a word referencing lack of inspiration. I would probably use the word "misguided". The leadership at the University (my guess is at almost every G5 school right now) looking in the same place for a different solution. Misguided means, among many things, sending someone along a path that is not going to get them where they need to be.

 

The way college athletics works in 2020 dictates that UofA is spending in the range of normalcy for similar athletic departments. In reality, the well is pretty dry at this point. Chiseling out an extra million dollars is not going to be easy. By guiding the committee in this direction, the leadership of the University is setting them up for failure.

[GP1]

On 9/9/2020 at 5:02 PM, ZZZips said:

https://www.cleveland.com/education/2020/09/university-of-akron-launches-group-to-consider-cost-saving-measures-for-athletics.html

 

Thanks for the link ZZZips. I'm going to ask a favor out of one of you, but many may have the qualifications to do the task. The first one to meet the qualifications gets to do me the favor since I live so far away. Your only compensation will be a feeling of 100% satisfaction. If you have access to the following items, meet the physical requirements and know the location, please raise your hand.

1. A five gallon bucket

2. Three gallons of water

3. Two pounds of crushed ice

4. You know where Buchtel Hall is

5. You have the means to get to campus and can walk to Buchtel Hall

6. You are capable of integrating the crushed ice into the water and letting it almost completely melt before completing the task

7. You have the physical strength to lift the bucket of water over your head

 

First one to volunteer wins.

Edited September 11, 2020 by GP1

[LZIp]