CPAZip Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 What if we canned the football program and put our investment in BB. I am going through the same thoughts I had back when Faust came and the U had to make a huge commitment to football and Coach Huggins was given a clear signal that BB was secondary to football and he promptly left for Cincinnati. I had those thoughts as a member of the U of A football team. I know, maybe we don't keep Huggins forever, but it is better than running him out of town.With all the talk of a new football stadium. Fielding a successful FB team is difficult to do and there is virtually no chance to catch lightening in a bottle and suddenly become a national power. U of A football is second to last in front of Buffalo and just behind Can't in the NCAA DI revenue generation. Tough to perform on such a small budget.Why doesn't the U of A put some thought to getting out of the FB business and make a significant investment in the Basketball program. Fielding a team of 6 to 8 players is certainly easier than field 30 football players good enough to contend with the Majors.We are 6 to 9 years away from Boise State status even if everything possible would go right (and we all know as NE Ohio fans that never happens). We would be 15 years from serious consideration for anything more than an annual trip to the motor city bowl.We could build a new arena in place of the new FB stadium and it would probably see more use that the 10 to 30 dates the FB stadium would be used.You would also have more options to get into a BB conference. Hell for that matter be the Butler of the OVC or the league Niagra is in. You would get into the NCAA every year.Just a random thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanschapiro Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 It's a thought, but I don't think you can do that to the city. I am a young guy, and have been coming to Zips football games since I was a baby. I waited for 20 years to see the MAC championship, and I got to see it. If you remove this program, you take what could be a vital part of the pride of the City of Akron away from it's people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPAZip Posted March 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 All 4,000 that regularly attend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatwad Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Yeah, i think they're going to do away with football right after approving 120 million for a new stadium. Let's not get crazy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipsbandman Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 The problem is nobody in this city really cares for Akron football. It's obvious something has to be done. What if the zips were to invest in an arena instead of a stadium. I know it's not happening at this point cause we are too far along with stadium plans. How the heck can we get into a bball conference when you got football draining all your funds while the other schools concentrate solely on basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 We are on the right track with the football program. Never before have we signed 7 3 star prospects in the same class ( depending on what source you use). With the addition of the new football stadium things will change for the better. The University will generate more revenue because there will be more sporting event being held there (I heard they were talking about moving some of the HS state championships to the new stadium when its done). If we were to have a stadium on the campus, more and more recruits would be taking a longer and harder look at the university then we are doing now. And IMHO this next years football team will without a doubt compete for the MAC title. Our defense will be solid with the addition of new recruits, and our offense will come alone thru the season, but we have the talent to put points on the board. we will just have to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w00t Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Did someone just start a thread suggesting we do away with the football program? This has been a rough weekend to be sure, but let's not lose our minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zip81 Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 We fill a minor league baseball stadium just about every night for 60 or 70 some home games.I think once we get a nice new stadium on campus with the suites...you'll see a dramatic change in attendance...especially if we win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 The problem is nobody in this city really cares for Akron football. I disagree. People care. At this time most are indifferent. That because of the lack of commitment on the University's behalf to build and sustain a winning program. With the facilities upgrade, and soon the new stadium, I think the bandwagon will begin rolling.Basketball drew flies for years. Why, because Coleman Crawford and Dan Hipsher sucked. Now that Dambrot's winning 20 games, the JAR crowds are hitting 85+% capacity.Akron is no different than anywhere else. Win and you get 8,000 Zips fans at The Q. Lose and you get me, ZipWatcher and Zipboy...and maybe a few other gluttons for punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyrifle32 Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 What if we canned the football program and put our investment in BB. tell you what though, without football many of the other male student athletes can actually get paid (scholarship) for the hard work and effort they put in. that's the downside of title 9... everything goes to football.i still think we should keep football around though. it's good for the school and community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 The gentleman who posted this thread was just introducing "a thought" for discussion.I think what he is proposing is a Dayton-like scenario. Play D-1 in basketball, and play lower in football, therefore decreasing the financial burden. I guess it warrants at least a discussion.However, I happen to think this way....I was around campus back when we made the transition to 1-A in football. It was not easy. We were the first in the nation to do it. And thanks to some people who were thinking "big", had a passion for football, and the connections to get the scheduling and everything together to make it happen, we successfully made the transition.I don't want to turn back now. It's been a 15-year building process, and we've just now finished developing the training and practice facilities that we envisioned having back then. I bet that 5 years ago, this might have been a more viable alternative. But we're just now starting to see the fruits of our labor, and it's way too late to turn back now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Holy cow. Sorry, it's been a 20-year building process. I'm getting old faster than I thought. Zip81, I want to respectfully ask you when the last time was that you saw a significant crowd at an Akron Aeros game? I went to all of the league playoff games last September, and was really shocked to see the place about 3/4 empty. I only partly agree with some of you when it comes to dramatic increases in Akron football attendance. Of course, I do believe that attendance will increase with success. But I have a long history with our program, and I am not convinced that the increases will ever be significant. I don't think that realistically, we can ever expect to grow from our current 5,000 p/game to 20,000 p/game just because we're winning, especially since we will always be sitting right in the middle of Buckeye territory.But again, I have always hoped that I am wrong when I say this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 What if we get rid of all athletics (like we did away with block parties) so we can become a respected elite institution of higher learning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 I am not convinced that the increases will ever be significant. I don't think that realistically, we can ever expect to grow from our current 5,000 p/game to 20,000 p/game just because we're winning, especially since we will always be sitting right in the middle of Buckeye territory.But again, I have always hoped that I am wrong when I say this. I will disagree with this until proven otherwise. We've won nothing for over 20 years, so there's no relative history to base such an opinion on. Fluctuate between mediocrity and doormat for 20 years and you lose a generation of fans.The year we won the MAC championship we finished 7-6. That one-hit-wonder kept us on the charts as long as Wang Chung's. But, it did show that there were 15,000 fans willing to watch a 7-5 Zips football team play a game in Detroit.We need to win...win again...and win again. That's when the bandwagon goes full steam ahead. For 20+ years the University had done nothing to foster a successful program, or large-scale attendance. "You get out of the garden what you put into the garden." 20 years of ignoring the garden isn't overcome in one season.Facilities are in place.Staff is in place.Recruits are in place.Stadium is coming...Some in Akron think you can plant a tree on Sunday and begin picking fruit on Monday. It doesn't work that way. It takes a little time. Zips football will be a hot, hot ticket within 3 years. And the previous 20 will be a distant memory.Enough with the horticultural analogies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akronzips71 Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 As an out of town alum who was here when we went to the Grantland Rice Bowl (and got whomped by Terry Bradshaw) I must tell you this..Akron is and always has been a commuter school. At the end of the school day, everyone just goes home. There was never any real campus social life, most people just kept their old High School friends. B-Ball could draw some people, because it was on campus, and often on week nights after school. Once the commuter students leave for the day, they are GONE! When you figure how many full and part time students attend (25000?), and how many show up for a football or BBall game, it is just pathetic. The student body has always been totally apathetic about sports.An on campus football stadium will help a lot. Especially if they play the games on schoolday afternoons - THEN they will draw a crowd! The secret of success of the "big" schools is not a secret at all - they have masses of students living on and nearby off campus, and sports are a social event. They show up because, among other things, it is something to do when you live there.So along with a stadium UA needs DORMS, DORMS and more DORMS. Only then will we get attendance and respect.Cancel football - not when we actually have a decent program. Right now there are three Zips playing in the NFL, and the MAC actaully has contributed a lot of pros lately. It is not a bad league for us in Football, but sucks in BasketBall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Right now there are three Zips playing in the NFL, and the MAC actaully has contributed a lot of pros lately. We will likely have 6 in the NFL next season. Maybe more?Dwight Smith, Jason Taylor, Chase Blackburn, Charlie Frye, Dominik Hixson and soon to be Andy Alleman. Ryan Myers has hung around the Jets lately and Matt Cherry was on the Raven's IR this year. Luke is a long shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyboy Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Right now there are three Zips playing in the NFL, and the MAC actaully has contributed a lot of pros lately.We will likely have 6 in the NFL next season. Maybe more?Dwight Smith, Jason Taylor, Chase Blackburn, Charlie Frye, Dominik Hixson and soon to be Andy Alleman. Ryan Myers has hung around the Jets lately and Matt Cherry was on the Raven's IR this year. Luke is a long shot. we also had victor green who retired from the jets last season who was an akron zip.and did anyone see the nice article they had in todays beacon bout the zips, and how they are working to get the team chemistry that they had bad in 05 when they won the MAC. The players and coaches even let it be known that last year, not everyone was on the same page an there were more people worried bout personal stats. Things will change this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.