Akron, Wyoming’s Opening-Day Opponent, Banned From Postseason
LARAMIE -- Wyoming's opening-day opponent is making headlines this week.
It's for all the wrong reasons.
The University of Akron, a team the Cowboys will face on the road Thursday, Aug. 28, is deemed ineligible for postseason play and will face a reduction in practice time this fall after failing to meet academic standards, according to the Associated Press.
The NCAA updated its multiyear Academic Progress Rate scores this week. To qualify for a bowl game, something the Zips have failed to do since 2017, member institutions need to score a minimum of 930.
Akron landed at 914.
Wyoming, according to the NCAA website, finished with a score of 976 for the second straight season.
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Idaho was the last program to face this punishment. That came all the way back in 2014.
The Sun Belt, an FBS conference the Vandals were most recently members of from 2014-17, decided not to renew a deal with the school. A year later, Paul Petrino's team dropped down to the FCS level, joining the Big Sky, where it remains today.
Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich, just 12 days ago, was named the new director of athletics at Akron. The school has yet to address the APR rating and its pending ban from bowl season.
The Zips have won just 11 games during the last six seasons, including an 0-12 campaign in 2019. The four victories last fall was the most for the program since 2018. Joe Moorhead is entering his fifth season as the head coach at the northeast Ohio institution. He is 8-28 overall and 5-19 in Mid-American Conference play.
Akron and Wyoming have never met on the football field. That will change inside InfoCision Stadium in just 113 days.
APR scores in the Mountain West Conference in 2023-24:
Air Force 992
Boise State 986
UNLV 979
Wyoming 976
Fresno State 975
San Diego State 966
Nevada 958
Colorado State 958
New Mexico 951
San Jose State 950
Hawaii 947
Utah State 938
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players