Akron football is ineligible for postseason play because of its low Academic Progress Rate score
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Akron's football team will be ineligible for postseason play this season because of its multiyear Academic Progress Rate score.
The NCAA this week updated its national APR database with the latest scores of member institutions. Akron had a score of 914, below the 930 minimum for postseason eligibility.
Advertisement
Akron's athletic department has not commented on its APR penalty and did not return immediately messages left by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Akron, which plays in the Mid-American Conference, has not been to a bowl game since 2017, which also was the last time the Zips won more than four games in a season.
But Akron's 4-8 record in 2024 under third-year coach Joe Moorhead was its best since posting the same mark in 2018. In between, the Zips won no more than two games in a season and went winless (0-12) in 2019.
The last Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football team to be barred from postseason play because of APR scores was Idaho in the 2014 season.
Advertisement
The NCAA temporarily suspended some APR penalties, including postseason bans, because of the COVID-19 pandemic that began disrupting college athletics in the spring of 2020.
However, the NCAA's Committee on Academics voted to restore such penalties beginning with four-year scores released during the 2024-25 academic year.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
42 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Jack Lavin: MLB All-Star Game in 2027? Let's fly the ‘W' for Chicago's economy.
The 2027 MLB All-Star Game is more than just a win for the Cubs; it's also a win for the entire Chicago region. Hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world will descend upon Wrigley Field — along with millions more tuning in from home — to experience all Chicago has to offer. And with that comes a tremendous economic development opportunity for our city. Last week's announcement about the All-Star Game is a big win for Chicago's residents and local businesses, and credit goes to our leaders in Chicago and Springfield, but above all, to the Cubs organization, which has spent the past decade reimagining and reinvesting in Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood. The results speak for themselves. Led by the Ricketts family, the Cubs organization took our treasured, century-old ballpark and transformed it into a modern, world-class economic driver without losing the character and charm that makes it one of baseball's most beloved landmarks. That vision, combined with strategic investments and strong community partnerships, laid the foundation for this moment. Without question, this is a big deal, and it's about much more than baseball. Events such as the All-Star Game are powerful moneymaking engines. When the All-Star Game comes to Chicago, it won't bring just the world's best ballplayers to Wrigley Field. It will bring jobs, visitors and investment to every corner of our city, providing critical revenue for neighborhood businesses large and small and generating the tax receipts needed to fund critical services. A sold-out Wrigley Field means more work for hotel staff, servers, ride-share drivers, retailers and many others who make up the backbone of our local economy. The numbers are significant. Previous host cities have reported economic impacts ranging from $60 million to over $85 million, driven by increased hotel stays, restaurant visits, local transportation, retail purchases, tourism spending and more. Our goal is to top that, and there's every reason we should given our unmatched hospitality infrastructure, vibrant neighborhoods, award-winning restaurants and leading cultural institutions. The 2027 All-Star Game also means visibility. As we saw with last year's Democratic National Convention, events of this scale bring with them the platform of national media, international attention, and millions of TV and digital viewers that will bolster Chicago's reputation as the premier host for future global events, conventions and investment opportunities. It's an exciting opportunity for us to once again showcase Chicago as a dynamic, world-class city that welcomes visitors, fosters innovation and delivers memorable experiences. But at the end of the day, this announcement is about momentum. It's about building on the progress Chicago has made to reenergize our tourism and event industries — which support thousands of jobs — following the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and catalyze long-term economic opportunity and growth in neighborhoods across the city. It's a testament to the collaborative effort between public officials, business leaders and civic partners who believe in Chicago's potential and are working every day to unlock it. Chicago has a storied history when it comes to hosting large-scale events like this. From the 1893 World's Fair to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, we have proved we not only know how to do it and do it well, but also do it better than it's ever been done. That legacy now extends into the future. That's because we know the connection between civic pride and economic progress. We know that when Chicago wins, we all win. And when the 2027 MLB All-Star Game comes to Wrigley Field, Chicago will fly the 'W' and set a new standard for what All-Star Week can be and reaffirm our status as an unparalleled international destination.
USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
Penn State's preseason US LBM Coaches Poll ranking could be good trend
Penn State ranked No. 3 in preseason US LBM Coaches Poll Penn State will be starting the 2025 season ranked in its highest preseason spot in the US LBM Coaches Poll since 1999. Expectations are high for Penn State, which will start the year off at no. 3 in the preseason coaches poll. If the past decade is any indication, this should be a grerat starting poitn for the Nittany Lions with seven teams ranked third in the preseason poll going on to win a conference championship, and three of those teams went on to win it all. There has only been one team in the last decade to start the season ranked third and not finish in the top 10 at the end of the season, but Penn State is hoping to do more than simply finish in the top 10. Penn State has big goals in mind but is not getting caught up in the hype. Here is a look at how each of the teams ranked third in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll have performed that season over the past 10 years. 2024: Oregon Final record: 13-1, Big Ten champion Final ranking: 4 Oregon was expected to be one of the top teams in the country last season, and the Ducks did not disappoint overall. Oregon went undefeated in the regular season and captured the Big Ten championship in its first year in the conference (defeating Penn State in Indianapolis to do so, of course). Oregon took the top seed in the College Football Playoff with its no. 1 ranking, but the Ducks were eliminated in their first playoff game by eventual national champion Ohio State. 2023: Alabama Final record: 12-2, SEC champion Final ranking: 5 Alabama grabbed a conference championship in the SEC but the mission of winning a national title fell short with a semifinal loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff. 2022: Georgia Final record: 15-0, SEC champion, national champion Final ranking: 1 Georgia was a wrecking machine in 2022 after starting off the season ranked third in the nation in the coaches poll. Georgia became the third team in the last 10 seasons to start the season ranked third in the coaches poll to go on to win the national championship. 2021: Oklahoma Final record: 11-2 Final ranking: 10 Oklahoma fell shy of playing for a national title by missing out on the College Football Playoff. The Sooners also missed out on playing for the Big 12 championship with a late-season loss to rival Oklahoma State, but Oklahoma still managed to end the year in the top 10. 2020: Alabama Final record: 13-0, SEC champion, national champion Final ranking: 1 The 2020 season deserves a bit of an asterisk for the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the entire sports calendar, but leave it to Alabama to be the team to come out on top of an abnormal college football season. Alabama went undefeated and topped Ohio State for the national championship. 2019: Georgia Final record: 12-2 Final ranking: 4 Georgia was in position for another SEC title run with a shot at a national title in 2019, until the LSU Tigers stormed their way through the college football world. Still, Georgia played for the SEC title and wa sin the playoff hunt all season long. 2018: Ohio State Final record: 13-1, Big Ten champion Final ranking: 3 If not for one massive upset on the road against Purdue in the middle of the season, Ohio State would have been in the College Football Playoff. Instead, they were just on the outside looking in and having to settle for a Rose Bowl victory to cap an otherwise memorable season in Columbus. 2017: Florida State Final record: 7-6 Final ranking: Not ranked In the past decade, no team ranked no. 3 in the preseason coaches poll has had as down a year as Florida State did in 2017. Two weeks into the season, Florida State was dumped out of the top 25 rankings with back-to-back losses to start the season, and they simply could not get a footing the rest of the way. 2016: Oklahoma Final record: 11-2, Big 12 champion Final ranking: 3 Oklahoma lost two of its first three games to start the season, but ran the table the rest of the way for an 11-2 season that felt a little empty in Norman. The Sooners were upset in the first game of the year by Houston and then dominated at home by Ohio State. But they recovered for a top-three ranking at the end of the season. 2015: Alabama Final record: 14-1, SEC champion, national champion Final ranking: 1 A season after losing to Ohio State in the inaugural College Football Playoff, Alabama was ready for a quick rebound in 2015. The Crimson Tide brought back another loaded roster and lost just once in the regular season on its way to a national title. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
Associated Press
43 minutes ago
- Associated Press
NFL longevity demands wisdom as much as determination and talent. These seasoned guys can explain
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Harrison Smith, just like anyone approaching middle age, has learned to accept the realities of getting older. The joints, for one, don't quite move as effortlessly as they once did. So that's where the 14th-year free safety for the Minnesota Vikings has aimed his recent training regimens, customizing resistance exercises to simulate the stress that NFL games can place on critical areas of the body. Reaching at full extension to make a tackle at full speed puts the arm muscles and tendons in a vulnerable position. The more fluidly the elbow can bend, the better. 'All the strength work in the world isn't really going to translate to real strength on the field if your joints don't have the range they once did, especially range under load,' Smith said. 'I've come up with different ways to work out that aren't necessarily just the traditional banging weights around. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but if you don't have your range ready, it's kind of almost counterproductive.' In a sport with notoriously short careers, as salary cap constraints perpetually conspire with constant injury risk and overall physical decline, the fountain of youth can seem like a unicorn. Smith's approach provides some valuable clues for finding the most vital source: wisdom. 'When you meet Harrison Smith, right away you understand why he might be the type of person to defy odds, and he's done nothing short of convincing us that over these few years,' Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. The sturdy 30 From a famous quarterback like Aaron Rodgers dropping back in the pocket to a steady six-time Pro Bowl pick like Smith patrolling the secondary, the young man's league still has some space for gray hair. But sticking around takes more than just determination and talent. 'I feel great, actually. I don't feel like a 37-year-old. Not sure what they're supposed to feel like, but I feel a little younger,' San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said at the beginning of training camp. 'As we get older, things start to change. I think you've got to pay a little bit more attention to what you put in your body, how you treat your body. Moreso than just being a football player, it's just a natural maturation of a human being. When you get older you can't do the same things you did when you were 22.' According to an Associated Press review of the 90-man rosters across the league last week, there are 30 players currently with an NFL club who were born in the 1980s. That's barely 1%. Not only has Generation X been long gone from the game, once Tom Brady retired in 2023, but Millennials are already in the minority. Rodgers, of course, is the oldest active player at 41, followed by New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (40) and Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (40). The sturdy 30 includes six long snappers, two punters and two kickers, plus nine quarterbacks — the positions that usually produce the longest-lasting players. 'You have to evolve every single year,' Kansas City Chiefs tight Travis Kelce said. Smith is the lone defensive back. Kelce is the only offensive skill-position player who's not a quarterback. Williams and Arizona Cardinals left tackle Kelvin Beachum, now a backup, are the offensive linemen. Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints and Nick Bellore of the Washington Commanders, who plays almost exclusively on special teams, are the linebackers. Then there's a well-decorated group of five defensive linemen: Calais Campbell (Arizona Cardinals), Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers), John Jenkins (Baltimore Ravens), Cameron Jordan (New Orleans Saints) and Von Miller (Washington Commanders). 'I still feel great. I feel like I can go out there and dominate,' said Campbell, who returned this year to his original team, the Cardinals. 'I wish I had a magic formula. I think I've just been blessed. God's given me a lot of blessings to play this game I love.' Grinding it out The list has been trimmed, naturally, from last season. Nine players — tight end Marcedes Lewis, kickers Matt Prater, Justin Tucker and Greg Zuerlein, long snappers Jake McQuaide and Matt Overton, safety Kareem Jackson, defensive end Jerry Hughes and defensive tackle Linval Joseph — who logged time on the field in 2024 have not signed with a team this year. Their peers still grinding through summer practices fully realize they'll be permanently on the sideline sooner than later. 'I start a lot earlier doing my training. Just listen to my body when I need to take a rest,' Heyward said. 'But it's more just trying to get stronger as soon as possible after the season. Less time to recover, but recovering through the process.' Mastering the art of recovery, forever a moving target, is a primary focus. Moving around on Mondays after games can be a chore, but figuring out how to maximize those summer strength and conditioning sessions for a mid-30s player is also a challenge. Smith, a soft-spoken leader who'd much rather have a deep locker-room conversation about life in professional football than give the defense a rah-rah pregame speech, fields more questions from young players about recovery than any other topic. 'Sometimes you just grind it out and you don't feel good, and that's how it is,' said Smith, who also mixes in pickup basketball with his offseason work in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Pride and perspective are part of the NFL roadmap for longevity, too. Heyward's oldest son, 9-year-old Callen, has spent a few nights with him in his dorm room. 'There's a hunger there that I know I'm in a rare group that gets to see year 15, but it's something I constantly think about,' Heyward said. 'There's things I want to check off before I hang them up, and I haven't reached those goals yet.' ___ AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writers David Brandt, Will Graves, Brett Martel, Noah Trister and David Skretta contributed. ___ AP NFL:
