Wanted: Athletic Director; Must like Kangaroos and Spiffy Rubber Shoes..

Mack Rhoades was hired Thursday as the new athletic director at the University of Houston. He had been with the university of Akron for only two years but in that time the Zips have seen improvements both in the teams that they fielded and on the field that they use.

You really can't say enough for what Rhoades (edit: and his predecessor Mike Thomas) did in Akron million dollars stadium, indoor football practice facility. He was also in the beginning process of trying to upgrade Akron's Basketball facilities.

He did this while fighting some loud opposition on Akrons campus who felt like the athletic program which was losing up to three million dollars a year was not worth a thirteen million dollar subsidy.

To his credit in these regards the Zips have been improving in the area of attendance and this improvement was seen even before Akron got a new, and on campus, stadium. If you can tell the caliber of a man by who they beat out consider the other finalist; this USC senior associate AD Brandon Martin.

You can't stress what an accomplishment it was to so quickly leave your mark on a program. A good athletic director, especially in the mid majors, is very hard to come by and so far there have been no names floated for his replacement. But Captain Kangaroo over at Zip's Nation makes the case that Akron will have an esier time replacing someone like Rhoades than they had finding him.

The next 3-4 years at UA are a AD resume' filler's delight. The only tough decision to be made is regarding football. I think JD needs to win 8 games this season to get a contract extension. 7 wins is likely too few in a weak MAC, with a 1-AA school opponent on the schedule. But if the coach is not retained...Proenza didn't authorize a $61.5 million dollar stadium to lose football games. You can guarantee the new AD will be given a nice allowance to hire an attention-getting replacement. [Side note - JD will win 8-games this season. But that is another thread for later this summer]

As long as the next AD doesn't go "Kevin Mackey" (link to wiki for those outside the Cleveland area) and get caught with hookers and crack, he's planted his foot on the biggest, fattest stepping stone in the history of mid-major athletics. If things go as they should, the 3 1/2 year AD turnover cycle will probably be broken. It'll be more like 2 1/2. --Captain Kangaroo

Well so long as they are not caught right, kinda like offensive holding...