The scoreboard is dark at the University of Akron’s football stadium and the Zips record is 0-0 in 2025.
But with its first game of the season more than three months away, the Akron football team suffered a big loss Tuesday, May 6.
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Akron is not eligible to compete in a college football bowl game at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
The reason? The team’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) is below the required threshold set by the NCAA, according to multiple media reports.
The Akron Beacon Journal was unable to reach a representative from the University of Akron for comment Tuesday night.
Akron is the first FBS team to be ineligible for a bowl for academic reasons since Idaho in 2014.
The 2023–24 APR report was released Tuesday, and Akron’s multi-year APR score of 914 is below the NCAA’s minimum of 930 for postseason eligibility. The APR measurement calculates how effectively colleges are keeping their athletes on track to remain eligible and graduate.
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CBS Sports reported Akron was given practice reductions during the 2024 season as an initial punishment and warning for poor APR scores.
Akron Zips football coach Joe Moorhead, left, argues a penalty during the first half against Colgate, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
The Zips were not a favorite to play in a bowl game in 2025 with a roster in flux because of the transfer portal. Several of Akron’s starters transferred to other colleges since last season.
Akron compiled a 4-8 record in 2024 under third-year coach Joe Moorhead, the Zips’ best record since the 2018 team went 4-8 under former coach Terry Bowden. The Zips were 2-10 in each of Moorhead’s first two seasons and were winless as recently as 2019.
University of Akron coach Joe Moorhead takes in the scene with five seconds left on the clock in a Zips victory over Kent State on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at Akron’s InfoCision Stadium.
When did Akron football last play in a bowl game?
Akron last played in a bowl game in 2017 when the Zips lost to Florida Atlantic in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Zips finished that season 7-7 with Bowden as their coach.
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Akron has not had a winning season since Bowden guided the 2015 team to an 8-5 season after defeating Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Zips open the 2025 season Aug. 28 at home against Wyoming.
CBS Sports reported FCS football teams Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff also are ineligible for postseason play in 2025 because of low APR scores. Florida A&M, Missouri State, Murray State and Utah Tech all received practice time reductions for the 2025 season because of low APR rates.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron football ineligible for a bowl before 2025 NCAA season starts