Comments on: Zips fall in Sweet Sixteen

By: CK

CK — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:00:22 +0000

Notre Dame would have been a good compromise. Anywhere but a 7 hour drive to the opponent's home field would have been fair.

BTW – Why hasn't the ABJ interviewed Mack about this? What did the guy do when the decision was announced? Was it in fact a decision he ok'd? Did the Zips somehow get some "under the table" money to agree to such an absurd ruling? Why was the St V field suitable for the OSU game, but not for Northwestern? Would the NCAA have moved a Zips/Wake Forest match to Akron if Wake Forest's field was deemed unplayable due to rain? Or, does this stuff only happen to non-BCS schools? Was there precedent in this instance? Weather HAD to come into play in the past.

The ABJ had a chance to do some nice reporting, and blew it.

If I'm mistaken, please provide a link. I'll be happy to apologize.

By: Zipper fan

Zipper fan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:30:16 +0000

In terms of moving the game away from Akron, a neutral site could have been selected. Yes, it would be a little more work to find a NCAA school who wouldn't mind allowing the use of their field, but it would have been 1)more fair to the supposed home team and 2)better weather conditions. The game could have been played in Columbus.

Now, for the question being posed by everyone else here: What is UA going to do to make sure that this doesn't happen again?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:16:39 +0000

The Rubber Bowl can't be used for soccer since the new field got put in. The double headers were all prior to the new turf.

By: Chad

Chad — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:31:24 +0000

Utter disgrace and disrespect from the NCAA. Would this EVER happen in football? **** NO! It is absurd to make a higher seed play an away game, no matter the conditions. Make this the second major screw job the NCAA handed out in less than 2 weeks when they seeded Michigan State ahead of Akron in the initial seedings to begin with. Big Ten=NCAA? sounds like it. What a joke. This is why soccer will always be regarded as a joke. As for options, St V was a perfect setting with a perfect field and over a thousand fans rocking the aluminum bleachers for the OSU game. The NCAA didnt hesitate to waive their 50 foot banner over the bleachers or make their stupid NCAA announcements every 5 minutes over the loudspeakers. Total crap! As for the rubber bowl option, it is feasible and was used plenty before for soccer but it really does suck as a field and is as hard as a rock.

By: mrasor

mrasor — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:58:25 +0000

The Rubber Bowl has a curve in the middle of the field. It wouldn't work, from what I hear.

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:40:20 +0000

Instead of looking for excuses why Stiles Fieldhouse canNOT be used in a pinch for an indoor soccer game (you know…cuz it's like, WINTER when the soccer playoffs roll around), wouldn't it be more prudent and forward-thinking to investigate how it CAN be re-tooled for such an event. You know…since the UA program seems to be in the Top 10 every year, and such disasters (as we just witnessed) are BOUND to come up again??!!

Also, I know for a FACT that UA has played soccer games at the Rubber Bowl before. They used to have "double-headers," with the soccer game prior to a football game. So why THAT option wasn't explored, instead of traipsing across the country to a non-seeded team's field….is just mind-boggling. Does the UA athletic dept. even CARE about the soccer program?

By: GJGood

GJGood — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:46:35 +0000

I don't understand why the Rubber Bowl couldn't have been used. It wouldn't have been ideal but still the field would not have been an issue.

By: JRid

JRid — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:59:10 +0000

It wasn't the weather that was the issue; it was the condition of Lee Jackson Field. Even if it had been sunny and 70 today in Akron, the field's condition is what the NCAA cited as their reason to move the game, not the weather; the weather is simply what caused the field to be in such poor shape (along with poor drainage). Now, whether the NCAA's decision was fair or right is obviously a different story, but that was their basic reasoning. I don't quite understand why they couldn't play at St. V/St. M again.

As for using Stiles Field House, a field house really isn't designed to be a home field for anything besides indoor track and maybe basketball; it's not a domed stadium, so while it can (and should) be used for practices for more than just football, it is not suitable to be used for an actual game.

By: Zach

Zach — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:40:11 +0000

Having just returned from the game, the whole excuse of the weather being the reason for the move is utter crap.

The win was blowing wildly at 50mph the whole game, frozen pellets of surf coming off the 5-foot waves of Lake Michigan pelted everyone until they were raw, and whenever the ball left the ground, there was a chance of it getting caught up in the freaking jet stream and being blown half way back to Akron.

It's too bad UA doesn't really have the money to re-do Lee Jackson's field right now.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:05:47 +0000

And they built that facility sans the needed 6.7 extra yards to play a friggin soccer game? I'd really, really like an explanation from the administration on that blunder.