Akron to play Ohio State to open the 2024 season

[Lee Adams]

On 11/24/2023 at 9:56 AM, Hilltopper said:

Sometimes sacrifices must be made in the short term to get where you want to be in life. Short of finding some other donors like Matt Kaulig, this is the only way to get the funds needed. Akron is not exactly brimming with deep pocketed corporate donors. Dr Miller has spent his entire tenure trying to get the finances of UA under control. He has made significant progress with more to come. Guthrie has done the same in the athletic department. Change in large entities is hard and sometimes people don't like the changes. See the complaints on here about paying for parking or the menu at the club level. Sometimes, you can't have your cake and eat it too!

But what about the football program which has been bad for years?

[Lee Adams]

On 11/23/2023 at 4:34 PM, GP1 said:

You shouldn't renew them. Joe Akron hasn't asked for much for a long time. The University is stealing money from Joe Akron who just wants to see a good football game and have a nice day at a game. If you feel the urge to go, go stand around and wait for someone to give you a free ticket. You can basically sit just about anywhere you want. 

 

My advice to anyone who wants to financially support the University is to find a scholarship that gives money directly to needy students and donate. 

I have had season tix since the early 90's. My wife and I go back and forth every year about renew or not. I renewd just to support the program. But, I think next season we will just buy GA's when we want to go. The athletic department lets non season ticket holders sit in our reserve section anyway. Bad way to run a railroad if you are in the college athletics business.

And, cut the crap with the sacrifice games. They have been doing it for years with no appreciable positive results on the field.

[GJGood]

41 minutes ago, Lee Adams said:

I have had season tix since the early 90's. My wife and I go back and forth every year about renew or not. I renewd just to support the program. But, I think next season we will just buy GA's when we want to go. The athletic department lets non season ticket holders sit in our reserve section anyway. Bad way to run a railroad if you are in the college athletics business.

And, cut the crap with the sacrifice games. They have been doing it for years with no appreciable positive results on the field.

I don’t mind Akron playing a game at a school like Ohio State or Tennessee at face value. It makes financial sense and actually can be a recruiting tool but I do not like it in place of a home game with a SEC school or in a year where you are already playing on the road at two “P5” schools. That is too much.
I realize it was most likely UK that pulled out of the matchup in Akron and it seems wrong that they would be able to do so at such a late juncture that would make it tough for Akron to schedule a “name” program at home.

While we all lament the things that happen to the Akron football program regularly there is something wrong with the bigger NCAA landscape which looks to coddle it’s more popular members. 
 

I hope at some point college sports fans unite and start seeing how wrong and unfair things are becoming in college sports but we are in a world and society that has increasingly become more and more about greed and superfluousness over fairness and what may be best in the long term.

[clarkwgriswold]

OSU paid YSU $800,000 to play this season.  I assume the Zips will make a similar amount plus a large payout from Kentucky for the buyout.  I suspect UA may reconsider if someone's willing to cut them a check for a million or so.  I don't like them getting peeled and being the sacrificial lambs, but hell they're getting peeled by MAC teams for free.  Of the litany of things that are wrong with this program the schedule is one of the lesser of my concerns.

[GP1]

5 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

But what about the football program which has been bad for years?

The problem at Akron is they aren't good at maintaining the program whether in the form of facilities or people. It drives them to make bad decisions in order to maintain the program. There are many, many, many programs at our level who are good at the maintenance part while winning. Miami, OU and Toledo come to mind. 

 

The "Building Process" Hilltopper references is a smoke scene thrown in front of you in hopes you don't notice the bad management.  It's death by a thousand cuts. 

[UAZipster0305]

On 11/24/2023 at 12:21 PM, ewbrooman1 said:

I can't read article, but maybe  they could think inside the box and play games on Saturday and field winning teams and stop scheduling rivalry games during midweek. Geez. 🙄

Kent State should be the first game of the season, every season, and it should be played on a late Saturday afternoon...presumably good weather and all day for tailgating. It's the only way for the rivalry to mean anything more than pride. This way, the season isn't yet sunk, and one team starts off with a winning record and some momentum while the other will likely not have their head above water the rest of the season. Given the current status and long abysmal histories of each program, I don't think there is a better way to feature the rivalry and garner alumni/fan interest and attendance.

Edited November 26, 2023 by UAZipster0305

[UAZipster0305]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:02 PM, Sergeant Zip said:

 

Then why bother paying to maintain a nice on-campus stadium. NFL stadiums are a huge waste of money with only 9-11 home games per year. How can four games later in the season after establishing a losing record be justified?!

[GP1]

On 11/24/2023 at 11:55 AM, zippy5 said:

JFC. Cancel a home game vs an SEC team and then three days later complain about attendance and suggest we play neutral site games in Florida. We are so stupid 

 

 

 

 

I just saw this and laughed at the stupidity of the Tweet. 

 

I think they should start thinking outside of the box by stop letting the television networks do their thinking for them. 

[GP1]

Here is some more thinking outside of the box. Feature a MAC vs Sun Belt weekend the week before what is called Week Zero. 

 

Here is some more. Stop making revenue generation the driving factor in every decision. It's a public institution. Make benefiting the public the driving factor. Hint: Florida isn't Ohio. 

[Spin]

This is starting to smell like budget cuts, like baseball saw last season. 
 

Are other mid majors prostituting themselves out multiple times a season to pay the bills?
 

I remember when the Dialer opened and the team was bowling and making positive news. I remember respectable crowds showing up. I remember decent (not great) stuff going along with the game to keep people interested.
 

Now it seems we’re prostituting our players to keep the athletic department going. If the Browns offered a million dollars and a ham sandwich we’d probably play them too. 
 

 

 

[zippy5]

53 minutes ago, Spin said:

This is starting to smell like budget cuts, like baseball saw last season. 
 

Are other mid majors prostituting themselves out multiple times a season to pay the bills?
 

I remember when the Dialer opened and the team was bowling and making positive news. I remember respectable crowds showing up. I remember decent (not great) stuff going along with the game to keep people interested.
 

Now it seems we’re prostituting our players to keep the athletic department going. If the Browns offered a million dollars and a ham sandwich we’d probably play them too. 
 

 

 

We were 3-9, 1-11, 1-11 and 1-11 in the first four years of the stadium 

[Blue & Gold]

 

[GP1]

Thinking outside of the box would be to benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron in lieu of television networks. 

[dre22era]

On 11/25/2023 at 11:30 AM, zippy5 said:

Kentucky isn't power 5?

Kentucky ain't Ohio State 

[clarkwgriswold]

I know if I lived in Florida I would yearn to go see a MAC team on a weekday night over a weekend game for Miami, Florida State, Florida, Jacksonville State, Central Florida.....

[GP1]

7 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I know if I lived in Florida I would yearn to go see a MAC team on a weekday night over a weekend game for Miami, Florida State, Florida, Jacksonville State, Central Florida.....

It's pretty freaking hot in Florida. These games would be early season when most snowbirds are up north and the rest of the state is hiding from the heat inside. I'd be hard pressed to go to one. 

[clarkwgriswold]

2 hours ago, GP1 said:

Here is some more. Stop making revenue generation the driving factor in every decision. It's a public institution. Make benefiting the public the driving factor. Hint: Florida isn't Ohio. 

Agreed, but at the same time the athletics programs have to demonstrate some level of financial responsibility rather than be a huge financial drain on an academic institution.  Right now, for return on investment, the football program is the worst investment on the campus.  I don't expect the program to make money or even break even, but in its current state it's bringing little or nothing to the campus or community other than for the most loyal diehard fans who make it a regular part of their lives.  With cockamamie ideas from leadership like neutral site games and seat tarping as proposed solutions, I can't see it getting better.

[GP1]

41 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 I don't expect the program to make money or even break even, but in its current state it's bringing little or nothing to the campus or community other than for the most loyal diehard fans who make it a regular part of their lives.

Good post. This is the real problem. 

 

If they made the athletic department a benefit to those on campus, those who have been on campus and the community, the financial losses would be more acceptable. 

 

It's never going to break even. The athletic department is a public service and I mean that for the entire MAC. Treat it as such and give the public access to what they are already paying for. The worst thing that can happen to college athletics is if the general public realizes how much they are paying for it and how little they are getting out of it. 

[LZIp]

Fun fact: Jacksonville State is actually in Alabama.

[clarkwgriswold]

16 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Good post. This is the real problem. 

 

If they made the athletic department a benefit to those on campus, those who have been on campus and the community, the financial losses would be more acceptable. 

 

It's never going to break even. The athletic department is a public service and I mean that for the entire MAC. Treat it as such and give the public access to what they are already paying for. The worst thing that can happen to college athletics is if the general public realizes how much they are paying for it and how little they are getting out of it. 

Youth night on a weeknight in November goes a long way towards being a community asset.

[Spin]

2 hours ago, zippy5 said:

We were 3-9, 1-11, 1-11 and 1-11 in the first four years of the stadium 

In 2015 the Zips had a 8-5 5-3 record and won the Idaho Potatoes Bowl.

In 2017 the Zips won the MAC East with a 7-7 6-2 record and played in the Boca Raton Bowl.

 

Who wouldn’t take that over 5-37 since Bowden was fired?

 

[Spin]

One thing we can all, agree on, between the local college team and local pro team we have seen some C R A P football the past few decades. I’m using a LOT of restraint describing it cuz I like this place

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Spin
Typo

[zippy5]

3 hours ago, Spin said:

In 2015 the Zips had a 8-5 5-3 record and won the Idaho Potatoes Bowl.

In 2017 the Zips won the MAC East with a 7-7 6-2 record and played in the Boca Raton Bowl.

 

Who wouldn’t take that over 5-37 since Bowden was fired?

 

The post I quoted referenced success coinciding with the new stadium 

[dre22era]

Bunch a grumpy old men.

How about go ask your kids and grand children's opinion on the subject. 

[MangoZip]

For everyone losing their sh*t because of the 2024 out of conference schedule, what do you think about 2025? Seems to be a really good blend of winnable games with a great venue payday mixed in. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by MangoZip