Welcome Guest! Create an Account login email: password: remember me: BASKETBALL Latest News News Archive Schedule/Results Multi-Media Recruiting FOOTBALL Latest News News Archive Schedule/Results Multi-Media Recruiting MESSAGE BOARD Message Home - Ohio Basketball - Ohio Basketball Recruiting - The O Zone - Ohio Football - Ohio Football Recruiting - Ohio Volleyball - Ohio Baseball - Ohio Olympic Sports... - General OU Discussion... - Website Feedback... - Posting Policy Edit My Profile Private Messages Logout CHAT LINKS site searchcontact usabout usadvertise with ushelp Message Board BobcatAttack.com Message Board Ohio Basketball Topic:  MAC jobs ranked Topic:  MAC jobs ranked Author Message bobcatsquared General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Post Count: 5,668 Status: Offline     MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/7/2026 10:16:03 PM  https://x.com/TheFieldOf68/status/2008901017501360353 First takeaway: UMass for NIU is a good trade for MAC hoops. Second takeaway: Akron hoops has its strengths ($ donor, proven successful coach), but also has its weaknesses (financial troubles, declining enrollment). Is its long-term outlook the best in the league? Back to Top cc-cat General User Member Since: 4/5/2006 Location: matthews, NC Post Count: 3,999 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/7/2026 10:50:59 PM  quite the drop off from Toledo to Ohio Back to Top Andrew Ruck General User Member Since: 12/22/2004 Location: Columbus, OH Post Count: 5,465 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 8:48:48 AM  I still think we are the #1 job in the conference. This exercise seems a bit circular and these rankings feel a little revisionist to me. For example, Akron may be a top job but only because of the sustained success Dambrot built and Groce continued. If a new coach came in and sucked for 4 years, it would be a very dire situation to take over. To me, it is about a strong identity and brand, a deeply rooted fan base, a nice campus to recruit to and strong facilities. In modern times I suppose donor money is another factor, but I think most the time that correlates with all the other items mentioned. Andrew Ruck B.B.A. 2003 Back to Top M.D.W.S.T General User Member Since: 12/23/2021 Post Count: 3,398 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 9:15:51 AM  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. Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 15,284 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 11:02:38 AM  My guess is that if Groce had his choice he'd rather be back at OHIO as the head coach than at Akron. I think we should be #1 in that list. I'm totally objective and not the least bit biased in that assessment! ;-) The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top shabamon General User Member Since: 11/17/2006 Location: Cincinnati Post Count: 7,132 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 11:10:56 AM  NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL. Akron has some dude bankrolling them and doesn't Miami have Chipotle money? Back to Top M.D.W.S.T General User Member Since: 12/23/2021 Post Count: 3,398 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 11:47:10 AM  shabamon wrote: NIL NIL NIL NIL NIL. Akron has some dude bankrolling them and doesn't Miami have Chipotle money? I think it's Starbucks money now lol Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 4,462 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 11:57:38 AM  shabamon wrote: 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? Back to Top Recovering Journalist General User Member Since: 8/17/2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Post Count: 1,857 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 11:58:20 AM  It seems like a realistic list. With the exception of UMass, who I think will eventually be just fine, it's showing up in the standings. Ohio may well have the best campus and fan support (though that's clearly waning) but the lack of a practice gym and dearth of NIL money will hamper this program unless they're resolved. As for long-term issues like enrollment declines at Akron, I don't think those really matter to MAC coaches on the top of this scale. A contract is a contract, and if they have the foundation and NIL support to succeed that's what matters. Back to Top shabamon General User Member Since: 11/17/2006 Location: Cincinnati Post Count: 7,132 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 12:05:26 PM  Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote: shabamon wrote: 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. Back to Top Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame General User Member Since: 7/30/2010 Post Count: 4,462 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 12:12:19 PM  shabamon wrote: I have no idea, but it's why Akron is at the top despite declining enrollment and a lousy home arena. It might also be that they've basically lapped the rest of the conference in the last 5 years. Back to Top M.D.W.S.T General User Member Since: 12/23/2021 Post Count: 3,398 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 12:31:23 PM  Recovering Journalist wrote: It seems like a realistic list. With the exception of UMass, who I think will eventually be just fine, it's showing up in the standings. Ohio may well have the best campus and fan support (though that's clearly waning) but the lack of a practice gym and dearth of NIL money will hamper this program unless they're resolved. As for long-term issues like enrollment declines at Akron, I don't think those really matter to MAC coaches on the top of this scale. A contract is a contract, and if they have the foundation and NIL support to succeed that's what matters. 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. Back to Top OUcats82 General User Member Since: 1/9/2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Post Count: 1,904 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 1:37:41 PM  Recovering Journalist wrote: It seems like a realistic list. With the exception of UMass, who I think will eventually be just fine, it's showing up in the standings. Ohio may well have the best campus and fan support (though that's clearly waning) but the lack of a practice gym and dearth of NIL money will hamper this program unless they're resolved. As for long-term issues like enrollment declines at Akron, I don't think those really matter to MAC coaches on the top of this scale. A contract is a contract, and if they have the foundation and NIL support to succeed that's what matters. Just curious if anyone knows if there is a concept/vision for a new practice facility ready to share in case a donor would happen to come along? Ohio-The State University Back to Top M.D.W.S.T General User Member Since: 12/23/2021 Post Count: 3,398 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 1:54:47 PM  OUcats82 wrote: Recovering Journalist wrote: It seems like a realistic list. With the exception of UMass, who I think will eventually be just fine, it's showing up in the standings. Ohio may well have the best campus and fan support (though that's clearly waning) but the lack of a practice gym and dearth of NIL money will hamper this program unless they're resolved. As for long-term issues like enrollment declines at Akron, I don't think those really matter to MAC coaches on the top of this scale. A contract is a contract, and if they have the foundation and NIL support to succeed that's what matters. Just curious if anyone knows if there is a concept/vision for a new practice facility ready to share in case a donor would happen to come along? https://media.tenor.com/4_NsnD_mW_0AAAAe/concepts-of-a-pl... Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 15,284 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 3:35:38 PM  M.D.W.S.T wrote: . . . Akron is in a dire situation at the moment. They have tremendous operating losses every year. It's time to dust off the 50-year-old plan to merge KSU and UA. When first proposed it would have been a merger of relative equals. Now, it would be KSU acquiring UA as its urban campus. The savings in overhead with just one set of administrators would be tremendous, as would the savings in athletics. As I understand it, they did discuss this again a few years ago, so it's not a totally new concept that would catch anyone by surprise. I think to make it work you might want to give the merged entity a new name, but it's clear that KSU would take the leadership role. How about Ohio Polytechnic Institute and State University, known athletically as Ohio Tech? Both KSU and UA have good engineering programs that would be even stronger when mergered. The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top GoCats105 General User Member Since: 1/31/2006 Location: Seattle, WA Post Count: 7,650 Status: Offline     RE: MAC jobs ranked    Posted: 1/8/2026 4:22:59 PM  M.D.W.S.T wrote: Recovering Journalist wrote: It seems like a realistic list. With the exception of UMass, who I think will eventually be just fine, it's showing up in the standings. Ohio may well have the best campus and fan support (though that's clearly waning) but the lack of a practice gym and dearth of NIL money will hamper this program unless they're resolved. As for long-term issues like enrollment declines at Akron, I don't think those really matter to MAC coaches on the top of this scale. A contract is a contract, and if they have the foundation and NIL support to succeed that's what matters. 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. 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. 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