Student Section Rules

[zipsbandman]

I think a few factors contributed to low turnout. For one, this was the weekend before finals week and a lot of people have been studying. Also, we were playing a lousy, no name opponent, not that that is a good excuse but it had something to do with it. I for one plan on attending at least two home games and maybee three over break, and once we get to the MAC schedule the rowdies will come out of the woodwork.

[Jayfromua]

First off great job Eric! Everyone makes mistakes and as I say "it's not if you make a mistake, it's how you deal with it." You dealt with this well and I hope you guys are able to come so a solution with the AK-ROWDIES member who kicked out of the section Saturday. As far as attendance goes, I would not be too concerned yet. We are yet to play a good nonconference game or MAC game. If people don't show up to these contests, then we all should worry. Besides that rifle(forget the rest) brought up some very good points. I think once the new semester starts you will see a tremendous increase in attendance. Don't worry Eric, things will be on the up.

[Balki Bartokomous]

President (after calling "officer" on cell phone and telling my friend to leave from across the gym): "No, sorry, you'll need to leave. We can set up a time to pick up your shirt next week and you can sit down here for the St Francis game."Me: Don't you want to want the section to be full? He's been watching Zips basketball games from these seats since his first year of undergrad 6 years ago."Pres: No, sorry. You have to have the right shirt on and we dont have any right now.

There will always be assholes who let their "power" go to their heads. Its not very surprising that they would rather see a half empty student section then allow people in and not get the opportunity to flex their "get out of my section" muscle. Regardless of their damn shirt, people should be allowed to sit where ever they want. I see that the mini band is taking seats up down their now. Terrific. I swear, it is like the idiots who run things at Akron get off to pissing people off. USE YOUR GOD DAMN HEAD. "oh i wonder why people don't show up" hmm, maybe its because the student section is stuck behind a f_cking light pole in the corner of the endzone on the away side. Maybe its because suddenly everyone has to be wearing matching shirts and goose stepping around to sit in the "student" section at the basketball game. Maybe it is because the band now takes seats down there. For shit sake, it is a gym, they could be sitting in the rafters and people will hear them. Taking prime seats is retarded. Speaking of retarded, what the hell gives with "you can't sit here with out our shirt". Its more important to get asses in the seats then it is to be an elitist asshole. I don't know if you know this or not, but we are not Duke. We will never be Duke. There will never be a "JAR Crazies" type of atmosphere. Kick the damn band out, get people in those seats who want to go nuts. I don't give a shit if they show up wearing a dress. Someone going nuts it better than an empty seat.

[Bleacher Bum]

I got no problem with everyone in the student section wearing the same shirt, but I think it could discourage some people to dress as "Super Fans," which is what we need more of. I consider myself one of them, but sport my Rowdies shirt under a blue Hawaiian shirt. I know a couple other people that wear the gold blazers and aviators and the group of four students I've been seeing at games now for a few years that wear the "Z-I-P-S" big-ass necklaces. I know that two new characters will be added this year dressed as super heroes, with capes and masks. Last year there were two fans that made their own Zippy heads and wore them to the games. Are you gonna kick these die-hards out of the section?My point is that one uniform is not as distracting nor is it as intimidating as a cast of crazy characters. Remember last year's OU game? Dr. Evil, Mini Me, Darth Vader, and Chewbacca were there. That was hilarious. These Super Fans are over the top characters and are generally the loudest people in the arena. We need more of them and we should not be discouraged from dressing so!

[sgm405]

A few random thoughts...1) First, a thank you to Eric for not only posting here but also emailing me about our concerns with some of what happened Saturday. It's good to know there is a leader within the Rowdies who takes criticism well and looks to take action in correcting what went wrong. Kudos to you Eric. 2) I agree 100% about the band...no way should they be in the prime seats. Put em back up top! (I have a feeling this was more of an athletics decision and less of an AK-Rowdies decision though)3) I also still agree on the attire...who cares if people wear the shirt or not, if they're wearing some kind of Zips gear, cheer loud, and make a ton of noise, that's all you need. No opposing team is going to care what shirt anyone is wearing...they will care if it's too noisy to communicate on the court while trying to run their offense. 4) If anyone hasn't already added it, request to be friends with ZipsNation on MySpace. The addy is: http://www.myspace.com/zipsnation

[skip-zip]

Let me add one thing as an Akron alum from over 20 years ago.We never had an organized student cheering section, so I applaud all of you. I was at the WSSU game, and loved what you guys were doing. Even thought I am in my 40's.. I WANTED TO BE DOWN THERE WITH YOU GUYS !! (my wife objected). The problem was that there were so many empty seats in your two sections. Which begs the question...Why would ANYONE be turned away if the sections were going to have any empty seats?If this is happening....you only hurt the team and the image of the school.

[KNCLZip]

It's growing pains; things will only get better. Throwing around comments like calling people assholes is no good. The leaders obviously want to do whatever they can and will take care of things.The band doesn't belong in the lower seats. Let the band stay in the upper arena. That's got to be an Athletic Department decision versus an AK-Rowdies one, but the AD needs to get with it and stop changing things during the first full year of their regime. The Roo Zoo name being implemented by the new gang was so-so; moving the students at the Rubber Bowl was not very good (and not allowing anyone to walk around the walkway at the south end of the field, instead making them climb the steps, walk around the upper walkway, and then walk all the way back down was very stupid too), and moving the band to the lower seats at the JAR is poor. The AD has to cooperate here.....

[Valpo Zip]

Even thought I am in my 40's.. I WANTED TO BE DOWN THERE WITH YOU GUYS !! (my wife objected).

Skip-zip, who said that the only people who should cheer and scream are those in the rowdies seats? and who said that someone who is 40 is too old to go crazy cheering his team? we actually count on people like you for two things:1 - give us feedback from where you sit... and tell us which cheer was good and which one didn't look that good.2 - wake up the other people sitting in GA or reserved seatsI mean some times it seems that some people in those seats are in the JAR to drink their morning coffee or read their papers.

[Fear this America]

Guys thanks for every thing it does mean a lot. Please contact me if you have anything we could do to make this group better for you. Weare in the process of putting together some cool promonights for you guys to have some fun. It is in the last stage of approvals and changes. We should get the ok to post that with in the comming days. I just want you to know that there is some kool things planned. If everything goes right I am pretty sure you will like what we came up with. The reason you have not heard much on that is due to the fact we don't want to say were going to do somthing then it not work out. That's one thing we don't want to do is make false promises. Thanks for all of your help and keep up the good work.Go Zips,Eric

[AK-Zips]

President (after calling "officer" on cell phone and telling my friend to leave from across the gym):  "No, sorry, you'll need to leave.  We can set up a time to pick up your shirt next week and you can sit down here for the St Francis game."Me:  Don't you want to want the section to be full?  He's been watching Zips basketball games from these seats since his first year of undergrad 6 years ago."Pres:  No, sorry.  You have to have the right shirt on and we dont have any right now.

There will always be assholes who let their "power" go to their heads. Its not very surprising that they would rather see a half empty student section then allow people in and not get the opportunity to flex their "get out of my section" muscle. Regardless of their damn shirt, people should be allowed to sit where ever they want. I see that the mini band is taking seats up down their now. Terrific. I swear, it is like the idiots who run things at Akron get off to pissing people off. USE YOUR GOD DAMN HEAD. "oh i wonder why people don't show up" hmm, maybe its because the student section is stuck behind a f_cking light pole in the corner of the endzone on the away side. Maybe its because suddenly everyone has to be wearing matching shirts and goose stepping around to sit in the "student" section at the basketball game. Maybe it is because the band now takes seats down there. For shit sake, it is a gym, they could be sitting in the rafters and people will hear them. Taking prime seats is retarded. Speaking of retarded, what the hell gives with "you can't sit here with out our shirt". Its more important to get asses in the seats then it is to be an elitist asshole. I don't know if you know this or not, but we are not Duke. We will never be Duke. There will never be a "JAR Crazies" type of atmosphere. Kick the damn band out, get people in those seats who want to go nuts. I don't give a shit if they show up wearing a dress. Someone going nuts it better than an empty seat.

YES YES Y-E-S

[flipthezip]

First let me state my background so that my following post will be taken as credible.I was a cheerleader for 4 years and then worked in the AD's office for several years. I am currently still working with the cheerleaders and have been lending my knowledge as an advisor to the AK Rowdies officers for the past month.1. The incident on Saturday was unfortunate, but necessary. The wearing of the AK Rowdy Official 2006 T-shirt is a way to identify you as a current member. The seats behind the baskets are reserved for such individuals. The AK Rowdies have been given the honor and responsibility to fill these seats with their members. Trust me. These were not always reserved for students and I guarantee you that these seats would fetch full price + a minimum donation if made available to the public.2. There has been at least a dozen opportunities to this point to pick up T-shirts but yet many still remain unclaimed. The officers of the AK Rowdies have also been very accomodating to members who have contacted them and have attempted to make an alternative time and place to get their shirt. To the individual from Saturday, the importance of having your shirt ahead of time must have been known since you were with friends who had theirs and they would have known such. 3. The 600+ AK Rowdies have yet to fill the areas reserved for them behind the baskets but yet are complaining about the band being there. At least they are there and not just waiting for the Zips to play a good team or a conference opponent to show up. It has been said that we are not Duke or any other of the big programs with great student sections. Of course not with the apathy we show. The 2 sections behind the baskets should be full for every men's and women's game whether we play Can't St or the 6th grade team from PS109. 4. Lastly, if you don't like how anything is being done with the organization, you are welcome to bring your concerns to the Tommy Evans Lounge in the JAR on Wednesday at 5:00 or e-mail to the AK Rowdies officers, they will be addressed. Otherwise, stop complaining because 1. Fellow students stepped up to help organize a group that benefits the University, and 2. They enforced the rules that the members of the group agreed to abide by and entrusted them to enforce.Good Luck on your finals. GO ZIPS!!!!

[bobbyake]

Why don't they have shirts available during the game? If a student wants to sit down there, throw him a shirt. It's that simple. Those seats never really sold before it was the student section. When I cheered for Akron during the Derrick Tarver years, those seats were always empty. I would have friends say they were cheerleaders so they could sneak in back there.The best place to put the students is right behind the visiting teams bench. The students are treated like second class. Well, if you're student and not an AK-Rowdy, you're treated like 3rd class. Kicking a student out of the student section because they're not in uniform was stupid and immature. If you're going to have a dress code, have shirts at the ready for students who don't have them. And Akron's marketing department sucks. They need to make the basketball games more exciting. Do they not watch NBA games? Turn off the lights and do a light show before games. And Getsy sucks!! The only reason why he was good last year was because he had a NFL receiver to throw it to. I thought he sucked last year too. Hixon always seemed to bail him out and make him look good.I've been away from ZipsNation for awhile, probably because all I would do is piss off a bunch of OSU fans. I'm sorry people feel Akron is a suburb of Columbus. Oh well, maybe one day Akron will be big time.

[Balki Bartokomous]

1. The incident on Saturday was unfortunate, but necessary. The wearing of the AK Rowdy Official 2006 T-shirt is a way to identify you as a current member. The seats behind the baskets are reserved for such individuals. The AK Rowdies have been given the honor and responsibility to fill these seats with their members. Trust me. These were not always reserved for students and I guarantee you that these seats would fetch full price + a minimum donation if made available to the public.

unfortunate, but necessary? that has to be the stupidest thing i have ever heard. This isn't communist Russia, this a student section that needs to be filled regardless of what freaking shirt you are wearing. I understand you want unity, but come on. As long as they are a student, they should be able to sit in the student section. Maybe you should have a meeting with your "officers" and the rest of the rowdies and find out why they aren't at the games. Maybe you should also discuss setting aside the rowdies fascist views and start getting the damn section filled with whom ever shows up. I sure hope this post is allowed in this thread. I'm not wearing my zipsnation shirt.

[ZachTheZip]

OK, I tried to stay out of this but I have a few questions I want answered.1.) Why can't students who are not AK-Rowdies, or those who missed the sign-up deadline sit in the student section? Just because they don't have a particular shirt on is no excuse to remove someone unless there are people with the shirt who don't have a seat. What if a student (most likely a freshman) gets interested in going to games to root for their school midway through the season? They would not be allowed to cheer with their fellow fans because they were late for the party?2.) This is almost like the first question, but a little different. A good way to fill seats is to have everybody bring a friend. With people not being allowed to sit with the AK-Rowdies unless they have the shirt on, how will the Rowdies be able to bring friends who are students, but not rowdies, to the game? I want to know, because I want to bring some friends to their first UA basketball game, but I also want to sit with the Rowdies, and now I can't just tell them to wear blue/gold. What am I supposed to do? Couldn't you just ask for their Zip cards as proof they are students, or are they going to be banished to the rafter seats?

[skip-zip]

Why can't a normal student sit in the lower section behind the baskets if someone else is not in that seat?? And why does someone have to have a particular uniform? It's all very petty. I've been around this program for over 20 years, and I've seen just about everything. The goal is simple...HELP THE ZIPS WIN GAMES. And to do this, we need people down there that will help us WIN GAMES, whether they are dressed in Hawaiian Shirts or Blue or Gold or shirtless....I DON'T CARE !! I'm sure the original idea was to have both of these sections full of fans that were all dressed alike. But, eliminating a student from one of these seats behind the basket, when it's EMPTY, is only hurting OURSELVES !!It's a simple question.....which is a greater benefit to the Zips....having a student sitting in the seat?.....or leaving the seat empty?

[skip-zip]

skhorbotly. You're right. There are far too many people in the other sections sitting on their hands. The only time they stand is during the National Anthem, and before the first basket (a very old Akron tradition). Frankly, I'd like to see MORE students in the lower sections. The idea posted on here to put the students right behind the visitor's bench is GREAT idea. Here's the problem. The big donors get the best seats, whether they are there to talk business with a client, eat dinner, or (more often than not) not show up at all. And with the JAR being as small as it is, and those priority seats not being all that plentiful, I don't see the administration changing that policy.It's a shame. The team could use the support of more people like yourself. That's probably what is needed to wake up the rest of the crowd.

[ZachTheZip]

I forgot to add, could somebody bring my questions up for me at the meeting on Wednsday? I have to work

[RowdyZip]

I sure hope this post is allowed in this thread. I'm not wearing my zipsnation shirt.

First off... Next.... I'd like to invite anyone else that is a student and will be graduating after this semester or in the spring, like yours truly, to join me and some friends who are planning on buying up a few season tickets in the lower reserved areas. I think we could maybe breathe some life into those folks starting next year and perhaps begin the "next generation" of zips fans. Ones that cheer. That's CHEER, not golf clap, and stand up occasionally after a good run or before an important possesion. Things are gonna change in the JAR and I'd like to start it next year. And $225 isn't all that expensive to see 12-15 games and get a ticket to the tournament. GO ZIPS!!!!Oh, if you're interested, contact me via AIM or PM on here. So far I've got 4 for sure and about 3 maybes.

[bobbyake]

hey, i'm interested in buying those seats with you. We should get them behind the visiting teams bench

[skip-zip]

RowdyZip. Correct me if you find out differently, but I believe that most of those lower reserved sections now have a "minimum $500 donation to the Z-Fund" attached to them. That is just to have the right to buy those tickets. The ticket price is above and beyond that.I think that amount might be lower for the sections at the ends of both of those main lower sections. But I don't think you can buy any lower reserved tickets without some sort of donation, plus the actual season ticket price.Can anyone else shed some light on this?

[sgm405]

First let me state my background so that my following post will be taken as credible.I was a cheerleader for 4 years and then worked in the AD's office for several years. I am currently still working with the cheerleaders and have been lending my knowledge as an advisor to the AK Rowdies officers for the past month.1. The incident on Saturday was unfortunate, but necessary. The wearing of the AK Rowdy Official 2006 T-shirt is a way to identify you as a current member. The seats behind the baskets are reserved for such individuals. The AK Rowdies have been given the honor and responsibility to fill these seats with their members. Trust me. These were not always reserved for students and I guarantee you that these seats would fetch full price + a minimum donation if made available to the public.2. There has been at least a dozen opportunities to this point to pick up T-shirts but yet many still remain unclaimed. The officers of the AK Rowdies have also been very accomodating to members who have contacted them and have attempted to make an alternative time and place to get their shirt. To the individual from Saturday, the importance of having your shirt ahead of time must have been known since you were with friends who had theirs and they would have known such. 3. The 600+ AK Rowdies have yet to fill the areas reserved for them behind the baskets but yet are complaining about the band being there. At least they are there and not just waiting for the Zips to play a good team or a conference opponent to show up. It has been said that we are not Duke or any other of the big programs with great student sections. Of course not with the apathy we show. The 2 sections behind the baskets should be full for every men's and women's game whether we play Can't St or the 6th grade team from PS109. 4. Lastly, if you don't like how anything is being done with the organization, you are welcome to bring your concerns to the Tommy Evans Lounge in the JAR on Wednesday at 5:00 or e-mail to the AK Rowdies officers, they will be addressed. Otherwise, stop complaining because 1. Fellow students stepped up to help organize a group that benefits the University, and 2. They enforced the rules that the members of the group agreed to abide by and entrusted them to enforce.Good Luck on your finals.  GO ZIPS!!!!

Since we're throwing around our credibility, here's mine. I've been following sports and going to sporting events since age 4. I have worked as a sports reporter/commentator/producer for WZIP, WKNR, and Internet Radio. I have had the opportunity to commentate both high school and college games, including four seasons following Lebron james, Romeo Travis, and Dru Joyce with St Vincent St Mary and a bit of work with our own women's basketball team. I have reported from the locker rooms of the Akron Zips, Ohio State Buckeyes, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, and Cleveland Browns, a truly wonderful experience in itself. Currently, I'm also working as a high school english teacher and have gone to a great number of high school athletic events. I know sports, and I have seen many, many great cheering sections - high school, college, and pro. I've also held a variety of leadership positions throughout my life, so I feel confident in speaking on what it takes for a group to be successful, especially one that is up and coming. Oh yeah, I've also been going to Akron athletic events for 7 years, from sitting with 9 or 10 fellow students in the lower sections to now, being a part of the great AK-Rowdies organization. Now, onto my thoughts... - The incident Saturday was not "necessary"...it is never "necessary" to treat a fellow student in that way. What was accomplished by the student being booted, leaving tons of empty seats open? An opportunity to flex some "leadership muscles" and let people know who is boss? - You lose a ton of credibility with me when you claim that the lower seats would sell out if made available to the public. At full price PLUS donation? Hahahahahahahahha. How long have you been going to Zips games? Do you not recall just years ago, when both students and general admission ticket holders were allowed on the lower level? Nobody was there...trust me, I was one of maybe 10-15 faithful fans sitting down low. Most people have no interest in that seat, mainly because all of the seats other than the ones on the ends have a blocked view of the court. Just a silly, silly statement. - There have been a dozen opportunities to pick up the t-shirts. The problem? A great number of people don't even know about these opportunities! now, I know mistakes happen...I'm not bashing the leaders here, because contacting and keeping track of 600 members is a difficult task. However, you also can't bash the fans who have no idea what's going on, and punish them for the mix-ups of them not being contacted. - Let's wait another game or two before we judge the crowd. Game 1 was against a cupcake opponent during Browns-Steelers I...Game 2 was the weekend before finals, a time when many have locked themselves in their rooms to study. Trust me, the stands will fill up. Oh, and the band members are required to be there...and yes, there is a difference. - Not everyone can go to those meetings...I know I cant. People are speaking out on here with their problems with what is going on because we know other members as well as those in leadership roles post here. Eric Baker has already responded to some of the concerns and has been very gratious in working with us to solve the problems...I think that means we've accomplished our mission, dont you?

[ziptrumpet87]

I believe you are correct that to get one season seat in the lower section requires a $500 donation plus the cost of the season ticket. Upper reserved (where I sit) is just the cost of the season ticket ($150).

[RowdyZip]

I believe you are correct that to get one season seat in the lower section requires a $500 donation plus the cost of the season ticket. Upper reserved (where I sit) is just the cost of the season ticket ($150).

Ugh. No wonder those down there are sleeping. apparently one has to tap the retirement fund to get a good seat. Is it $500/year or $500 one time shebang and then you can continue to buy them?

[ziptrumpet87]

$500/seat/year

[Captain Kangaroo]

and not allowing anyone to walk around the walkway at the south end of the field, instead making them climb the steps, walk around the upper walkway, and then walk all the way back down was very stupid too

This thread reminds me of the Rubber Bowl seating issue too. Some University "lifer," who's never been a traditional fan, decides to make a policy that screws over the people that actually attend a Zips game. To be fair - if you're an administrator that only sits in the RB press box, or the Tommy Evans Lounge, how would you know otherwise?It should be mandatory that people making fan policies need to sit in a fan's seat for 2 years before they can legislate.Like 99.99% of the posts on this board, I agree...kicking out a student from the half-empty student section due to an incorrect shirt is flat-out stupid. Just like it was stupid to turn away Gen Ad fans from the press box side of the Rubber Bowl...where the seats were 25% full (at best).