In contrast to the large, energetic crowd that attended the NCAA "Selection Show" watch party in 2013, about 300 people gathered at Rhodes Arena.
That was the last time the University of Akron went to the NCAA Tournament. UA entered the big dance for the third time in five years. Many supporters of the men's basketball program were devoted to coach Keith Dambrot, who set a 413-209 record in 19 seasons before moving to Duquesne in 2017.
Many still are.
But Sunday opened a new chapter in UA basketball. The Zips have officially replaced Page in the Coach Jon Grosse era.
Those who follow him - or used to follow him - should too.
The 13th seeded UA (24-9) will face the fourth seed UCLA (25-7) at 9:50 pm. On Thursday at the Eastern Regional in Portland, Oregon, Gross has proved in his five seasons that he is capable of carrying on the winning tradition of the Gips. That history also includes the 1984–89 stint of now-West Virginia University coach Bob Huggins and an NCAA tour in 1986.
Gross will lead his third separate team in the NCAA Tournament. In four seasons at Ohio University, the Bobcats went twice, in 2010 and 2012, when they reached the Sweet 16. Fighting Illinois appeared once in its first year in 2013, over five seasons in Illinois. Grosse has a 4–3 record in the NCAA, with wins over third seed Georgetown (2010), fourth seed Michigan (2012), No. 12 South Florida (2012), and No. 10 Colorado (2013).
Coaches are defined by the NCAA Tournament, and Gross is building a strong resume.
Gross spent four seasons at Ohio State from 2005–08 under coach Thad Matta, who is now the athletic director for basketball administration at Indiana University. During their time together, the Buckeyes reached the second round of the tournament in 2006 and played in the NCAA championship game the following season.
"It hit me last night after the game," Gross said, referring to the Zips' 75-55 victory over Kent State on Saturday in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship. "He said, 'You just keep doing what you do, win the conference tournament.'
"I had a very good mentor in Thad."
Over the past few days, Gross has frequently referred to Dambrot and the standard set in the UA, even as Gross twice defeated Dambrot's Gips in the MAC Tournament title game.
"His banner is up. He's been really nice to me, especially after I left Ohio, so some people I recruited in Illinois based strictly on his recommendation," Gross said. “I had a lot of respect for him and his teams and how he coaches the game and still does.
"The reason it opened, I was very excited about the job because of the victories he had won and a lot of it. He deserves a lot of credit for that. He had a lot of great players."
Romeo Travis, Drew Joyce III and Gimmel Ball, as well as players from the 1970s, were among the former gyps who captured the UA's MAC title on Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Hours after earning the conference's automatic bid, Gross said he had not heard from Dambrot.
"Not yet. I'm actually going to approach him and call him," Grosse said.
In March 2021, Gross received a contract extension through 2026 that raised his salary to $600,000 per year. He heads to Portland in the UA with a 94-58 record, including a 24-7 record and a MAC regular-season title in 2019-20, when the conference tournament was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"'He is the ultimate ball coach,'" said UA director of athletics Charles Guthrie. “The culture of his team is phenomenal. I've got to be around practice, go to the locker room for wins and losses and he just keeps calm. He is consistent and he prepares very well. If you have a knockout game, you want it on your sideline.
"I'm glad he's here at the University of Akron because he's a big game coach."
The idea of turning UA basketball's past on the page didn't come to Gross's mind, as he focused on preparing for his daughter Kate's seventh birthday, as well as the logistics and the task at hand.
"I don't know if I really see it that way. I want to coach the best team or teams that have played in Akron," Gros said. “I am not interested in another coach. I have great respect for the people who have coached here; [Huggins] and I have a good relationship.
"That's an interesting question, turning the page, I never thought about it."
There is no need to pass the torch. Not even the circumstances of Dambrot's departure cannot reduce his success and his impact on UA. But Guthrie, who took office on July 1, understands that some staunch followers of the program have not embraced his successor.
“Change is hard on a lot of people. They wait and see. When you put your heart and soul into a person or a program, when change happens you have to get used to it and embrace it,” Guthrie said. "I think the 2019-20 team probably won a few games in the NCAA tournament. I don't think it's Coach Huggins, Coach Dambrot vs. John. I think we've had great basketball over the last 20 years at the University of Akron." Have been very lucky.
"When you look at college athletics, every era has a special coach, and I think we're in a special era now here with Coach John. Coach Dambrot had a special era, Coach Huggins had a special It was an era. We're lucky to have great coaches at Akron University. Each era takes its own life. We're embracing this new era and we're going to enjoy it."
Perhaps at the next NCAA watch party, the more loyal of the UA will embrace it with him.