About Akron's Akron

The University of Akron has made the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning the Mid American Conference (MAC) championship. They were ranked fifth in the tournament and had to go through number 1 seed Bowling Green and number 2 seed Buffalo to earn the championship. Bowling Green and Buffalo were co-champions of the MAC regular season.

They accomplished this task by playing five games in seven days; but that's the stress teams play under in tournament competition.

They are going to the NCAA tournament for the fist time since 1986. The coach of the 1986 team was Bob Huggins. Yes, the same Bob Huggins that brought Cincinnati to the tournament several times and is now coaching West Virginia.

In my view, Bob Huggins is an outstanding basketball coach. During his years at Akron they consistently won 20 games or more each year; he raised the level of basketball at the university during his time there.

I had the good fortune to meet Bob just before his spot on a local sports radio talk show. I was heavily involved with soccer in the Akron area and Ohio at the time and appeared on a program with commentator Steve French that was devoted to talking about soccer and its development in our area. The "Bob Huggins Show" went on shortly after my spot and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with him before he went on. I've followed his career after he left Akron and have enjoyed his successes.

Now back to the NCAA tournament. Akron (ranked 13 in their bracket) drew number 4 Gonzaga for their first game. Most of us never heard of Gonzaga until Jerry "The Shark" brought them to the forefront of national attention with a serious run in the tournament many years ago. They have a strong program and are expected to put Akron away in the first round.

Of course, miracles do happen and those of us who follow Akron University sports are hoping for a good game and, yes, a victory. We will watch the game with interest and hope for the best. Gonzaga will be a huge test for this growing Akron University basketball program.

Go Zips!

www.JonWHome.com

In case you missed this last month!

MOST AFFORDABLE COLLEGE TOWN: ?? AKRON, OHIO!!

The most affordable college football town, with a 2008 average price of $135,780, is Akron, Ohio (University of Akron). It's followed by Muncie, Ind. (Ball State University, $144,250) and the University of Toledo ($155,900).

For the fourth year in a row, the Mid-American Conference collectively ranks as the most affordable league, with an average home price of $207,952. The Big 10 ranks seventh among the 12 conferences. The average price in South Bend, Ind., (site of the University of Notre Dame) was $174,000.

Ted Jackovics of the Tampa Tribune published an article on November 19, 2008 that caught the eye of a couple of my fraternity brothers living in Sebring, FL that they immediately forwarded to me.

The title of the article would catch any Ohio "snowbird's" and reads:

"For Real Estate, Akron Ranked No. 1 In This College Poll"

Well, if you're from the Akron a poll that ranks Akron #1 is something that will catch your eye.

The article was based on a Coldwell Banker ranking that points out that The University of Akron is the top ranked college town for affordable housing. According to the article:

The five most affordable college markets for home prices fitting that criteria range from $135,780 to $155,000 are:

• The University of Akron (Ohio),
• Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.),
• Texas Christian University (Fort Worth),
• The University of Tulsa (Okl.) and
• University of Toledo (Ohio).

The five most-expensive college markets: (average prices from $1.1 million to 1.7 milion)

• Stanford University (Calif.);
• Boston College;
• The University of California,
• Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; and
• The University of Southern California (Los Angeles

It is not uncommon for some parents to have an interest in purchasing a home that can be used by their children who attend college at a distance from their home base as investment property and, according to this article, parents can get the best buy in the Akron area.

The cost of housing at most universities is expensive and that cost will be there for anywhere from four to five years; maybe more depending on the age of your children.

Is it a good investment to buy a home in a college town to use as housing for your college student? I think it is since you can treat the property as a rental and take advantage of deductions. In addition, if you have property that can be used for student housing, you will be able to take advantage of the rental income it will produce to offset your costs.

Your student will have housing costs whether you invest in property or not. Owning rental property in your student's college town will help offset that expense and return revenue to you in the process. You can either elect to hold on to the property after your student graduates or put it back on the market and hope to get a return on your investment.