Akron’s tiny athletic budget is producing outsized results

[kreed5120]

This article is dated August 3, 2026, but Zips social media just shared it and I saw no mention of it. Lots of good information. I would list some bullet points, but frankly there is a lot of things worth discussing.

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/ccl-akron-budgets-20260730/

 

It's behind a paywall, but if you go to Akron Zips facebook page and click the link I was able to view the article in its full length.

 

 

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by kreed5120

[kreed5120]

I'm on mobile so can't copy and paste it. I asked ChatGPT to summarize it for those of you who struggle to access.

 

AKRON IS PRODUCING OUTSIZED RESULTS ON A TINY BUDGET

 

• University of Akron spent $33.8M on athletics in 2025-26, the smallest budget in the MAC and second-lowest among public FBS schools.

 

• Despite that, Akron had arguably its best athletic year ever: seven conference championships, men’s basketball went 29-6, won the MAC Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament, and the department finished 104th nationally in the Learfield Directors’ Cup.

 

• Huron ranked Akron No. 9 among public FBS schools for athletic value/efficiency.

 

FINANCIAL CHALLENGE

 

Akron faces about a $700K budget hit in 2026-27: $500K less in institutional support plus roughly $200K in employee-raise costs. University funding makes up nearly two-thirds of athletics revenue, making new revenue especially important.

 

FUNDRAISING IS IMPROVING

 

• Athletic cash contributions increased 109%, from $1.7M to $3.6M, just $129K short of Akron’s single-year record.

 

• The ACE NIL Fund raised more than $664K in its first year.

 

• Akron also balanced its budget.

 

SPONSORSHIPS AND NAMING RIGHTS ARE A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY

 

AD Andrew Goodrich is actively pursuing football jersey-patch sponsors, along with naming-rights deals for James A. Rhodes Arena and the soccer stadium.

 

The InfoCision Stadium naming-rights agreement expires in 2028 and currently pays $500K annually. Goodrich wants to replace it with a deal worth roughly $1M per year.

 

Akron is pitching potential sponsors on its reach, including 2.5M unique football viewers, 880K unique basketball viewers during March Madness, and its social-media audience.

 

ATTENDANCE REMAINS THE WEAKNESS

 

Football attendance averaged 7,729 per game, up 21%, but still last in the MAC and second-lowest in FBS. Goodrich wants to sell out at least one game, pointing out that more than 3M people live within 45 minutes of campus.

 

GOODRICH’S VISION

 

Hired in 2025, Goodrich wants Akron to become the “pound-for-pound best athletics department in America.” After just one year, Akron has already reached the top 10 nationally in athletic efficiency, giving him some evidence that the ambitious vision may be achievable.

 

 

 

[catdaddyp]

Impressive. Goodrich is doing work. Hopefully the football program will have a budget on par with the rest of the MAC soon as well. The current staff has shown they can consistently identify talent and develop those players. We have to raise enough funds for retention. It’s a tough road losing the best players year after year.

Edited 17 hours ago by catdaddyp

[kreed5120]

1 minute ago, catdaddyp said:

Impressive. Goodrich is doing work. Hopefully the football program will have a budget on par with the rest of the MAC soon as well. The current staff has shown they can consistently identify talent and develop those players. We have to raise enough funds for retention. It’s a tough road losing the best players year after year.

 

I would expect high roster turnover until the federal government passes legislation that regulates college athletics. More money will help some, but even programs that are spending substantially more face major roster turnover.

[exit322]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I would expect high roster turnover until the federal government passes legislation that regulates college athletics. More money will help some, but even programs that are spending substantially more face major roster turnover.

 

Yeah, that's the only way this constant churn is going to slow down.

[catdaddyp]

2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

 

I would expect high roster turnover until the federal government passes legislation that regulates college athletics. More money will help some, but even programs that are spending substantially more face major roster turnover.

I was referring more to the ability to keep the guys headed to other G5 programs, like Spriggs to Southern Miss. No way we’d be able to match what most of the power programs are offering.

[exit322]

22 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

I was referring more to the ability to keep the guys headed to other G5 programs, like Spriggs to Southern Miss. No way we’d be able to match what most of the power programs are offering.

 

We can't offer what AAC teams offer, either.  That's the part that *might* change, but it's still pretty unlikely.

[kreed5120]

8 minutes ago, exit322 said:

 

We can't offer what AAC teams offer, either.  That's the part that *might* change, but it's still pretty unlikely.

 

We can't offer what Miami (OH) offers either if the $8-$10 mil reported roster spend is to be believed. I think the bulk of the MAC teams are around $3-$4 million. That would be achievable, but will take work.