The Blue and Gold Wagon Wheel, now known simply as the Wagon Wheel, is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Zips of the University of Akron and the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. The trophy is, as the name implies, the wheel from a horse-drawn wagon that is painted blue and gold, the school colors for both universities. It was first contested in 1946 when the rivalry resumed after World War II.
The Akron Zips football team is a college football program representing the University of Akron in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Akron plays its home games on InfoCision Stadium on the campus of the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The Zips compete in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the East Division.
The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East division. Akron sponsors 17 varsity teams across six men's, 10 women's, and one coed NCAA sanctioned sports. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of competition for college football.
The Akron Zips men's basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The Zips are currently coached by John Groce. Prior to becoming members of the MAC in 1992, the Zips were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference.
Joseph Daniel Brookhart is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was hired as passing game coordinator, tight ends coach, and special teams coordinator on Jon Embree's staff in December 2010. Brookhart was the head coach at the University of Akron from 2004 to 2009, compiling a record of 30–42. His Akron Zips won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2005, and he was honored as the MAC Coach of the Year the previous season. Brookhart played college football at Brigham Young University as a freshman walk-on before transferring to Colorado State University. He has also served as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh and with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
The 2009 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Akron competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. The team was coached by J. D. Brookhart and played their homes game at InfoCision Stadium.
The Akron Zips men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of Akron. As of the next National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's soccer season in 2023, the Zips will play in the Big East Conference. This move followed Akron's full-time home of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) shutting down its men's soccer league after the 2022 season. Akron is regularly ranked in the Top 10 NSCAA collegiate men's soccer poll. They have been ranked No. 1 previously in 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2016. The Zips have played their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field, formerly named Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field and Cub Cadet Field, since 1966. They won their first national championship in 2010.
The 2005 MAC Championship Game was played on December 1, 2005 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game featured the Akron Zips, winners of the Mid-American Conference East Division, and the Northern Illinois Huskies, winners of the West Division.
Robert S. Ianello is an American football coach. He is the general manager with the Kansas Jayhawks, a position he had held since the 2021 season. Ianello served as the head football coach at the University of Akron from 2010 to 2011, compiling a record of 2–22. He was fired after the 2011 season. He succeeded J. D. Brookhart, who was relieved of his duties after the 2009 season in which the Akron Zips went 3–9. Before he was hired at Akron, Ianello had been an assistant football coach since 1988, including stints at the University of Alabama, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Arizona, and the University of Notre Dame.
The 2010 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Zips, led by first-year head coach Rob Ianello, competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field. They finished the season 1–11, 1–7 in MAC play.
The 2007 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Akron competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips were led by J. D. Brookhart in his fourth year as head coach.
The 2006 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Akron competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips were led by J. D. Brookhart in his third year as head coach.
The 2004 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Akron competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips were led by J. D. Brookhart in his first year as head coach.
The 2003 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Akron competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips were led by head coach Lee Owens.
The 2002 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Akron competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Zips were led by head coach Lee Owens.
The 2015 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Terry Bowden and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field. They were members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where they defeated Utah State for their first ever bowl victory. This was Akron's fourth bowl appearance. Previous bowl games are: Grantland Rice Bowl 1968, Pioneer Bowl 1976, Motor City Bowl 2005. They made their fifth bowl game appearance in 2017 at the Boca Raton Cheribundi Bowl.
The 2017 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Terry Bowden and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field in Akron, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. The Zips finished the season 7–7, 6–2 in MAC play to win the East Division. They lost to Toledo in the MAC Championship. They received an invitation to play in the Boca Raton Bowl where they lost to Florida Atlantic.
The 2018 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Terry Bowden and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field in Akron, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the East Division.
The 2019 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Zips were led by first-year head coach Tom Arth and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio. They competed as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
