Leaderboard

It's a beautiful thing we all have different stories. Some fanbases all have one game, or worse none. Shows how spoiled we have been for great moments

Looks like there's a new marketing director and a new title. https://gozips.com/staff-directory/ryan-koslen/709 There's also now an assistant marketing director. https://gozips.com/staff-directory/josh-smith/706

If quarterback play lives up to its potential and the offensive line gels quickly, this year’s offense has a chance to be explosive, especially with the skill positions being talented and deep. Defensively, there are plenty of question marks up front, but this unit could surprise. The question is how long it will take for this year’s defense to sync. There’s enough talent on that side of the ball to keep Akron in all of its conference matchups, and Tibesar always has them playing a physical brand of football. I also expect special teams to make a bounce back this year, as there are players in place who should be able to not only make routine plays but have the ability to produce a big play from time to time. Honestly, I feel there’s enough talent on this year’s roster to win most games on the conference schedule, but this year’s lineup is more difficult than last year’s, so similar results in the win/loss column wouldn’t be surprising. At Wake Forest - Wake may be hard pressed to reach the eight wins they collected in 2025, as they will be working in a good amount of new starters. However, they still have more overall talent than the Zips. Even though I’m calling a win by the Deacons, it’s Week 1 and wild things can happen. 0-1 Vs Robert Morris - Robert Morris was probably better than their three wins indicated last season. Unfortunately for the Colonials they lost almost all of their production on both sides of the ball. Chances are they’ll struggle to hit three wins again in 2026. Zips win handily. 1-1 At Minnesota - Unless the Gophers are completely looking past the Zips and towards their conference lineup, this will be Akron’s second loss of the season. Depending on which publication is being utilized, Minnesota sports around nine players on preseason All BIG teams. 1-2 Vs UNLV - It’ll be nice having a strong G5 program come into InfoCision. What won’t be nice is the likely loss that’ll come with it. UNLV is expected to be a contender for the G5 playoff spot this season. Who knows if that’ll come to pass, but the Rebels will likely be too much for the Zips to handle. 1-3 At Central Michigan - The Chippewas should be strong along both lines of scrimmage and field one of the better run games in the MAC. There are questions about who will be the starting QB, but if the Chips figure that out, they are going to give opponents all kinds of issues with their power spread offense. Akron caught CMU by surprise last year and I doubt that happens again. Also, I don’t like the Chips physical style against Akron’s remade defensive front. 1-4 (0-1) Vs Eastern Michigan - There hasn’t been much separating Akron and Eastern Michigan over the past few years, and despite EMU returning a bunch of production, I suspect there won’t be much separating the two programs again this year. This will be EMU’s second road game in a back-to-back, and it could also be the highest attended game of the year for Akron. If that turns out to be the case, there will certainly be more energy in the stadium, which should help lead the Zips to their first conference win. 2-4 (1-1) At Miami - Miami has been picked as one of the best teams in the MAC again. If rumors are true that the RedHawks have the most revenue share of any program in the conference, then Miami should be fielding the strongest team on a consistent basis. The Zips have had issues scoring points against Miami whenever they’ve played over the past few years, and I doubt that changes in 2026. Miami wins. 2-5 (1-2) At Kent State - Zips shouldn’t have lost to Kent last year. They won’t lose this year. Akron takes back the Wagon Wheel. 3-5 (2-2) Vs Ohio - This could be the year all the coaching changes finally catch up with the Bobcats. Couple that with losing all-conference quarterback Navarro, who bailed out the Ohio offense with his scrambling ability an insane amount of times, and this may line up as an “upset” victory for the Zips. Ohio has plenty of talent, but QB play is what has set them apart in recent seasons. I’m expecting a drop-off and calling for a Zips win. 4-5 (3-2) Vs Western Michigan - Western Michigan was the most physical team in the conference last season, and that will probably remain true in 2026. WMU returns a lot of production on the offensive side of the ball, including the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Lowry. However, the Broncos are replacing a number of players on defense. At this point in the season, I feel like the Zips will be situated to take one of the two games between Ohio and WMU, so if I’m wrong about Ohio, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a win against WMU. That said, since I called a win against Ohio, I’m going with a loss here. 4-6 (3-3) At UMASS - The Minutemen should be improved over last year, and if they aren’t, their administration may be forced to make yet another change with the coaching staff. Especially considering how they’ve sunk plenty of money into the program, by G5 standards. Regardless, this is a matchup the Zips should win. 5-6 (4-3) Vs Buffalo - The Bulls lost a ton on defense, multiple playmakers on offense, and will be replacing practically their whole offensive line, although it won’t matter much by this point of the season as Buffalo will have already figured out what they have. Even so, I’m calling for another win for the Zips and a bowl invite, as this staff usually has Akron playing their best football at the end of the season. 6-6 (5-3)

Man, I miss Charles Guthrie. Goodrich is just riding his predecessors marketing wave.🙄

They really need to hire Ernst and Young to oversee this contest but my guess is the winner will be someone like Mrs. Mildred Wigglesworth from North Hill who buys season tickets to watch her great grandson Johnny march in the band and wonders why this coordinator person has to be so offensive.

Jon Gruden is entering the sweepstakes. https://x.com/i/status/2086203296415428906

Looks like another football recruit: Jayden Remplet 6-7 310 tackle from Kingston. PA!

Feels really good to have some positive vibes around the program for once. Here’s to hoping we can keep the momentum going.

I shared this earlier for our other commits so I figured I'd share Evan's as well. He's in the 64th percentile of wings in scoring efficiency, but is pretty elite at everything else, which seems to check out based off what we all saw last season.

Pads go on in one week. I can't wait. I plan on making the trip to Wake Forest and am very excited. I hope the QB pans out, watching the interview with Joe Moe he did bring up a good point when he said the QB has not played in a relevant game for like four years so there is going to be some rust to get off. He is obviously the key and it should be different knowing the team is his unlike the last two schools he was at. The position coaches are all great at making sure the players are ready to go and have been together for a long time with the exception of Mack at defensive line but they brought in some monsters so if the defensive line can get some pressure it could be an exciting team. I am really excited to see Aboor play and Williams (that man is huge at 6'6 340). Aboor was getting playing time as true freshman at Ohio State, he is older now and I'm sure he has physically developed if he is hungry, the pedigree is there he can possibly come in and dominate at that end position....

Goodrich's positivity and vision are much welcomed. You can't do the improbable unless you can envision it and proclaim it can be done. When Andrew was at USF he tackled attendance at football games. No one believed he could make big improvements for the usual litany of excuses. He had near sellouts of three games when the local skeptics felt he couldn't do it for one. It's possible at UA. This team has potential and more talent than in the past. They can go 6-6. With W's over RMU, KSU, EMU, CMU and UMass all we have to do is take one from UNLV or OU. That is doable. I think there is reason to be excited about this season. I will do my best to help sellout homecoming. Why not? It's better than sitting around complaining.

I’ve been saying for ages that Akron Kent should kick off the mac season. Best weather, most hope (nobody is 1-8+) and won’t conflict with big buckeye games

I watched some of the Freeman's game today when the World Cup was not on and Freeman looked good scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds. At the end of the game he was a beast on the offensive boards givning Minn multiple offensive possessions.

I just saw in an email from coach Nanchoff that after the current store closes on August 17th, a new store will open on August 19 and run through September 2. That new store will have gear featuring the A Star logo, he stated.

Can’t believe he didn’t bring up Bivens.

If he lands the jersey sponsorship deal, which would be the first in the MAC to my knowledge, his phone will be ringing pretty quickly IMO. I'm assuming his interest is already picking up with the publicity from this promo, but the jersey sponsorship would be a HUGE resume highlight. No matter what happens, he has been a home run hire and hopefully means we have a recipe for success to find his successor. In the meantime, I'm very curious to see what he has cooked up for soccer & basketball. If this is what he can pull off for a less-than-successful football program, what's in store for the uber-successful soccer & basketball programs?

Article about this in the Athletic One lucky Akron football season-ticket holder will get to call plays for the opening drive of a college football game. Really. Sort of. Which is a nice reminder of why we love this dumb sport. It’s a pure publicity stunt. Old-school, huckster carnival barking. On Aug. 4, the Akron Zips football program announced a promotion in which every season-ticket holder is entered into a raffle; the top prize is the chance to script play calls for the first offensive possession of Akron’s home opener against Robert Morris on Sept. 12. The winner, announced on Aug. 19, will get to spend two days hanging around practice and team meetings ahead of the game and consult head coach Joe Moorhead on the first 10-15 plays. The school dubbed it “Offensive Coordinator of the Game.” Akron’s athletic director hatched the idea. A briefly reluctant Moorhead — once an SEC head coach at Mississippi State and offensive coordinator at Oregon — warmed up to and ultimately encouraged it. Brainstorming ways to generate excitement and ticket sales for a traditionally disappointing football program will turn a Zips fan’s armchair quarterback dreams into reality. Or it might not even be a Zips fan. The promotion’s spawned enough broader interest that the winner could be a Robert Morris troll or podcast host. Either way, it worked. It’s early August, only weeks away from kicking off the season, and college football diehards are talking about Akron. It’s why college football is special. Athletic director Andrew Goodrich had the idea to have a fan script the team's opening offensive plays. It's led to a historic ticket surge. For such a buzzy promotion, it’s pretty low stakes. Robert Morris is an FCS opponent, and Akron itself is a humble Mid-American Conference squad, one most fans only watch in midweek MACtion or blowout losses against the Big Ten. Moorhead promised he won’t “let the circus roll into town” and will retain final say over the actual play calls. Akron is simply selling the experience. The sizzle. But it’s not zero stakes, either. The Zips have one of the smallest annual football budgets in FBS, yet it is still about $8 million. While that may pale in comparison to Ohio State pouring more than $100 million into football this season just two hours down the road, it’s a significant line item for a public university. Plenty of jobs and livelihoods are at stake within the Akron football program, and it’s still electing to pass the sticks to Joe Sports Fan for a few plays. That quirky fanaticism could only exist in this sport. The NFL and its professional counterparts would never allow it. Minor league baseball does it all the time, but no one actually cares about the wins and losses. College football is wonky enough to go for it and prominent enough for it to resonate. The Zips haven’t been to a bowl game in 10 years. They had a winless season more recently than a winning one. It had to try something different to get butts in seats. Still, a week after the Robert Morris game, the same Zips will play at Minnesota, a Big Ten squad with College Football Playoff sleeper potential. The sport really does contain multitudes. “Once the shock value wore away and we discussed some benefits, now you see (the promotion) spoke for itself,” Moorhead told The Athletic. It also comes at a welcome moment in the sport’s trajectory, when a bunch of not-so-fun nonsense is dragging things down. So much attention on college football is fixated off the field, or on an increasingly uncertain future. Congressional legislation and eligibility lawsuits. Transfer portal tampering. A head coach leaving his team in the midst of a Playoff run. Needless CFP expansion debates and Super League chatter. Then suddenly, the very same sport that takes itself too seriously reminds us that the fun, dumb stuff is what we love about it. An anthropomorphic Pop-Tart toasting itself. A winning coach getting dunked with a tub of Duke’s mayo. Pitbull partnering with FIU. Turnover chainsaws in Corvallis, the Sooner Schooner in Norman and Jump Around in Madison. Akron gave us a nice pop of flavor to cut through the glut of court battles. A one-off Akron football promotion won’t solve all of college football’s issues. The sport’s future remains murky. But at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 12, the Zips play the Colonials on ESPN+. I’ll be watching.

this is off topic... i never heard of this young man but his story his good and he still promotes a lot of zips football.. i thought some of you may enjoy it jawon chisholm message: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbn-uMpRO2X/?igsh=YzYxMWc3ZnNueGE5

They need to pass out prop gameday headsets or something like the 1st 1,000 fans get an Akron OC Headset sponsored by Turtle Beach, Logitech... something like that.

#8 in Top Drawer Soccer - pre season poll https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-national-rankings/men

I like his enthusiasm/optimism if nothing else.

Too bad @Zipmeister is seemingly on an extended hiatus...this is his chance to force the Zips to throw to the TE on at least 3 successive plays.

Tomorrow is finally here. Meetings today; pads and camp tomorrow. Nothing negative, I know there have been a few minor injuries I just pray these young men have a healthy camp and can start the season pretty much injury free and let the chips fall where they may!!!! Good luck Zips...

Yesterday I was on campus and did my usual rounds. For what it's worth: The renovation of Buchtel Commons is beautiful. The landscaping and pathway create a welcoming space all along the way. The entrance and arch leading to Buchtel Hall are impressive. On the other side Coleman Commons is a sight to behold. With the fountains now working it makes for a scenic place to take a walk. Fall enrollment appears to be up at an impressive double digits. Grad students are flat, but freshmen and transfers are up. Nemer's plan to get all deans and dept heads out to the high schools with our message seem to be working. Last year the football team had 11 of their athletes make their summer strength & conditioning goals. This year 51 have met their goals. Football GPA is at 2.94, the highest it has been in recent times. Those attending the first meeting of the football team described Joe as being the most positive and motivated he has ever been. His enthusiasm was infectious for all in the room. Soccer is loaded. There has been a slight setback with an incoming GK getting injured and possibly losing a season. The defense got the outside backs they needed. Goodrich has gone to bat for the soccer program adding Attila as a full time coach with a focus on operations and Bill as a GM with a focus on development. Andrew has said the soccer program will be the pre-eminent program at UA and he will not let it slip. Goodrich is highly thought of by the faculty. His door is open and he is transparent in all he does. Administrators feel we will go bowling. W's come from RMU, EMU, CMU, KSU, Mass and UB with the possibility of stealing one from WMU or OU. Some coaches feel UNLV is the best OOC team we play. They feel we will not sneak up on Wake or Minn. Crain's Cleveland Business ran an article yesterday citing UA as one of the best schools in the country (9th) for sports' achievement versus dollars spent. Go Zips!

I think Poof the Magic Dragon could be the real deal. UNLV playing a long way from home will take a 1--2 Zip team too lightly. Zips win. There really isn't much separation in the MAC. With 5 conference wins, Zips finish 7-5. In the MAC, injuries play a big role. No body is flush with depth. We all play a tough OOC schedule. Those early conference losses Cat predicts could become very competitive. Of course, those injuries could sting the Zips, but I'm still going with 7 wins!

I believe Shammah is new as well. Imagine the conversations being had among everyone there. The new guys need to be sponges. Incredible opportunity for them to soak in all the Akron winning culture.

I see we have three more 2027 football recruits! Owen and Luke and Samuel McGrath an OL from Roseville, Michigan 6-6 290; Ronnie Taylor an athlete running back from Cleveland Villa Angela -St. Joseph 6-0 200; Jaleone Carney a DL from Louisville Trinity High School 6-2 285! All three look to have good size and should help down the road!

Another clip of Joe. Interesting when he discusses their plan for building the roster and replacing players lost in the portal

My kids play NBA 2k and tell me that Freeman is on the roster and they can use him as a player so it makes sense he would get a check.

I do not believe that anyone has posted about a Belgium defender that will join the Zips in Fall 2026. Sam Bunch, welcome to the zips. Look forward to watching you on the field....starting on August 20th. https://www.instagram.com/p/DYjh4mfgXpY/

I'd love for the JAR to look like it does in that AI generated graphic 😅

Hoping we can use this thread throughout the season to list all of the polls and RPI updates. Zips at #12 in the United Soccer Coaches Pre-Season Poll. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-men/

The University of Akron's endowment has grown from $204.2 million in 2016 to $376.5 million in 2026 per the audited financials. That would indicate to me that they aren't depleting the principle on restricted endowments to cover operational costs. Personally, I feel it's a positive these small private schools are going out of business. There is clearly a student debt crisis ongoing and frankly a Notre Dame College wasn't worth the ~$50K tuition+room and board it was charging. Both Akron and Kent were ranked ahead of them academically in just about everything and you could attend either school for ~$20K less each year. If they were a Case Western caliber school academically this would be different, but they offered a lowered quality product at an inflated price. Schools like them going out of business should help strengthen the ones that remain.

Other than following the Zips, I've lost all interest in college football and basketball because of stuff like this. The extreme capitalization is ruinous to so many things. I'm just tired of it.

The 2026 Roster has been revised on GoZips.com. It appears to include only those players remaining from the Spring but does not yet reflect those incoming this Fall. It also has some uniform number changes, for example ... O'Rourke 7, Morck 8, Roman 10. (https://gozips.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster) I’ve revised the first post in this thread to reflect this roster and our Fall 2026 recruits.

I know I am going to get bashed for this, but Joe Moe has said they have the lowest budget than any other team in country. Apparently it is close to two million dollars. I don't think that is a woe is me mentality it is a realistic mentality and pointing out that something has to change. The Big 12 signed a sponsorship with Monster Energy and every team in the Big 12 got 1 million dollars sounds great, Ohio State just signed a sponsorship with JP Morgan and Ohio State alone gets 17 million dollars because all of their sports teams are going to wear a patch on their uniforms... I'm not saying I want the jerseys to look like billboards but any type of sponsorship money would be nice. Players that have transferred from JUCO and FCS schools have said that they had more at their other schools. I agree the only reason players are coming to Akron is to get the chance to play so they can go somewhere else. The mere fact that Gant stayed is amazing I truly hope he has a great season and it pays off, I think Hull could have left as well and got paid.

Congratulations to Thomas O’Rourke on making the final U21 Dominican Republic roster… translation: These are the DOMINICANS who will represent us at the Central American and Caribbean Games 2026

In Men's soccer, The coaches can only begin coaching 15 to 16 days before the start of regular season. I think that the actual first practice with Jared, Ger, Michael, et al.....will be around August 4 or August 5.

For those who may want to watch Remi Agunbiade, Jack Roman, and Matthew Paiva in the USL 2 playoffs at 7:30 pm tonight, I believe the following is free… https://sportsengineplay.com/USL/USL-League-Two-662798/2026-USL-League-Two-Playoffs/game/Flint-City-Bucks-vs-Peoria-City-Central-Conference-Final-2026-07-24?video_id=6a5e1aaeac813b6037971eed I downloaded the SportsEngine Play app on my Roku and was able to watch free last Sunday.

Now let's start saying our prayers for good weather...and a decent showing against Wake.

That's a step forward, beating out multiple other FBS schools for a recruit.

2009 - Without this one, do the others happen? (yes) got Keith his 1st (I hate Doug Penno and banked shots) 3rd straight MAC Championship game 5th seed (knocked out Miami for some redemption) beat Toledo in OT in the 1st round (freshman Humpty Hitchens forced OT with a 3) Nate Linhart, McKnight brothers, Steve McNees 4th straight 20-win season

The only one I could easily not choose is 2009 because it was very ho-hum. Double digit win vs. Buffalo (meh) and even though it was our first, there were no other storylines. 2011 was one of the greatest championship games in college basketball history IMO. Major rivalry, OT, 2 blocks to win it, fight at the end - it had everything. 2013 was an unexpected beatdown - given the Abreu situation - against a team that was in the Sweet Sixteen the year prior (albeit a different coach). Semi rivalry and a packed house in Cleveland with one of the best teams in Akron basketball history cutting down the nets. 2022 was awesome because of the Diss Track storylines. Major rivalry and an absolute butt whooping of PCCC. 2024 was hilarious given how it ended. Major rivalry, incredible finish, and the start of an on-going 3Peat. 2025 was simply an incredible comeback capped off by a fantastic finish. Semi-rivalry, big bro/little bro storylines, and the beginning of one of the most unlikeable teams in Miami OH. 2026 was 2025 but with an even better finish. Shammah's shot will go down as one of the greatest shots in Akron basketball history. The view I had straight on from behind Shammah made it even better, tracking the ball all the way just praying the distance was right because it could not have been better aligned. Not to mention prevented Toledo from ending their 46+ year drought. I voted 2025 simply because it was the first championship game my daughters were in attendance for and my wife was pregnant with my son so technically he was there, too. That being said, we've been very blessed over the last 20 years with incredible March basketball at Akron. Go Zips!

2024. I was at the game for 2024, 2025 and 2026, all epic, but the sheer improbability of this win against a hated rival in 2024 was my favorite. All three of those games had endings that unleashed absolute euphoria in the Zips section I was in.

I agree. If I remove my Zips colored sunglasses I just don't see him making the NBA at the wing position. Making the NBA is already challenging enough. Only 450 players in the world (which the NBA is a true global game) are on NBA rosters. Now taking away what he does best by moving him away from the basket just further reduces his chances.

The MAC season? They should play the first week or two every year like they used to when 25,000 people would be at games.