• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

Akron Zips (Official Thread)

MAC Football Program Ineligible for Postseason Due to Academic Struggles​

It's been a rough few years in the Rubber City.

Akron is an important patch in the college football quilt—John Heisman made one of his first coaching stops there, for instance. However, the Zips have fallen on dark times.

The COVID-19 pandemic decimated the university, and its once-reliable recruiting base has been bleeding population for decades. These socioeconomic factors add up, and on Tuesday Akron fans learned their team will not be going bowling this year due to a low Academic Progress Rate.

Academic Progress Rate measures term-by-term eligibility rates, with programs whose APRs fall under 930 receiving certain sanctions. A low APR in the 2022 season cost the Zips practice time, and an even lower one in 2023 will—in a rarity—cost Akron a bowl game this season.
 
Upvote 0

Akron Football Bowl Eligible for 2026​

The Zips received a waiver from the NCAA on Wednesday that will immediately eliminate their postseason ban and remove practice restrictions that were in place for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

"We are very proud of our academic progress and excited about the opportunity to compete in the postseason this fall," Akron Head Football Coach Joe Moorhead stated.

Akron's bowl ban and restrictions were due to the 2021-22 academic year, when a coaching change and roster adjustments caused the football team's APR to fall below the required four-year average. The Zips, who finished the season 5-7 (4-4 in the MAC), their best record since the 2017 season, were not only ineligible for the postseason, but also forced to decrease their full practice hours from 20 hours to 16 hours each week throughout the season.

Akron is now eligible for the MAC football championship and a bowl game if it gets to at least six wins.

The Zips last played in a bowl game in 2017.
 
Upvote 0

Akron Football Bowl Eligible for 2026​

The Zips received a waiver from the NCAA on Wednesday that will immediately eliminate their postseason ban and remove practice restrictions that were in place for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

"We are very proud of our academic progress and excited about the opportunity to compete in the postseason this fall," Akron Head Football Coach Joe Moorhead stated.

Akron's bowl ban and restrictions were due to the 2021-22 academic year, when a coaching change and roster adjustments caused the football team's APR to fall below the required four-year average. The Zips, who finished the season 5-7 (4-4 in the MAC), their best record since the 2017 season, were not only ineligible for the postseason, but also forced to decrease their full practice hours from 20 hours to 16 hours each week throughout the season.

Akron is now eligible for the MAC football championship and a bowl game if it gets to at least six wins.

The Zips last played in a bowl game in 2017.
In other news, I was named eligible to receive the Nobel Prize.
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top