Schools we presently should NOT be scheduling - for the idiots out there.

[Captain Kangaroo]

If the HoF stadium was built prior to InfoCision, the Zips would probably be playing there, and the InfoCision grounds would still be dilapidated old rubber worker houses. 

 

I agree With GP1. We have a nice, 30k seat stadium on campus. The only road game we should be playing within 10 miles of our own stadium is against Kent.

[clarkwgriswold]

I propose that whenever the Zips are to play at PCCC that the games be held at Benson!  😁

 

I should be a mediator.

[GP1]

15 hours ago, Cykron said:

 

 

Good point.  However, what was the $65 million spent for?  A stadium?  Or a stadium full of fans?  You guys need something that puts some oomph into your program.  The current plan isn't working out so well. 

Our previous stadium was literally on the verge of being condemned by the City of Akron. For the cost of renovating a delapidated public works project from the Depression Era, 10 miles from campus, with no doors on the bathroom stalls, we got a brand new stadium, on campus while eliminating what had become a very bad neighborhood. 

 

I agree we need oomph. It's called winning. As a Cyclone fan, you should know how important this is. There is no good reason for Akron to be as bad as it is currently. A game in Canton isn't going to change that. The Hall of Fame is an awesome thing to those who don't live in NE Ohio. For those who live in the area, it's just another thing to do every few years and will not attract people. 

 

[Spin]

19 hours ago, Cykron said:

 

 

Good point.  However, what was the $65 million spent for?  A stadium?  Or a stadium full of fans? 

Because it was cheaper than rebuilding the Rubber Bowl, including the naming rights. There weren’t exactly corporations waiting in like to have their name plastered all over the decaying Bowl.

Edited September 30, 2021 by Spin

[Spin]

Looking through the program’s history it’s interesting to see many (most?) of the best attended games in the program’s history were:

1. At the Rubber Bowl

2. Against Div 1-AA opponents

and 3. During ACME-Click games

 

Which shows it doesn’t take “top level” opponents to get Football Country excited, and the program drew best when professionals were marketing the games…

[dre22era]

1 hour ago, Spin said:

Looking through the program’s history it’s interesting to see many (most?) of the best attended games in the program’s history were:

1. At the Rubber Bowl

2. Against Div 1-AA opponents

and 3. During ACME-Click games

 

Which shows it doesn’t take “top level” opponents to get Football Country excited, and the program drew best when professionals were marketing the games…

In a dead rust belt city that is not saying much 
What else is there to do 
Hell if UA wasn't currently surrounded by orange cones attendance in general would probably be better. 

[dre22era]

5 hours ago, GP1 said:

Our previous stadium was literally on the verge of being condemned by the City of Akron. For the cost of renovating a delapidated public works project from the Depression Era, 10 miles from campus, with no doors on the bathroom stalls, we got a brand new stadium, on campus while eliminating what had become a very bad neighborhood. 

 

I agree we need oomph. It's called winning. As a Cyclone fan, you should know how important this is. There is no good reason for Akron to be as bad as it is currently. A game in Canton isn't going to change that. The Hall of Fame is an awesome thing to those who don't live in NE Ohio. For those who live in the area, it's just another thing to do every few years and will not attract people. 

 

Yup especially when High School Games draw more fans to our stadium 
Produce a better product = Fans will come 

[Zipmeister]

On 9/28/2021 at 12:29 PM, Ham said:

I think it would be better to fill the info.  Maybe AD could book a rock celebrity to be an honorary captain and link to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?  

 

Left to their own devices, following your advice, the UofA marketing folks would spare no expense and book entire rock bands, including: Slightly Stoopid, Rock Bottom, Limp Bizkit, Diarrhea Planet, and The Airborne Toxic Event.

[GP1]

6 hours ago, dre22era said:

Produce a better product = Fans will come 

In addition to a better product, what if we just gave tickets to those people already paying for them?  Meaning, since the taxpayers of Ohio already support MAC football because it can't support itself, why not let them attend the games they are already paying for? Let's confess that MAC football is a public works program that benefits the taxpayers and let them take advantage of it. 

[clarkwgriswold]

12 hours ago, dre22era said:

Yup especially when High School Games draw more fans to our stadium 
Produce a better product = Fans will come 

Do you think a nationally competitive FCS team would draw more than a bad or average FBS team?  I'm not sure the "Joe Akron" fans we're seeking would know the difference. 

[clarkwgriswold]

18 hours ago, GP1 said:

Our previous stadium was literally on the verge of being condemned by the City of Akron. For the cost of renovating a delapidated public works project from the Depression Era, 10 miles from campus, with no doors on the bathroom stalls...

 

 

Well sure, but there's some value to climbing 97 stairs to whizz into an open trough.

Edited October 1, 2021 by clarkwgriswold

[dre22era]

9 hours ago, GP1 said:

In addition to a better product, what if we just gave tickets to those people already paying for them?  Meaning, since the taxpayers of Ohio already support MAC football because it can't support itself, why not let them attend the games they are already paying for? Let's confess that MAC football is a public works program that benefits the taxpayers and let them take advantage of it. 

Students already pay for tickets out their tuition & fees and still don't attend. 

[dre22era]

2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Do you think a nationally competitive FCS team would draw more than a bad or average FBS team?  I'm not sure the "Joe Akron" fans we're seeking would know the difference. 

Put it this way

I believe Youngstown State would a drew more fans filling our stadium if that game was played. 

I believe we would a lost too. 

Edited October 1, 2021 by dre22era

[Zipmeister]

2 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

Well sure, but there's some value to climbing 97 stairs to whizz into an open trough.

 

I'm not sure what you were peeing in after climbing 97 stairs; as I recall the official troughs were under the seating area on the press box side of the stadium.

[Zipmeister]

5 minutes ago, dre22era said:

Put it this way

I believe Youngstown State would a drew more fans filling our stadium if that game was played. 

I believe we would a lost too. 

 

I would a thought the same thing.

[clarkwgriswold]

3 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

 

I'm not sure what you were peeing in after climbing 97 stairs; as I recall the official troughs were under the seating area on the press box side of the stadium.

There some of those lovely accommodations at the top of the bowl also.

[Cykron]

On 9/30/2021 at 1:49 PM, GP1 said:

Our previous stadium was literally on the verge of being condemned by the City of Akron. For the cost of renovating a delapidated public works project from the Depression Era, 10 miles from campus, with no doors on the bathroom stalls, we got a brand new stadium, on campus while eliminating what had become a very bad neighborhood. 

 

I agree we need oomph. It's called winning. As a Cyclone fan, you should know how important this is. There is no good reason for Akron to be as bad as it is currently. A game in Canton isn't going to change that. The Hall of Fame is an awesome thing to those who don't live in NE Ohio. For those who live in the area, it's just another thing to do every few years and will not attract people. 

 

 

 

Indeed, the most important thing is to build your base.   But I don't think you are in a place right now where you should dismiss the "oomph" that would come with a high profile game held at the HOF with a team whose fans travel.  Seems to me that you need to do what you can with what you have.  In the absence of better ideas, this isn't a terrible one.  And further, getting a national audience is going to be as important as home attendance as we move toward subscription TV viewing.  Leveraging something unique like the HOF as the background for a game might even bring ESPN GameDay (loads of good cross-promotion for them).  

 

I know its not "the answer," but I'm not hearing many better ideas.  

 

 

[Cykron]

On 9/30/2021 at 5:31 PM, Spin said:

Because it was cheaper than rebuilding the Rubber Bowl, including the naming rights. There weren’t exactly corporations waiting in like to have their name plastered all over the decaying Bowl.

 

 

Huh?  I wasn't questioning whether you needed a new stadium.  What you guys pulled off is really impressive.  But what are you going to do with the new stadium?  You need to do something to make the lines longer for using those great new bathrooms!  

Edited October 6, 2021 by Cykron

[GP1]

1 hour ago, Cykron said:

 

 

Indeed, the most important thing is to build your base.   But I don't think you are in a place right now where you should dismiss the "oomph" that would come with a high profile game held at the HOF with a team whose fans travel.  Seems to me that you need to do what you can with what you have.  In the absence of better ideas, this isn't a terrible one.  And further, getting a national audience is going to be as important as home attendance as we move toward subscription TV viewing.  Leveraging something unique like the HOF as the background for a game might even bring ESPN GameDay (loads of good cross-promotion for them).  

 

I know its not "the answer," but I'm not hearing many better ideas.  

 

 

Our problem is losing. In fact, one could say it is the one thing people most associate with the brand that the program is. 

 

I have Wake Forest season tickets. Not a powerhouse but does everything they can the best they can. Years ago, Notre Dame wanted them to change their game to the NFL stadium in Charlotte. Wake told them to pound salt and played in their 27,000 seat stadium in Winston. Your home is your home. Play there. 

[Blue & Gold]

10 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Our problem is losing.

It absolutely is.

 

Considering how bottom-of-the-barrel, abysmally gawd-awful the team has been the past THREE YEARS, our attendance has been FAR better than it deserves to be. 
 

Imagine if we actually had a competitive, entertaining product on the field? 

[GP1]

23 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

It absolutely is.

 

Considering how bottom-of-the-barrel, abysmally gawd-awful the team has been the past THREE YEARS, our attendance has been FAR better than it deserves to be. 
 

Imagine if we actually had a competitive, entertaining product on the field? 

Akron has almost everything it needs. Winning needs to get fixed. GameDay experience could be a little better to attract the casual person around Akron.  They need to get winning. 

[LoyalZIP]

56 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Our problem is losing. In fact, one could say it is the one thing people most associate with the brand that the program is. 

 

I have Wake Forest season tickets. Not a powerhouse but does everything they can the best they can. Years ago, Notre Dame wanted them to change their game to the NFL stadium in Charlotte. Wake told them to pound salt and played in their 27,000 seat stadium in Winston. Your home is your home. Play there. 

 

ND is lucky to have played in that stadium in Winston-Salem. I visited the area and stopped by once, as a fan that's used to MAC-sized stadiums, I absolutely LOVED what I saw. And considering it is less than a 7 hour drive from Akron, it would be a perfect type of money game for Akron to have on the schedule. And by the looks of it, it is kind of like P5 Infocision.

 

Imagine if Akron could provide a similar football experience in a beautiful facility, showcasing the best the university has to offer to the community while providing a winning product. It's a now 12-year dream I have. There's so much potential, and to think another *hopefully* successful rebuild would delay seeing it a few more years still. 

[TheZipCat]

I mean...it D-1 Sports is about "Exposure" and all that other bullshit that people blabber on about, isn't the schools on your "do not schedule" list actually the ones you'd want to play? We should schedule OSU as often as they'll allow us TBH. At the very least it gives more eyeballs within the state to Akron, and give the poor current students at Akron something to take pride in that OSU is playing their team?

[Blue & Gold]

18 minutes ago, TheZipCat said:

I mean...it D-1 Sports is about "Exposure" and all that other bullshit that people blabber on about, isn't the schools on your "do not schedule" list actually the ones you'd want to play? We should schedule OSU as often as they'll allow us TBH. At the very least it gives more eyeballs within the state to Akron, and give the poor current students at Akron something to take pride in that OSU is playing their team?

I do like scheduling OSU.  I just didn't want to see them on the schedule this year.  I knew it was going to be embarrassing.  I take enough ribbing for being a Zips fan.  The Monday at work following the OSU beatdown was predictably aggravating; infuriating, really - Akron area people making fun of Akron. Where's the pride/self-respect?  Anyway, I digress...  I'd love scheduling OSU if I thought we could be competitive... for even a half.

 

I'd love to schedule the teams on the "do not schedule" portion... if our program were in a healthier state.  I think we need to win first and foremost.  After we develop a winning culture then lets schedule the Auburns of the college football world.  Until then, let's stick with the Indiana's and Illinois'.

 

I like @clarkwgriswold's suggestion (I think post #2).  Instead of 2 big payday/suicide games, schedule 3 smaller payday games.  I could get used to a schedule something like:

Game 1: @ Pitt

Game 2: home -v- a Group of 5 or FCS opponent

Game 3: @ Syracuse

Game 4: @ Illinois

Game 5: Homecoming/MAC opener

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

And while I'm at it, let me be clear I wasn't calling anyone on ZN.o an idiot.  That was directed at our decision makers in the athletics dept.  (Frankly, I think it was likely our former athletics director).  I wrote that when I was still upset.  Now I feel more numb and resigned.