The Zips of Akron have created the rare national buzz for a MAC team after unveiling their plans to hold a social media night for their game vs. Ohio University February 2nd. The team planned to wear a new Nike jersey with the team's Twitter handle (@ZipsMBB) on the back of the jersey. The initial excitement was euphoric as I thought each player would have their Twitter handle on the jersey and the chance for @Tall_Ass_Tree (Demetrius Treadwell) to be introduced was something that the world could not miss.

The NCAA, hater of all things fun, decided the Twitter handle would not be allowed to be worn Saturday. The promotion denial worked as a benefit to the Zips as the national media wasted no time to bash the oft-criticized NCAA for another harsh crackdown on a meaningless rule. ESPN's Jay Bilas has consistently been outspoken on the NCAA's archaic rule and he was no different on the Twitter handle ruling. The Zips took notice of Jay's backing of Akron in their NCAA dispute and decided to send him his own jersey.

via i.imgur.com

Today, Jay received the jersey and it led to a slew of tweets.

via i.imgur.com

via i.imgur.com

via i.imgur.com

While it may not seem like much, it provided some national exposure to have Jay Bilas and his 434,000 followers with their eyes on the Akron Zips and their rejected jerseys. This additional exposure will hopefully lead viewers to Saturday's game (televised on ESPN U) which is surely to be highly competitive. The match-up with the Bobcats is a rematch of last year's MAC Championship game. Both teams are off to a 6-0 start in the MAC this season and are heavy favorites to return to the MAC Championship again.