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The 2025 college football season is four months away, but one team has already been eliminated from postseason play. No matter what happens on the field next year, the Akron Zips will be home for the holidays.
The program will be penalized for a failure to adhere to academic performance requirements. The NCAA has already posted its ruling on Akron’s ineligibility.
Academic progress rates have been tracked in the past, though postseason penalties for programs that fell short of guidelines were paused amid the COVID pandemic. The punishments were expected to return last year before that decision was overturned. They will be back in 2025-26.
The premise is straightforward. “Each academic year, every Division I sports team’s APR is calculated using a simple and consistent formula,” the NCAA says. “Scholarship student-athletes can earn 1 point for staying on course for a degree in their chosen major and 1 point for being retained (or graduating) at the end of each academic term.”
The formula tracks a four-year window. In this case, that data period runs from 2020-2024. Scores must be 930 or better to remain in good standing.
Akron football fell short of the mark.
The Zips actually fell shy of 930 last year, with the team posting a score of 925 in the spring of ’24. They received a Level 1 practice reduction penalty as a result. This year, that number dropped further to 914.
APR scores can be tracked HERE. When taking a look at the Akron’s profile, the NCAA punishments for the upcoming season are listed as follows:
Level 1 Penalty – Practice Reduction = YES
Postseason Ineligibility = YES
The Zips have been eliminated from title contention four months before kickoff. They will not be playing for any hardware in 2025.
The new expanded playoff field gives Group of Five performers an opportunity to play for a national championship. Boise State earned that honor last season.
Akron competes in the MAC. Ohio was last year’s highest-ranked conference rival, finishing No. 32 in the AP Poll. The Zips’ chances of making a playoff run were already slim, even with an undefeated season. Now, they’re non-existent.
Bowl games are off the table, too, though that might’ve also been a longshot. Akron hasn’t won more than four games in a season since 2017. They went 4-8 last year following three straight 2-10 campaigns.
The Zips hoped to prove doubters wrong this fall with a bump in the win column. Unfortunately, they won’t be rewarded even if they succeed.