Banquet Tidbits

[GoZips]

The men's basketball honors banquet provided an excellent opportunity for gleaningnews about Zips sports. Here a bit of what I learned. I'll save the best for last.KD mentioned that Steve McNees will be the starting point guard in the Fall. I think hewill be pressed to keep that role with the talent coming in.Everyone was mum on Jeter with hints that he is coming.Rasor's mention of the six-seven kid in Maryland was poo-pooed as wishful thinking.Sat next to the web site owner/master of MidAmPub. He's a Can't grad. Disappointedthat all he posted today was a copy of what is on GoZips.com. I found him far moreobjective and to my personal liking than the snert who managed to get several Zips posters negative comments about his writings removed from his less than free speechboard. I look for more and better articles about Akron on MidAmPub.com Check it out.Scheduling is still a tough grind. No one and I mean no one wants to play AT Akron.Forty and two does that to you. Write your congressman. Better still, write yourfavorite opponent's coach staff.I posted an e-mail to Jim Rome asking him to get an on air interview with KD. Rome and Dru got tons of praise. Which in all honesty was not near as much as theyboth deserved. Both Dru and Rome spoke like poised, educated young men. Not asingle "you know" or "like" between them.KD expounded that both of them will be playing professional ball. I agree.Team spirit is in the rafters. Lots of kidding and fellowship. This is a team. Got tolove them.Asked a direct question and got a direct answer. When will construction on the newstadium begin? Answer: "with in the year".And now the best: Asked two key men in the Zips organization about getting out ofthis rag tag, rat infested, good old boy conference. Loved the almost identical answerfrom both men, to paraphrase, "we are working, oops, can't admit this."

[blueandgold]

And now the best: Asked two key men in the Zips organization about getting out ofthis rag tag, rat infested, good old boy conference. Loved the almost identical answerfrom both men, to paraphrase, "we are working, oops, can't admit this."

So where would we go? Could we actually move all sports to another conference? If not, we could do something like what Temple is doing now. Play most sports in the MAC and move basketball to the A-10 Conference or maybe Conference USA.

[Dr Z]

Good update. Thanks. I feel like I was there. 2007 NBA Draft Prospects List by school...notice anything?

[UAZipster0305]

You know, we do have a contract to host the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships through next year!:DI don't think a move to a conference less than the Big East would be worth it.

[blueandgold]

You know, we do have a contract to host the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships through next year!:DI don't think a move to a conference less than the Big East would be worth it.

I would love for us to move into the Big East, but I don't see it happening. They are overcrowded now as it is.

[UAZipster0305]

I'm assuming there will be a split into separate basketball (non D-I football) and football conferences. In that case, the Big East would be looking for additional football schools. I believe this would produce only 8 football schools if new ones weren't added...hardly enough for a conference. I think they'd have a target of 12 meaning there would be 4 open slots.I think Central Florida is a shoe in to join...leaving three others. Toledo would have a strong resume. UA would be a good third, but I'm not sure about the fourth.What potential schools does the Nation think would be good additions to a Big East football only conference?

[Marty Simmons]

The A-10 would be a solid place to be.

[blueandgold]

I'm assuming there will be a split into separate basketball (non D-I football) and football conferences. In that case, the Big East would be looking for additional football schools. I believe this would produce only 8 football schools if new ones weren't added...hardly enough for a conference. I think they'd have a target of 12 meaning there would be 4 open slots.I think Central Florida is a shoe in to join...leaving three others. Toledo would have a strong resume. UA would be a good third, but I'm not sure about the fourth.What potential schools does the Nation think would be good additions to a Big East football only conference?

Of course I would vote for Akron to be one of the teams. The most obvious choice would be Notre Dame since they are an Independent. I guess the other two could be Marshall and Memphis.

[UAZipster0305]

I don't think Notre Dame would be a member b/c they would want to keep their exclusive football TV contract. Although they'd probably be invited to join, they'd choose not to. ND has the best of both worlds with their own football TV contract and a member of the Big East for all other sports.

[Marty Simmons]

What do we actually bring to any conference? We do not have a winning history in either of the main sports and do not have a major media presence in our market, nor great attendance in anything. Until we dominate the MAC this is a useless discussion.

[Zips fan]

What do we actually bring to any conference? We do not have a winning history in either of the main sports and do not have a major media presence in our market, nor great attendance in anything. Until we dominate the MAC this is a useless discussion.

The MAC is the best place for us currently. The A-10 might be slightly better in basketball but as a whole the MAC is a much stronger conference. C-USA was rated lower than the MAC in basketball and is a parallel move in football, add in additional costs for travel and it would be a dumb move for the Zips. The Big East has made no indication that they are going to split or looking for new members. If they ever get to that point, you can count on UCF, ECU, and Memphis, being the top three in line. Their football and basketball attendance numbers destroy ours. We need several years with multiple MAC titles before this becomes a real issue.

[GP1]

There is an old saying, "Shit or get off the pot". I think that is where Akron sports are right now. I would have never said this even three or four months ago, but I think Akron needs to seriously consider two options.Option 1 (Shit): Make a full commitment to D-1A athletics and a big time conference. Right now, we are making a half ass effort in a half ass league that gets no respect. The Big East is the answer if this is the case. C-DOA would be just more of the same. Big time money, big time exposure would assist the program financially.Option 2 (get off the pot): Declare the move of football to D-1A a failure (shouldn't be too difficult to make this case) and move back to D-1AA and beg the Gateway Conference to take us. We could get into a basketball only league for other sports and go from there. The new stadium and fieldhouse could make us a national power at the 1-AA level.Personally, I would prefer Option 1, but it requires a whole ass effort. I don't think the University, Athletic Department or the citizens of Akron are interested in putting the effort necessary (actually buying tickets to games) to be successful in a conference like the Big East. As far as Big East football. We know right now that we are almost as good as Cincinnati as we played them well last year. I would like our chances against Syracuse. We'd struggle mightily against the remainder of the conference. As far as Big East basketball, we would probably get gang raped by that conference for several years before even getting to the low level Cincinnati is right now.

[exexec]

I was at the banquet and Mack spent a few minutes talking about what 'we" had to do bothe the ZIPS and the MAC-didn't sound like any move was in the offing.

[mcperp]

The Zips don't have many options with conference affiliation for football. The MAC is the only logical choice. The Big East just kicked Temple out for the same problems Akron faces, so the Big East isn't realistic.However, for hoops; one possibility is that the Missouri Valley Conference expands eastward and takes in Akron and Butler (from the Horizon). This would make 12 teams in the MVC, and they could split into 6 team divisions. Akron, Butler, Indiana St, Evansville, Illinois St, and So. Illinois in the East. The other 6 teams in the west. Of course that would be contingent on the MAC allowing foots to remain in their conference.One thing to be aware of is the changing nature of conferences. If the Zips move to the MVC, maybe 5 years from now the MAC will be as good or better. Looking at geography and budgets, the MAC might still be the best option.

[skip-zip]

Folks....I am as big of a Zips fan as there is....but...Let's be realistic. A "bigger" league is not going to want us when, in terms of PEOPLE IN THE SEATS, we can only get about 5,000 people to go to a football game, and about 2,000 for a basketball game.Can you imagine an official from the Big East coming to an Akron football game and looking around and saying to himself, "Wow, look at all this fan support, we think this school should be a part of our league."Unless we can change that, it's not gonna happen.

[Zips Win!]

Here we go again with another post exploring the options of joining the Big East! I just do not see why any other conference would want the Zips. What do we have to offer? Even with little to no respect, the MAC is still the best fit for us.GP1 wondered if Div 1AA was the way to go? Early in the LO tenure, I wondered often if moving back to IAA while devoting most of our budget to hoops was the way to go. After a decade (Fausty plus LO) of losing, even I thought it might be prudent to scrap the 1A exercise and move back. A good game here or a good game there might play out and then I thought otherwise. We went from basically V. Green and then J. Taylor in the NFL to adding more players with even more having tryouts. While we still did not win consistently, my opinion changed and now I want to continue playing D1 football.How do we make a full commitment to the athletic program? In a perfect world, the local community would support the team, the alumni would show up and give generously, local businesses would donate big bucks and advertise, etc. Unfortunately, NONE of this happens. How can we expect the MAC to garner any respect on a national level when 90% of the MAC alumni don’t care while many are more concerned with the big eleven. (Losing to Miami was another example—most alums were on to following you know who the next day and didn’t give what happened at the Q a second thought.) Winning will go a long way to changing attitudes, but we just haven’t be able to do it consistently. Furthermore, while I truly have no idea how the athletic department can operate when they are always in the red, but sometimes I wonder what they do all day. Over the long haul, many seem to be more concerned with what can I do now to put on my resume than planning for the overall long-tern success of the program. A little customer service would go a long way to getting people hooked to the athletic program. For now, the MAC is the place to be. Let’s start winning consistently and hopefully things will change.

[UA Fan]

We're not going back to I-AA. The Admin is committing to a new $60M stadium on top of $300M in academic facilities, an excellent fieldhouse, practice fields, softball field, etc. Yes, it's taken a long time to reach this point but give it a couple more years to see the transition to the new stadium and see what kind of crowds turn out then. Of course the first couple of seasons all the sight-seers will come and it will be crucial to get them involved and want to keep coming. As soon as that happens the drive will begin for a new or upgraded hoops arena and if/when that comes to fruition within 5-6 years, along with the improved recruiting & attendance, we will be on par with any program outside of the exalted BCS conferences. That is our mission, to forge ahead and outshine Can't, not relapse to YSU status.

[hoopla]

I agree with whoever said that we need to devote more of our budget to basketball. I hate to say this but our football team doesnt draw any support and they dont win. The only reasaon we won the MAC a couple of yrs. ago is due to others choking/injury. (such as the bgsu qb that year). And not to mention their inability to maintain a DI status. Then if I am not mistaking they build them $2Million offices? Not much sense in that. And I ask anyone, what is the basketball team getting? They deserve it. They are the program that this university is going to have to ride. Soccor doesnt bring in $$$. You have to go where your bread is butterd. Then other sports can develop from their success. ie Florida and OSU except at a smaller level.

[Valpo Zip]

I agree with you hoopla. Let me add to all what you said the fact that we have a winner who is willing to coach our bball team for a long time; while the only reason Brookhart is here is to step up for a better job.However, i know that this will not be a popular thread on this board.

[zipsbandman]

Exactly....Dambrot is the man. Loyalty should be rewarded. Basketball is our best shot at getting somewhere.

[Blue & Gold]

To be taken more seriously in basketball we really do need a new arena. Simply renovating the JAR, however nice the renovations may be, just won't suffice. But we've already got a new football stadium on the way. I think the train has already left this station. Maybe a few years after building our football stadium we can begin work on a new arena? Both the U and the city could really benefit from a nice arena facility.

[UA Fan]

http://www.buchtelite.com/media/storage/pa...s-2830624.shtmlSorry, ladies, football is here to stay and flourish and the local business owners are ready to cooperate with new stadium plans (see the above article). When the area is redeveloped and the Zips are nationally ranked you will understand and appreciate the direction we're taking.BTW, admins, since hoops is over and we're into spring practice, will football be rotated back to the top of the topic list soon?

[hoopla]

the way i read it just states that one or two businesses are willing to work with the university/city. in other articles i have read states that the businesses on the other side of the street ( the side the stadium is to be built ) are not willing to sell or move.and i am also scepticle about the reasoning for the fan base argument. yes i do think that attendance will go up. but i am not so sure that it will always be like that. you have to win for people to go to the games. the new stadium will only help the cause for the first 2 to 5 years. after that, no one will care to go to a game just for the 5yr old stadium. i dont care how close the stadium is to the dorms. if you dont win, people wont come.