I vote Tom Reed covers all Akron football stuff

[Dr Z]

Little help, Mr. President?

University of Akron could sure use about $60 million to replace 64-year-old Rubber Bowl

By Tom Reed

OK, President Bush, the Ohio voters -- 51 percent of them anyway -- helped secure your re-election. Now, in the immortal words of Caddyshack's Carl the Greenskeeper: ``How about a little somethin' for the effort?''

We need jobs. We need better health care. We need about $60 million to replace the concrete eyesore that is the Rubber Bowl. Send the check in care of Mike Thomas, University of Akron athletic director, and consider it the first investment in your ``No Athletic Program Left Behind'' initiative.

The Zips, who have ranked no higher than 108th in Division I-A football attendance since 2000, would certainly qualify.

You are familiar with the decaying 64-year-old Rubber Bowl, aren't you, Mr. President? Someone had to give you a guided tour on one of your 250 trips to the Buckeye State in the past four months. You already have spent more time in Northeast Ohio than Browns owner Randy Lerner.

As a virtual resident, you must know about tonight's Zips game against Marshall to be played here before a national television audience. The program has one of the nation's best quarterbacks in Charlie Frye. The Zips have a bright new coach in J.D. Brookhart, who has them contending for a Mid-American Conference East Division title.

Only one problem -- the game is at the 35,202-seat Rubber Bowl.

As a former major-league baseball team owner, you understand the importance of a fan-friendly facility. The Rubber Bowl radiates the warmth and charm of Prince Charles without the royal lineage.

Any wonder why ESPN hasn't televised from here in 18 years? The university ran an ad slogan to ``Fill the Bowl'' for the 1986 contest against Murray State. The game drew 18,402 fans.

Network cameramen are forever looking for the Rubber Bowl's good side. So are UA coaches who must take prospects to the stadium on recruiting visits seven miles from campus.

It's too bad, Mr. President, because there are lots of good things going on at the UA campus. The university recently celebrated the opening of five new buildings: the Student Recreational Wellness Center, the Honors Complex, Simmons Hall, the second phase of the Student Union and the $12 million Athletic Fieldhouse.

How deflating it must be to show potential recruits all that progress and then take them to the Rubber Bowl, built in 1940.

There are some great old American stadiums and arenas still standing. This isn't one of them. The location is remote. The seats are uncomfortable. A climb to the pressbox rivals an ascent to the Empire State Building observation deck.

Then there is the traffic, Mr. President. For major high school playoff games, it's a nightmare. There are Massillon football fans still searching for a parking space for the 2001 state semifinal game against Cleveland St. Ignatius.

Unfortunately for the Zips, that's seldom a problem. Thomas remains frustrated by the program's inability to engage its estimated 80,000 alumni in Northeast Ohio.

Not fielding a consistent winner obviously contributes. So does the fact that the MAC historically struggles to draw fans. Last season the Zips ranked 110th in attendance (averaging 13,812 fans) out of 117 Division I-A programs. They finished ahead of four fellow conference schools, including nearby Can't State.

Thomas knows a modern, on-campus stadium would make a significant difference for the program and how it's perceived. He believes it could be done at a cost of between $40 million and $60 million.

A consulting firm that toured UA last month echoed those comments. UA president Luis Proenza, however, has said there is no funding in place to act on the project and he doesn't want to pass on a large portion to the student body.

That's where you come in, Mr. President. In two consecutive elections, Ohio -- for better or worse -- has been your lead blocker to the White House. It's time to reach for the checkbook.

It will be our little secret. Let's just tell everyone that ESPN, while removing those light poles this week, dropped them on the stands causing structural damage. You swoop in and declare the Rubber Bowl a disaster area.

It's hardly a stretch.