NCAA gives Akron waiver for 2026 postseason
The Zips will be eligible for the postseason next season after being ineligible in 2025
The Akron Zips will be eligible for the 2026-27 college football postseason.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Zips have acquired a waiver that will gain them eligibility for the upcoming postseason after being ineligible in 2025.
This ineligibility was due to the program’s multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. The program’s APR score of 914 was below the minimum 930 for postseason eligibility.
In addition to the postseason ban, the punishment included the team being limited to 16 practice hours instead of the normal 20 hours per week.
Idaho was the last program to be punished for the football postseason for APR issues back in 2014.
Akron’s last bowl game came in 2017, when the Zips played in the Boca Raton Bowl under Terry Bowden.
Current head coach Joe Moorhead is 13-35 overall and 9-23 in the conference, but the Zips are coming off their best season under Moorhead after going 5-7 overall and 4-4 in conference.