The World of College Football

[AkronAlumnus]

42 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I respectfully disagree. There are plenty of very competitive games on every week. Teams that used to stink can now get good. It's still the most unpredictable sport on TV other than Jai Alai, which the South Florida organized crime basically runs. 

 

What I find difficult are the 3.5+ hour games, long halftimes, endless replays and now ESPN Game Day. I'm a bit sick of the players themselves   I've seen enough celebration dances from guys catching three yard outs on their own 28. The Fox pregame show is actually interesting and doesn't have Pat McAfee doing his pro wrestling routine for three hours. I'm Pat McAfeed out. I'm tired of television, gambling apps and beer companies making all the decisions. 

 

What I'm starting to find interesting is the use of the noon start to highlight big games. It used to be the ghetto spot for the worst games. Now the games are compelling against high ranking teams. I wonder if they are experimenting with early starts because they a afraid of the NFL. What the NFL wants, it gets. They may want Saturday primetime. If they get it, it will crush prime time college football on Saturday. 

I heard someone say the average margin of victory through week four is 25 points, ChatGPT says 30.5.  The transfer portal makes it so hard to keep up with a team and the amount of $$ kind-of ruins the integrity of the college game.  Especially amongst the P4 and the disparity between them and everyone else.  Kinda feels like the NFL bc win or lose players still get paid regardless and will be on a different team next year.  Seems like the best interests of the players is long gone.  

 

I agree with everything you said in the second paragraph and ambivalent to the third

[GP1]

20 minutes ago, AkronAlumnus said:

I heard someone say the average margin of victory through week four is 25 points, ChatGPT says 30.5.  The transfer portal makes it so hard to keep up with a team and the amount of $$ kind-of ruins the integrity of the college game.  Especially amongst the P4 and the disparity between them and everyone else.  Kinda feels like the NFL bc win or lose players still get paid regardless and will be on a different team next year.  Seems like the best interests of the players is long gone.  

 

I agree with everything you said in the second paragraph and ambivalent to the third

Those stats are interesting, but if a fan tries hard enough, they can find two good games on. For example, the TX vs TN game was not good last weekend. There was another big game at the same time that wasn't good. The best noon game last week was Louisville and Wake Forest. It was probably one of the best games all weekend. Both teams played great. Fans just have to look for good games. 

[exit322]

The asinine commercial length and volume is the worst thing about college football.  But ratings are still OK so they're not gonna change it.

[kreed5120]

Louisiana regent recommends all 3 Louisiana SunBelt schools drop down to FCS to reduce mounting deficits.

 

https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2026/09/30/regents-say-louisiana-tech-and-university-of-louisiana-and-ulm-should-drop-to-fcs-football-division/92011705007/

[exit322]

1 minute ago, kreed5120 said:

Louisiana regent recommends all 3 Louisiana SunBelt schools drop down to FCS to reduce mounting deficits.

 

https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2026/09/30/regents-say-louisiana-tech-and-university-of-louisiana-and-ulm-should-drop-to-fcs-football-division/92011705007/

 

I know we've had the discussion ad nauseam on "is FCS or D2 better" for costs.  As NIL and related costs increase...is it becoming where FCS could present enough savings?  I'm still not sure (and in terms of local travel, D2 still has a ton more teams, though if half the MAC drops to FCS that mitigates a bit).

 

I just don't know.  138 is clearly too many teams for the "top level" of the sport, but is FCS too big a drop in revenues for what it brings otherwise?  We are losing some of the money game potential as the P4 are going to be playing fewer and fewer of these sorts of games...

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, exit322 said:

 

I know we've had the discussion ad nauseam on "is FCS or D2 better" for costs.  As NIL and related costs increase...is it becoming where FCS could present enough savings?  I'm still not sure (and in terms of local travel, D2 still has a ton more teams, though if half the MAC drops to FCS that mitigates a bit).

 

I just don't know.  138 is clearly too many teams for the "top level" of the sport, but is FCS too big a drop in revenues for what it brings otherwise?  We are losing some of the money game potential as the P4 are going to be playing fewer and fewer of these sorts of games...

Louisiana schools are in a much more dire situation than Ohio schools. They have less than half the population of Ohio yet only 1 fewer public 4 year school. UL-Monroe has an enrollment of about 8500. For comparison Akron is around 13,500. At some point if enrollment shrinks too much the burden becomes too great.

Edited Thursday at 03:58 PM by kreed5120

[GP1]

12 hours ago, exit322 said:

The asinine commercial length and volume is the worst thing about college football.  But ratings are still OK so they're not gonna change it.

The volume is horrible. The Army deploys  something called Sonic Warfare for siege warfare. It's the use of playing music and other types of sound so loud that it disorients the enemy. 

 

Last year at a Wake Forest game the sound system was so loud I couldn't talk to Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, between plays. By the end of the game I was starting to feel nauseous. 

 

My request to people producing the in person experience is to, please, tone it back a little. Just because you have the tools to use sound wave to the point I'm about to throw up doesn't mean you have to. I'm not the enemy. The volume has become part of the overall gross feelings I get about college football. 

[exit322]

11 hours ago, GP1 said:

The volume is horrible. The Army deploys  something called Sonic Warfare for siege warfare. It's the use of playing music and other types of sound so loud that it disorients the enemy. 

 

Last year at a Wake Forest game the sound system was so loud I couldn't talk to Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, between plays. By the end of the game I was starting to feel nauseous. 

 

My request to people producing the in person experience is to, please, tone it back a little. Just because you have the tools to use sound wave to the point I'm about to throw up doesn't mean you have to. I'm not the enemy. The volume has become part of the overall gross feelings I get about college football. 

 

You're not wrong, but this is the fun of the English language. 

 

I meant "volume" as in the number of commercials, haha

 

I don't think the Akron sound volume is too high.  Don't want them to go any higher because it's close, though.

[MDZip]

On 10/1/2026 at 10:05 AM, kreed5120 said:

Louisiana regent recommends all 3 Louisiana SunBelt schools drop down to FCS to reduce mounting deficits.

 

https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2026/09/30/regents-say-louisiana-tech-and-university-of-louisiana-and-ulm-should-drop-to-fcs-football-division/92011705007/

Translation: Let's give all of our money to LSU. 

[kreed5120]

2 hours ago, MDZip said:

Translation: Let's give all of our money to LSU. 

Already happening. I haven't fact checked, but I read LSU is running a $40 million sport deficit 

[GP1]

On 10/1/2026 at 10:05 AM, kreed5120 said:

Louisiana regent recommends all 3 Louisiana SunBelt schools drop down to FCS to reduce mounting deficits.

 

https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2026/09/30/regents-say-louisiana-tech-and-university-of-louisiana-and-ulm-should-drop-to-fcs-football-division/92011705007/

When I saw the Shreveport Times, it really got me thinking...... about one of the best meals I've ever had. https://www.ernestsorleans.com/

 

There are crab claws and then there are crab claws.

 

In any event, I hope this news gets people talking about the proper structure for college athletics, because the current structure isn't working for most teams. Things like this get university leaders thinking about and saying things they have wanted to say for a long time. 

Edited Friday at 10:07 PM by GP1

[GP1]

I would like to is offer some advice to our friends in Oxford. On Monday morning, fire your AD. 

 

The biggest threat to MAC schools is their AD and the ideas in their heads. If the option is, the guy is right or fire him, the choice is to fire him because there is no going back on the bad decision. Worse, the decision cripples the athletic department for decades. 

 

There are a lot of alumni stupid enough to believe the nonsense, and you know who are because you swallowed the Thomas and Waddell nonsense hook, line and stinker. Miami alumni shouldn't fall for this crap. Listen to your AD at your risk. 

 

Fire this clown Miami. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7641539/2026/09/29/miami-ohio-american-conference-acc-mac/

 

[kreed5120]

42 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I would like to is offer some advice to our friends in Oxford. On Monday morning, fire your AD. 

 

The biggest threat to MAC schools is their AD and the ideas in their heads. If the option is, the guy is right or fire him, the choice is to fire him because there is no going back on the bad decision. Worse, the decision cripples the athletic department for decades. 

 

There are a lot of alumni stupid enough to believe the nonsense, and you know who are because you swallowed the Thomas and Waddell nonsense hook, line and stinker. Miami alumni shouldn't fall for this crap. Listen to your AD at your risk. 

 

Fire this clown Miami. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7641539/2026/09/29/miami-ohio-american-conference-acc-mac/

 

 

Should have been fired when he proposed a $280 million basketball arena, but instead the school board approved it. They have delusions of grandeur in Oxford and the next administration is going to take the hit by having to clean up the mess.

[exit322]

43 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Should have been fired when he proposed a $280 million basketball arena, but instead the school board approved it. They have delusions of grandeur in Oxford and the next administration is going to take the hit by having to clean up the mess.

 

Not that we know anything about a boondoggle athletic facility.

[ZippyRulz]

On 10/1/2026 at 11:53 AM, kreed5120 said:

Louisiana schools are in a much more dire situation than Ohio schools. They have less than half the population of Ohio yet only 1 fewer public 4 year school. UL-Monroe has an enrollment of about 8500. For comparison Akron is around 13,500. At some point if enrollment shrinks too much the burden becomes too great.

 

Nevertheless, if this actually happens in LA one wonders which other states might be inclined to follow suit.

[kreed5120]

29 minutes ago, exit322 said:

 

Not that we know anything about a boondoggle athletic facility.

 

Yes, obviously our stadium can be second guessed, but it was at least modest in scale and price. The alternative would have been milking the Rubberbowl for a few more seasons until it was condemned then disband the football program since we'd no longer have a home. $280 million basketball arena is absurd. That's more than what Baylor paid for theirs and they play in the Big 12 and built it after winning a national championship. 

 

For comparison the newest MAC arena is BGSU and in today's money that would cost about $40 million. The projects Akron were exploring when there was talks of a new arena ~10 years ago were in the ball park of $70 million. Miami is building a P4 arena, but plays in the MAC. It would be different if they were a Gonzaga type program, but they aren't.

Edited Saturday at 11:52 PM by kreed5120

[kreed5120]

2 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

Nevertheless, if this actually happens in LA one wonders which other states might be inclined to follow suit.

 

That's a fair take as it's taboo to be the first to make those tough decisions. 

[exit322]

35 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Yes, obviously our stadium can be second guessed, but it was at least modest in scale and price. The alternative would have been milking the Rubberbowl for a few more seasons until it was condemned then disband the football program since we'd no longer have a home.

 

Are we sure it wasn't repairable?  It was very old, but it wouldn't have cost anywhere near $70M to fix up.

 

The biggest problem with InfoCision's plan is that it's just too large for what Akron is.  A 20,000 seater probably would have been ample, if even that much.

[Spin]

The costs included building a new stadium on campus. That was going to draw a lot of students to the games. And there were games in the first year with a decent turnout. They might have pulled it off, if the team didn’t blow chunks every single week. 
 

That brought back horrible flash backs of the Cleveland Cadavers at the Mosuleum, with their 15-67 records (more than once). Let’s just say it wasn’t the place to be…

[kreed5120]

2 hours ago, exit322 said:

 

Are we sure it wasn't repairable?  It was very old, but it wouldn't have cost anywhere near $70M to fix up.

 

The biggest problem with InfoCision's plan is that it's just too large for what Akron is.  A 20,000 seater probably would have been ample, if even that much.

 

A few things.

 

1) The stadium cost $61.6 million, not $70 million. I'm by no means an engineering expert but I have read studies were conducted and repair costs were substantial. You can maybe go back and find the studies if you dig hard enough. You have to remember the stadium was built into a hill and was a defacto giant retaining wall. Repairing it wouldn't have been exactly cheap and that's not getting into updating it, which would have added 10s of millions more.

 

2) Infocision seats 27K traditionally. The hill adds 3K bringing it to the advertised 30K capacity. Maybe they could have eliminated 5K-7K seats and eliminated a few other things and brought the overall cost to ~$55M, but it's not like they got carried away with it adding a bunch of bells and whistles. You have to remember when the stadium was built the NCAA still enforced the 15k attendance requirements. You really couldn't build a stadium much smaller than Akron did if you wanted to game the system. Akron didn't attempt to build a P4 facility at 3x-4x the cost of what is really needed. That's what Miami is doing with their basketball arena.

Edited Sunday at 02:44 AM by kreed5120

[ZippyRulz]

5 hours ago, GP1 said:

I would like to is offer some advice to our friends in Oxford. On Monday morning, fire your AD. 

 

The biggest threat to MAC schools is their AD and the ideas in their heads. If the option is, the guy is right or fire him, the choice is to fire him because there is no going back on the bad decision. Worse, the decision cripples the athletic department for decades. 

 

There are a lot of alumni stupid enough to believe the nonsense, and you know who are because you swallowed the Thomas and Waddell nonsense hook, line and stinker. Miami alumni shouldn't fall for this crap. Listen to your AD at your risk. 

 

Fire this clown Miami. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7641539/2026/09/29/miami-ohio-american-conference-acc-mac/

 

 

It's going to get really confusing with both Miami's in the same conference.

 

[exit322]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

 

A few things.

 

1) The stadium cost $61.6 million, not $70 million. I'm by no means an engineering expert but I have read studies were conducted and repair costs were substantial. You can maybe go back and find the studies if you dig hard enough. You have to remember the stadium was built into a hill and was a defacto giant retaining wall. Repairing it wouldn't have been exactly cheap and that's not getting into updating it, which would have added 10s of millions more.

 

2) Infocision seats 27K traditionally. The hill adds 3K bringing it to the advertised 30K capacity. Maybe they could have eliminated 5K-7K seats and eliminated a few other things and brought the overall cost to ~$55M, but it's not like they got carried away with it adding a bunch of bells and whistles. You have to remember when the stadium was built the NCAA still enforced the 15k attendance requirements. You really couldn't build a stadium much smaller than Akron did if you wanted to game the system. Akron didn't attempt to build a P4 facility at 3x-4x the cost of what is really needed. That's what Miami is doing with their basketball arena.

 

You could well be right.  $61.6M doesn't go all that far, even in 2008.

 

That said, I think we'd all be a little happier had they gone with the $55M option.  Loss of revenue for one game (the opener that sold out), and that much less to pay.  But, can't put that toothpaste back in the tube.  We can't be sure Proenza hadn't convinced everyone that they wouldn't need to game the system to average 15K...

 

(fwiw the NCAA enforcing this on Akron might not have been a bad thing, haha)

[exit322]

39 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

It's going to get really confusing with both Miami's in the same conference.

 

 

Especially in the PAC-12.

[ZippyRulz]

1 hour ago, exit322 said:

 

Especially in the PAC-12.

 

Actually Miami of FL may end up in the Big 20.