S ZACH GUISER RB WARREN BALL LB ULYSEES GILBERT III WR AUSTIN WOLF 2017 MEDIA GUIDE QUICK FACTS 2017 AKRON FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Stadium [City] Time | TV | Radio Sat., Sept. 2 at Penn State Beaver Stadium [University Park, Pa.] Noon | ABC | 1350 AM Sat., Sept. 9 ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field 6:30 p.m. | ESPN3 | 1350 AM Sat., Sept. 16 IOWA STATE InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field Noon | CBS-SN | 1350 AM Sat., Sept. 23 at Troy Veterans Memorial Stadium [Troy, Ala.] TBA | | 1350 AM Sat., Sept. 30 *at Bowling Green Doyt Perry Stadium [Bowling Green, Ohio] TBA | | 1350 AM Sat., Oct. 7 *BALL STATE [Homecoming] InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field 3:30 p.m. | TV TBA# | 1350 AM Sat., Oct. 14 *at Western Michigan Waldo Stadium [Kalamazoo, Mich.] 3:30 p.m. | TV TBA# | 1350 AM Sat., Oct. 21 *at Toledo Glass Bowl [Toledo, Ohio] TBA | | 1350 AM Sat., Oct. 28 *BUFFALO InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field 11:30 a.m. | CBS-SN | 1350 AM Tues., Nov. 7 *at Miami (Ohio) Yager Stadium [Oxford, Ohio] 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2/U | 1350 AM Tues., Nov. 14 *OHIO InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field TBA | ESPN2/U | 1350 AM Tues., Nov. 21 *KENT STATE InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field 7 p.m. | ESPNU/3 | 1350 AM Sat., Dec. 2 MAC Championship Ford Field [Detroit, Mich.] TBA | TV TBA Home games in CAPS *Mid-American Conference game #TV 12-day selection QUICK FACTS Mailing Address Shipping Address Letterwinners Returning– 57 Location: ..........................................Akron, Ohio 44325 The University of Akron University of Akron Athletics (26 offense, 24 defense, 7 specialists) Population: .........................200,000 (5th largest in Ohio) Rhodes Arena, Suite 83 373 Carroll Street Letterwinners Lost– 22 Founded: ................................ 1870 as Buchtel College Akron, OH 44325-5201 Rhodes Arena, Suite 83 (10 offense, 12 defense, 0 specialists) Enrollment: ........................................................23,152 Akron, OH 44325-5201 Starters Returning– 15 Nickname: ...............................................................Zips (8 offense, 7 defense + 7 specialists) Colors: ..................................... Blue (282) & Gold (871) HISTORY Starters Lost– 7 Conference: ..................... Mid-American (East Division) First Year of Football: .............................................1891 (3 offense, 4 defense + 0 specialists) President: .........................................Matthew J. Wilson All-Time Record: ....511-532-36 [entering 117th season] Director of Athletics: ................................Larry Williams First Year of Div. I Football: ............................1987* COACHING STAFF Faculty Athletics Representative: ....Dr. Deborah Owens Record in NCAA Div. I-A (FBS) ...132-211-2 (30 yrs.) Head Coach: ...........Terry Bowden (West Virginia ‘78) Athletics Dept. Phone: ..........................(330) 972-7080 All-Time MAC Record: ....................79-122 (25 yrs.) 6th season at Akron Ticket Office: .........................1-888-99-AKRON (-25766 MAC Titles: ........................................................1 (2005) Career Record: ........................164-99-2 (23 yrs.) MAC East Division Titles:........................ 2 (2000, 2005) Akron Record: ................................ 24-37 (5 yrs.) ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS NCAA D-I Bowl Games: ........2 (2005 Motor City, 2015 Potato) MAC Record: .................................... 15-25 (5 yrs.) Cathy Bongiovi (Football Contact) Postseason Appearances ..........................4 (4-4 record) Assistant Athletics Director for Communications 2015 (1-0) ............................................................. Associate Head Coach | Defensive Coordinator: ............. Office Phone: ..............................(330) 972-6108 W, 23-218 vs. Utah State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Chuck Amato (North Carolina State ‘69) Cell Phone: .................................(267) 326-5400 2005 (1-1) ................................................................ 6th season at Akron Email: [email protected] W, 31-30 vs. Northern Illinois in MAC Championship Assistant Head Coach | Defensive Line: .......................... L, 31-38 vs. Memphis in Motor City Bowl Todd Stroud (Florida State ‘85) Sean Palchick 1985 (0-1) ................................................................ 6th season at Akron Associate Director for Communications L, 27-35 at Rhode Island in 1st round of I-AA Playoffs Offensive Coordinator | Quarterbacks: ........................... (330) 972-2677 | [email protected] 1976 (2-1) ....... W, 27-6 vs. UNLV in NCAA II Playoff A.J. Milwee (North Alabama ‘09) W, 29-26 vs. Northern Michigan in Knute Rockne Bowl 6th season at Akron Brian Dennison (Secondary Football Contact) L, 13-24 vs. Montana State in Pioneer Bowl Special Teams Coordinator | Wide Receivers: ................. Assistant Director for Communications 1968 (0-1) ................................................................ Jeff Bowden (Florida State ‘83) (330) 972-6292 | [email protected] L, 13-33 vs. Louisiana Tech in Grantland Rice Bowl 6th season at Akron Tight Ends | H-Backs: ...................................................... Jonathan Platten * - Akron was the first school to move from I-AA to I-A. Trent Boykin (Youngstown State ‘95 Assistant Director for Communications 6th season at Akron (330) 972-6584 | [email protected] Stadium: ...................... InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field Offensive Line : ............................................................... Capacity: .......... 30,000 [official sellout is 27,881] Brett Ekkens (Mount Union ‘12) Playing Surface: ......................................ProGrass 2nd season at Akron Office Fax ..............................................(330) 374-8844 Record at InfoCision Stadium: ......... 18-30 (8 yrs.) Running Backs: .............................................................. Website .......................................................GoZips.com Press Box Phone ..........................(330) 972-2913 Eric Hickson (Kansas State ‘99) Twitter ..@AkronZips | @ZipsFB | #GoZips | #ZipsGameday 3rd season at Akron Facebook ................................Facebook.com/AkronZips TEAM INFORMATION Cornerbacks | Defensive Passing Game Coordinator:..... ...........................................Facebook.com/ZipsFB Otis Mounds YouTube ...............................YouTube.com/ZipsAthletics 2016 Record: .................................................5-7 overall (Auburn ‘03) 2016 MAC Record: ....................3-5 (T3rd East Division) 4th season at Akron Offensive Alignment: ......................................... Spread Safeties: .......................................................................... Defensive Alignment: ............................................... 4-3 Mike Woodford (Arizona ‘82) 6th season at Akron AKRON FOOTBALL 2 GoZips.com/ZipsFB TABLE OF CONTENTS THIS IS AKRON FOOTBALL 2016 SEASON REVIEW Scoring Records .............................150-152 Quick Facts ................................................2 2016 Season Review ......................... 92-93 Defense .........................................153-155 2017 Schedule ..........................................2 Results .....................................................93 Year-by-Year Offensive Stats .................. 156 Campus Map .............................................4 2016 Team Statistics................................94 Year-by-Year Defensive Stats ................. 157 Athletics Communications ........................5 Individual Statistics ........................... 94-95 Year-by-Year Results .......................158-164 Directions to Campus ................................5 Defensive Statistics .................................96 Miscellaneous Results Records ............ 165 Media Policies and Services ......................6 Starting Lineups ......................................97 All-Time Head Coach Records ............... 166 Akron-IMG Sports Network ........................7 Player Participation .................................98 Local Media ...............................................7 Team Game-by-Game Comparison .99-100 POSTSEASON HISTORY Preseason Notes .....................................8-9 Red Zone Statistics ............................... 101 Postseason Recaps ........................168-179 2017 Rosters ..................................... 10-11 Game Superlatives ............................... 102 Bowl Records .................................180-184 Roster Breakdown ...................................12 Last Time It Happened .......................... 103 Preseason Depth Chart ............................13 Game Recaps .................................104-109 2017 OPPONENTS Zips by State and Hometown ..................14 2016 Honors ........................................ 110 2017 Opponent Information ........186-189 Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge ...15 All-Time Series Records .................190-191 Traditions ........................................... 16-19 HONORS & AWARDS Mid-American Conference ................... 192 The Rubber Bowl ............................... 20-21 All-Americans ....................................... 112 Mid-American Conference Schedule .... 193 InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field ... 22-23 Conference Honors .......................113-116 2017 MAC Bowl Schedule .................... 194 Attendance Records .................................23 Team Awards .................................117-122 Opponent Composite Schedule