List of Akron Zips head football coaches

Last updated

John Heisman, namesake of the Heisman Trophy award, led Buchtel College to a 6-2 record in 1893-94. John Heisman.jpg
John Heisman, namesake of the Heisman Trophy award, led Buchtel College to a 6–2 record in 1893–94.

The Akron Zips football program is a college football team that represents the University of Akron (formerly known as Buchtel College). The team has had 27 head coaches since it began playing organized football in 1891. Among those coaches, only Gordon K. Larson, Jim Dennison, J.D. Brookhart, and Terry Bowden have led Akron to postseason appearances. Brookhart is the only coach to win a conference championship with the Zips; he won the Mid-American Conference in 2005. Dennison is the school's all-time leader in games won and seasons coached.

Contents

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
GeneralOverallConferencePostseason [A 1]
No.Order of coaches [A 2] GCGames coachedCWConference winsPWPostseason wins
DCDivision championshipsOWOverall winsCLConference lossesPLPostseason losses
CCConference championshipsOLOverall lossesCTConference tiesPTPostseason ties
NCNational championshipsOTOverall ties [A 3] C%Conference winning percentage
Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame O%Overall winning percentage [A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards [A 5]
No.NameSeason(s)GCOWOLOTO%CWCLCTC%PWPLPTDCCCNCAwards
189141300.2500
Frank Cook 189273400.4290
John Heisman [6] 1893–9486200.7500
189553200.6000
Harry Wilson 18961010.0000
1897–98
Archie Eves 189932100.6670
190062310.4170
1901
Forest Firestone 190272500.2860
Alfred W. Place [A 8] 19032020.0000
1904–07
Dwight Bradley 190873400.4290
Clarence Weed 190984400.5000
Frank Haggerty 1910–1441221630.5730
Fred Sefton 1915–2371343340.507252730.48200000
James W. Coleman 1924–251661000.3754800.33300000
George Babcock 192695220.6674220.62500000
Red Blair 1927–3578433050.583342840.54500000
Jim Aiken 1936–382719710.7220000
Thomas Dowler 1939–40187920.4440000
Otis Douglas 1941–421851030.3610000
1943–45
Paul Baldacci 1946–471771000.4120000
William Houghton 1948–513572710.21431310.20600000
Kenneth Cochrane 1952–53188910.4726410.59100000
Joe McMullen 1954–6061302830.516282320.54700000
Gordon K. Larson 1961–72112743350.68326800.76501000
Jim Dennison 1973–85144806220.563302210.63722000 AFCA College Division Coach of the Year (1976) [11]
Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year (1982) [12]
Gerry Faust 1986–9499435330.449141800.43800000
Lee Owens 1995–2003101406100.396313900.443000100
J. D. Brookhart 2004–097230420.41722260.45801110 MAC Coach of the Year (2004) [13]
Rob Ianello 2010–11242220.0831150.06300000
Terry Bowden 2012–20188735520.40223330.41111100
Tom Arth 2019–2021273240.1112170.10500000
Oscar Rodriguez
[A 10]
2021303.00003.00000000
Joe Moorhead 2022–368280.2225190.20800000

Notes

  1. Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played. [1]
  2. A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
  3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. [2]
  4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. [3]
  5. Statistics correct as of the end of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
  6. College Football Data Warehouse lists an additional loss in 1891, a forfeit to Denison due to inclement weather, that is not included in the University of Akron's records. [4] [5]
  7. 1 2 3 The absence of football teams in 1897–98, 1901, and 1904–07 has sometimes been attributed to a general lack of interest in athletics at Butchel following John Heisman's departure as coach and athletic director in 1894. Support for the program was considered to be contingent on the hiring of a head coach for the season. This problem also affected the school's baseball team, which did not participate in 1896, 1898, or 1900. [7]
  8. College Football Data Warehouse credits an 11-0 victory over Ohio Northern to Place's team that is not recorded in the University of Akron's records. [5] [8]
  9. The University of Akron suspended the football program from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. [9] [10]
  10. Oscar Rodriguez was named interim for the final three games of the 2021 season after Tom Arth was fired on November 4, 2021. [14]

References

General

Specific

  1. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  2. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  3. Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  4. Staff (2015). "1891-1894 Yearly Results". Akron Yearly Results. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  5. 1 2 2017 University of Akron Football Media Guide, Records, p. 158.
  6. Staff (2016). "Member Biography: John Heisman". College Football Hall of Fame . National Football Foundation . Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. Spanton, A. I., ed. (1922). "Chapter XIII: Athletics". Fifty Years of Buchtel (1870 — 1920). Akron, Ohio: Buchtel College Alumni Association. pp.  250–251. ISBN   978-1-171-52113-6. OCLC   944350698.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  8. Staff (2015). "Rev. Alfred Place Records by Year". All-Time Coaching Records. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  9. "Akron Drops Football". The Newark Advocate . Newark, Ohio. Associated Press. July 28, 1943. p. 8. OCLC   11498850.
  10. Staff (2018). "About Us–History". The University of Akron Bands. University of Akron. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  11. "Majors, Dennison Claim Coach of Year Honors". Idaho State Journal . Pocatello, Idaho. Associated Press. January 14, 1977. p. 7. OCLC   8801227.
  12. Nold, Bob (November 23, 1982). "Akron U gets its share of respect in the OVC". Akron Beacon Journal . Akron, Ohio. p. 9. OCLC   9666962.
  13. Staff (2018). "MAC Coach of the Year Winners". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  14. Sallee, Barrett (November 4, 2021). "Akron fires coach Tom Arth in midst of third season following loss to Ball State". CBS Sports Digital. Retrieved January 16, 2022.