The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Kent State is a full member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and has been part of the MAC East division since it was created in 1998. Official school colors are Kent State Blue and Kent State Gold.
The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Golden Flashes played their first game in 1920 and since 1969 have played their home games at Dix Stadium. Following the 2022 season, Kenni Burns was selected as head coach for the Golden Flashes.
The Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The Golden Flashes compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. The team was founded in 1913 and played their first intercollegiate game in January 1915. They joined the Mid-American Conference in 1951 and have played in the East division since the MAC went to the divisional format in 1997. Home games are held at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, which opened in 1950 and is one of the oldest arenas in college basketball. Rob Senderoff was hired as head coach in 2011, the 24th coach in the program's history.
The Anniversary Award is a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Bowling Green Falcons of Bowling Green State University and the Kent State Golden Flashes of Kent State University. Both schools, founded together in 1910, are located in northern Ohio, with Bowling Green in Northwest Ohio and Kent State in Northeast Ohio. The series between the two began in 1920, the first year Kent State fielded a football team, while the trophy was introduced in 1985.
The Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The team competes at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The head coach is retired Major League Baseball player Jeff Duncan, who was hired in June 2013.
The 1973 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an American football team that represented Kent State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In their third season under head coach Don James, the Golden Flashes compiled a 9–2 record, finished in second place in the MAC, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 300 to 131. Nick Saban, a defensive back for the Golden Flashes the previous three seasons, was a graduate assistant on James' staff during the 1973 season.
The 2008 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and played their home games at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes were led by fifth-year head coach Doug Martin. Kent State finished the season with a 4–8 record.
Darrell Ivan Hazell is a former American football coach. Hazell has been a head coach twice, with Kent State from 2011 to 2012, and Purdue from 2013 to 2016.
Paul Jeffrey Haynes III is an American college football coach and former player. He is the cornerbacks coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a position he has held since 2023. He was the head football coach at Kent State University from 2013 to 2017. Haynes was an assistant coach at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels for 20 years, including stints as defensive coordinator at Ohio State University and the University of Arkansas. Before his coaching career, he was a four-year letterman as a defensive back at Kent State between 1987 and 1991.
The 2007 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and played their home games at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes were led by fourth-year head coach Doug Martin.
The 2006 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and played their home games at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes were led by third-year head coach Doug Martin.
The 2005 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and played their home games at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes were led by second-year head coach Doug Martin.
The 2004 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented the Kent State University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Kent State competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and played their home games at Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes were led by first-year head coach Doug Martin.
The 2012 Marathon MAC Championship Game was an American football game held on November 30, 2012 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan between the West Division champion Northern Illinois Huskies and the East Division champion Kent State Golden Flashes to determine the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion. This is the first time since 2003 that both teams entered the game ranked in the BCS standings, AP Poll, and Coaches' Poll.
Joel Nielsen is an American sports administrator originally from Latimer, Iowa. Nielsen served as the athletic director for Kent State University in Kent, Ohio between 2010 and 2021. Prior to his appointment at Kent State, he served as athletic director at the University of South Dakota from 2003 to 2010 and at Colorado College from 2001 to 2003. He also served as associate athletic director at Wake Forest University from 1993 to 2001 and assistant athletic director at Illinois State University from 1992 to 1993. From 1990 to 1991 he was athletic development assistant at Northern Illinois University. He is an alumnus of Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he played football and baseball and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees.
The 1974 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an American football team that represented Kent State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Don James, the Golden Flashes compiled a 7–4 record, finished in fourth place in the MAC, and outscored all opponents 254 to 161.
The 1995 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an American football team that represented Kent State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Jim Corrigall, the Golden Flashes compiled a 1–9–1 record, finished in last place in the MAC, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 390 to 128.
The 2018 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Sean Lewis and played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 2–10, 1–7 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East Division.
The 2019 Kent State Golden Flashes football team represented Kent State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second year head coach Sean Lewis and played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio, as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.
Kenni Burns is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Kent State Golden Flashes football team and the former running backs coach and assistant head coach for Minnesota Golden Gophers football.
