quite the drop off from Toledo to Ohio

Which coaches were polled? MAC or everyone?

4th is nothing to scoff at, realistically, I think OU is definitely in the Top 3-4. I think an aging facility, and our NIL struggles keeps ups down. Campus, the school, fan and student engagement, attendance, enrollment, OU is certainly tops in the MAC.

I'm not a coach, so what do I know, but without Groce over there, if both jobs were open I would be shocked if anyone would choose Akron or Toledo over OU. Of course I'm biased, but Toledo and Akron are in large part, commuter schools with declining enrollment and not really great reputation for academics. We're not exactly Harvard, but there is a level up in "prestige" from that aspect and a longer-term stability of the entire university.

NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL.

Akron has some dude bankrolling them and doesn't Miami have Chipotle money?

If it's NIL, NIL, NIL, NIL, NIL does that mean we've got the fourth largest pool of NIL funds in the league?

I have no idea, but it's why Akron is at the top despite declining enrollment and a lousy home arena.

It matters if things get bad enough they have to cut athletics to keep the doors open. A couple thousand dollar handshakes here and there for basketball won't pull them out of bankruptcy. Akron is in a dire situation at the moment. They have tremendous operating losses every year.

https://media.tenor.com/4_NsnD_mW_0AAAAe/concepts-of-a-pl...

I've been hearing this same argument on this board for years now and it still hasn't come to fruition. Until it's posted in the Akron Beacon Journal or Plain Dealer that Akron is shutting it's door, we better get comfortable with them being around.

Along with a deep-pocketed benefactor, they have another thing Ohio does not:

https://gozips.com/facilities/louis-and-freda-stile-athle...

In retrospect, Walter Fieldhouse should have included areas for basketball and volleyball.

Well heres something you haven't heard... LAST MONTH the university president called for a state audit of their athletic department.


And if you want some additional background from the Beacon, here ya go...

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2025/03/19... /


Kent State is eliminating jobs. Akron facing layoffs. And a -$30M year budget hole. It was -$65M in 2021. Certainly, we are far from a large university simply shutting down. That's quite a leap, but to pretend things are glorious and we should get comfortable with them being around because the basketball team wins 25 games a year...

70% of their athletic budget comes from student general fees... when you have less students every year, and you are cutting programs... but athletic budgets rise... you following...?

Everyone loves sports. Of course. But the reality is the reality. You have a $35M athletic budget, and a $30M budget deficit...............

The UA president, again - last month, brought in state auditors to look at their entire athletic budget. These things are happening. It's real. It's not an argument on this board. These are facts. You think coaches aren't nervous because a contract is a contract? Budgets are rising. Theirs is declining.

No one is arguing or pontificating; it's a simple fact that the university is on tremendously unstable ground and that alone doesn't make it a top job. This wasn't a public audit of their financials, they have state auditors doing that, but a simple laying out of facts. Do you consider this a top job? You have a lower-tier university firing staff, eliminating programs, institutional failure at many levels - except basketball. Auditors are going to look at the financials and say the same thing I just did. Winning 25 games in the MAC is fucking sweet. You know what else is sweet? Paying your employees and making sure the university exists in 10 years.

And I'm sure it will - but not without some severe gutchecks, that you think are simply arguments being had on this board.

If a basketball/vball practice facility is a reality, it should probably be where punchcard park is now. If added to Walter, then you've got a much worse situation making new locker rooms in multiple locations instead of having one, nicer one, with easy access to both game and practice locations. Or you lose primo parking to put it right next to the Convo.

The digs at Akron football are fully justified, but that facility hosts a lot of track events (both Akron and non-Akron ones). They likely outdraw Akron football and the stands are probably full at least a few times a year.