Staying Close to the Vest - Ex Coach Groce-related News and Views

[akzipper]

3 minutes ago, 1981 grad said:

I know there are a few people on this board with some inside information.  I would like to know why Groce made the decision to leave Akron which is at best is a lateral move.  Was it for more money, more money for players, a realization that he could not win a tourney game coaching Akron?  Or was it to give Ford an opportunity to coach and move into the limelight.  Just curious to see why Groce made the move since he always seemed to like the area and program.   

 

Maybe it was a mutual change of scenery situation. Groce was happy, UA was happy, but maybe both sides decided it was time to try something different? I'm probably just trying to make myself feel better. 3 MAC championships in a row is awesome, but 3 tourney losses in a row have been heartbreaking. Will Ford be a better coach? Doubtful. Will Groce win more games at Charleston? Maybe. But I think both sides saw the ceiling. 

 

If a big school saw our results, their coach probably would have been fired after the tournament losses.

[Illini Zip]

3 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

Tick tick @Illini Zip. Waiting on your announcement. 😉

Remember you asked for this…

 

Nine years ago I came onto this forum and expressed to you all just how good of a coach you were getting in John Groce. And an even better person in my opinion. At that time you were dealing with the departure of KD and I couldn’t say goodbye to a guy I grew fond of as the coach of the Fighting Illini. I really thought he would get Akron that first NCAAT win. I know the landscape of the game completely changed during his tenure, but I sure wish he could have achieved that ultimate goal. UCLA was the game, damn we were so close. 
 

As a guy who grew up in Illinois within a couple of hours of Chicago I support my local pro teams. I support U of Illinois. My alma mater is Illinois State and they stick their head up every once in a great while. Pretty basic regional loyalty stuff. Here is the great twist as I have gotten older. I have adopted teams into my fandom that are based on affinity. I don’t know Groce personally. I just connected with him on some level and that led me to Akron. And I will probably check in on him at Charleston too. It might be harder because I can’t find a legitimate fan forum for the College of Charleston cougars. It’s still so hard for me to believe he’s gone. Anyway, I have also adopted Ole Miss due to a road trip from Illinois to Florida. They are now my SEC team. The sleepy little town of Oxford fits my personality so well and I enjoyed talking to the people during my short visit. I need to get back down there.

 

All of this is to say people and relationships is what matters most to me. Zips Nation, you all matter to me. I have spent so much time on this forum and have never met any of you in person. Is that silly, pathetic? Perhaps. But you are still my friends. We have experienced so many highs and lows together. So I’m not looking to go anywhere. Now my positive feelings towards the new head coach are a plus. I met both Groce and Ford years ago when the Zips played at NIU. Ford was very personable and gave generously of his time. I think his hire while not a sure thing is a wise decision and I will be pulling for his success just the same. I will still be putting together the scholarship chart and if I win it big one day I will still build Joe and Jane Akron a new basketball arena with the best concessions. Thanks for the good times. And here’s to many more to come!!
 

Go Zips!!

 

 

[kreed5120]

Gather in friends, we secured our first commit of the Ford era.

[1981 grad]

53 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I'm not privy to any inside knowledge, but I saw this post by Sam Amico on 330togo facebook page. I'm thinking Utah was maybe Utah State as that Utah job was never open.

 

Thanks, I am sure we will learn more as this plays out.  I was on a flight wearing a Zips hat right after Cleveland and I spoke to a guy who saw my hat and he indicated that he was friends with Groce and helped with the recruiting of Oggie.  I now wish I had gotten that guys number.  He was very nice and we talked Zips basketball and he had the highest admiration for Groce.

[Let'sGoZips94]

58 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

Remember you asked for this…

 

Nine years ago I came onto this forum and expressed to you all just how good of a coach you were getting in John Groce. And an even better person in my opinion. At that time you were dealing with the departure of KD and I couldn’t say goodbye to a guy I grew fond of as the coach of the Fighting Illini. I really thought he would get Akron that first NCAAT win. I know the landscape of the game completely changed during his tenure, but I sure wish he could have achieved that ultimate goal. UCLA was the game, damn we were so close. 
 

As a guy who grew up in Illinois within a couple of hours of Chicago I support my local pro teams. I support U of Illinois. My alma mater is Illinois State and they stick their head up every once in a great while. Pretty basic regional loyalty stuff. Here is the great twist as I have gotten older. I have adopted teams into my fandom that are based on affinity. I don’t know Groce personally. I just connected with him on some level and that led me to Akron. And I will probably check in on him at Charleston too. It might be harder because I can’t find a legitimate fan forum for the College of Charleston cougars. It’s still so hard for me to believe he’s gone. Anyway, I have also adopted Ole Miss due to a road trip from Illinois to Florida. They are now my SEC team. The sleepy little town of Oxford fits my personality so well and I enjoyed talking to the people during my short visit. I need to get back down there.

 

All of this is to say people and relationships is what matters most to me. Zips Nation, you all matter to me. I have spent so much time on this forum and have never met any of you in person. Is that silly, pathetic? Perhaps. But you are still my friends. We have experienced so many highs and lows together. So I’m not looking to go anywhere. Now my positive feelings towards the new head coach are a plus. I met both Groce and Ford years ago when the Zips played at NIU. Ford was very personable and gave generously of his time. I think his hire while not a sure thing is a wise decision and I will be pulling for his success just the same. I will still be putting together the scholarship chart and if I win it big one day I will still build Joe and Jane Akron a new basketball arena with the best concessions. Thanks for the good times. And here’s to many more to come!!
 

Go Zips!!

 

 

 

BANG!

 

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, Illini Zip said:

Remember you asked for this…

 

Nine years ago I came onto this forum and expressed to you all just how good of a coach you were getting in John Groce. And an even better person in my opinion. At that time you were dealing with the departure of KD and I couldn’t say goodbye to a guy I grew fond of as the coach of the Fighting Illini. I really thought he would get Akron that first NCAAT win. I know the landscape of the game completely changed during his tenure, but I sure wish he could have achieved that ultimate goal. UCLA was the game, damn we were so close. 
 

As a guy who grew up in Illinois within a couple of hours of Chicago I support my local pro teams. I support U of Illinois. My alma mater is Illinois State and they stick their head up every once in a great while. Pretty basic regional loyalty stuff. Here is the great twist as I have gotten older. I have adopted teams into my fandom that are based on affinity. I don’t know Groce personally. I just connected with him on some level and that led me to Akron. And I will probably check in on him at Charleston too. It might be harder because I can’t find a legitimate fan forum for the College of Charleston cougars. It’s still so hard for me to believe he’s gone. Anyway, I have also adopted Ole Miss due to a road trip from Illinois to Florida. They are now my SEC team. The sleepy little town of Oxford fits my personality so well and I enjoyed talking to the people during my short visit. I need to get back down there.

 

All of this is to say people and relationships is what matters most to me. Zips Nation, you all matter to me. I have spent so much time on this forum and have never met any of you in person. Is that silly, pathetic? Perhaps. But you are still my friends. We have experienced so many highs and lows together. So I’m not looking to go anywhere. Now my positive feelings towards the new head coach are a plus. I met both Groce and Ford years ago when the Zips played at NIU. Ford was very personable and gave generously of his time. I think his hire while not a sure thing is a wise decision and I will be pulling for his success just the same. I will still be putting together the scholarship chart and if I win it big one day I will still build Joe and Jane Akron a new basketball arena with the best concessions. Thanks for the good times. And here’s to many more to come!!
 

Go Zips!!

 

 

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

 

 

Second time today I'm going to ask for unlimited reactions lol. 

[Zippy87]

 

I snapped this photo of Groce during warmups prior to the MAC Championship game. He sat alone for most of it, watching his players, but also looking around a bit, seeming to take it all in. Maybe he has done this before other games and I missed it, but he seemed to be different. I even told my wife it looked like a man who knew this was his last time playing Saturday in Cleveland. 

[clarkwgriswold]

8 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

Remember you asked for this…

 

Nine years ago I came onto this forum and expressed to you all just how good of a coach you were getting in John Groce. And an even better person in my opinion. At that time you were dealing with the departure of KD and I couldn’t say goodbye to a guy I grew fond of as the coach of the Fighting Illini. I really thought he would get Akron that first NCAAT win. I know the landscape of the game completely changed during his tenure, but I sure wish he could have achieved that ultimate goal. UCLA was the game, damn we were so close. 
 

As a guy who grew up in Illinois within a couple of hours of Chicago I support my local pro teams. I support U of Illinois. My alma mater is Illinois State and they stick their head up every once in a great while. Pretty basic regional loyalty stuff. Here is the great twist as I have gotten older. I have adopted teams into my fandom that are based on affinity. I don’t know Groce personally. I just connected with him on some level and that led me to Akron. And I will probably check in on him at Charleston too. It might be harder because I can’t find a legitimate fan forum for the College of Charleston cougars. It’s still so hard for me to believe he’s gone. Anyway, I have also adopted Ole Miss due to a road trip from Illinois to Florida. They are now my SEC team. The sleepy little town of Oxford fits my personality so well and I enjoyed talking to the people during my short visit. I need to get back down there.

 

All of this is to say people and relationships is what matters most to me. Zips Nation, you all matter to me. I have spent so much time on this forum and have never met any of you in person. Is that silly, pathetic? Perhaps. But you are still my friends. We have experienced so many highs and lows together. So I’m not looking to go anywhere. Now my positive feelings towards the new head coach are a plus. I met both Groce and Ford years ago when the Zips played at NIU. Ford was very personable and gave generously of his time. I think his hire while not a sure thing is a wise decision and I will be pulling for his success just the same. I will still be putting together the scholarship chart and if I win it big one day I will still build Joe and Jane Akron a new basketball arena with the best concessions. Thanks for the good times. And here’s to many more to come!!
 

Go Zips!!

 

 

Okay, okay, you can keep the bobblehead!

[Illini Zip]

9 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

Okay, okay, you can keep the bobblehead!

💯😓👍

[Blue & Gold]

8 hours ago, Illini Zip said:

Remember you asked for this…

 

Nine years ago I came onto this forum and expressed to you all just how good of a coach you were getting in John Groce. And an even better person in my opinion. At that time you were dealing with the departure of KD and I couldn’t say goodbye to a guy I grew fond of as the coach of the Fighting Illini. I really thought he would get Akron that first NCAAT win. I know the landscape of the game completely changed during his tenure, but I sure wish he could have achieved that ultimate goal. UCLA was the game, damn we were so close. 
 

As a guy who grew up in Illinois within a couple of hours of Chicago I support my local pro teams. I support U of Illinois. My alma mater is Illinois State and they stick their head up every once in a great while. Pretty basic regional loyalty stuff. Here is the great twist as I have gotten older. I have adopted teams into my fandom that are based on affinity. I don’t know Groce personally. I just connected with him on some level and that led me to Akron. And I will probably check in on him at Charleston too. It might be harder because I can’t find a legitimate fan forum for the College of Charleston cougars. It’s still so hard for me to believe he’s gone. Anyway, I have also adopted Ole Miss due to a road trip from Illinois to Florida. They are now my SEC team. The sleepy little town of Oxford fits my personality so well and I enjoyed talking to the people during my short visit. I need to get back down there.

 

All of this is to say people and relationships is what matters most to me. Zips Nation, you all matter to me. I have spent so much time on this forum and have never met any of you in person. Is that silly, pathetic? Perhaps. But you are still my friends. We have experienced so many highs and lows together. So I’m not looking to go anywhere. Now my positive feelings towards the new head coach are a plus. I met both Groce and Ford years ago when the Zips played at NIU. Ford was very personable and gave generously of his time. I think his hire while not a sure thing is a wise decision and I will be pulling for his success just the same. I will still be putting together the scholarship chart and if I win it big one day I will still build Joe and Jane Akron a new basketball arena with the best concessions. Thanks for the good times. And here’s to many more to come!!
 

Go Zips!!

 

 

[RoyalBlu]

The plus CofC is getting in Gross is a coach who has learned how important 'culture' is. along with talent ... and when to shy away from talent that does not mesh with culture. There are a lot of players at Ohio, Illinois and early on at Akron that taught Gross to shy away from as he career goes forward.

 

[Zippy87]

Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston.
"I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together."
Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor.
Here are highlights from those conversations:

Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston?
Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move.

Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce, losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
"The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Anrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts.
"They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things." Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year.
Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025. Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question.
Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball? "I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful."

Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision
Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA.
"I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said.
However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does.
"I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true."

To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White.
"When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true.
"When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football."

University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says
Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay.
No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron).
"This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later."

Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group.
"The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million."
Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere.
"No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it.
"If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters."

Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach?
Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston.
"He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'"
Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26).
Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff.

A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades.
"We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team.
"As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs."

Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees.
Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process.
"He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box.
"In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family."

Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey.
"Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."

Edited 2 hours ago by Zippy87

[a-zip]

25 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor.

That quote from Groce tells you attendance and support from the fans IS VERY IMPORTANT to him!  'high care factor"

[kreed5120]

37 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston.
"I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together."
Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor.
Here are highlights from those conversations:

Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston?
Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move.

Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce, losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
"The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Anrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts.
"They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things." Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year.
Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025. Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question.
Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball? "I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful."

Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision
Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA.
"I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said.
However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does.
"I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true."

To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White.
"When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true.
"When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football."

University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says
Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay.
No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron).
"This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later."

Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group.
"The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million."
Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere.
"No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it.
"If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters."

Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach?
Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston.
"He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'"
Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26).
Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff.

A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades.
"We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team.
"As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs."

Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees.
Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process.
"He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box.
"In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family."

Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey.
"Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."

 

A lot to unpack here. I don't really care to get i to dissecting it now, but I might jump in and say things if others comment.

 

I appreciate much of the honesty displayed by Goodrich and Groce here. 

[ZipsBBjunkie]

Well appears a hefty raise wasn’t the primary driver of the decision. 
 

 

 

[Zippy87]

What I heard - budget was cut last year and was going to be again this year. Travel budget, in particular, was an issue to Groce. 

[kreed5120]

7 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

What I heard - budget was cut last year and was going to be again this year. Travel budget, in particular, was an issue to Groce. 

 

Surprised a bit about the travel budget just because most of the schools in the MAC are within bus range. One of the ones that wasn't is is leaving the conference so I suppose there is a reduction there. Maybe it more impacted the OOC travel.

[Reslife4Life]

2 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston.
"I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together."
Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor.
Here are highlights from those conversations:

Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston?
Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move.

Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce, losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
"The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Anrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts.
"They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things." Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year.
Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025. Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question.
Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball? "I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful."

Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision
Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA.
"I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said.
However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does.
"I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true."

To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White.
"When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true.
"When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football."

University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says
Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay.
No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron).
"This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later."

Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group.
"The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million."
Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere.
"No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it.
"If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters."

Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach?
Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston.
"He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'"
Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26).
Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff.

A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades.
"We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team.
"As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs."

Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees.
Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process.
"He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box.
"In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family."

Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey.
"Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."

Makes me really appreciate goodrich here. What he says here scares me though, thank God Embick just signed a contract extension. This also gives gensler some really nice job security

[Reslife4Life]

1 minute ago, kreed5120 said:

 

Surprised a bit about the travel budget just because most of the schools in the MAC are within bus range. One of the ones that wasn't is is leaving the conference so I suppose there is a reduction there. Maybe it more impacted the OOC travel.

We might be looking at another "Akron Basketball Classic" next year

[Let'sGoZips94]

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said:

We might be looking at another "Akron Basketball Classic" next year

 

Wouldn't mind that assuming the rest of the OOC schedule included some stiffer competition. The last ABC saw some very competitive basketball programs, I think all but 1 reaching their conference tournament final and a couple (including Akron) making the NCAAT.

 

The University would need to get more creative with promoting it, though, and making it a better event overall. 

Edited 6 minutes ago by Let'sGoZips94

[zippyfan34]

Do we know which coaches are following Groce and which are choosing to stay with Dustin?

[kreed5120]

5 minutes ago, Reslife4Life said:

We might be looking at another "Akron Basketball Classic" next year

 

I imagine those aren't exactly cheap to host. Even though they were low majors we probably had to cover each teams cost and give them a little bit of money to make it worth their while.

 

You're probably right about us exploring a less costly MTE. Maybe someplace like WV that Kent played in last year.

Edited 3 minutes ago by kreed5120