Gear Up For Game Day: Akron Zips

AKRON, Ohio -- Anyone got an extra tickets lying around?

Jay Sawvel needs them.

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Wyoming's second-year head coach expects a "couple of buses" and roughly 100 of friends and family to make the 112-mile trek north to Akron Thursday from his hometown of Barnesville, Ohio.

"It's kind of wild," he said with a grin.

Sawvel also suited up at linebacker (1989-93) at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. That's less than 40 miles to the southeast. He expects plenty of support from those old stomping grounds, too.

In public, Sawvel has downplayed this homecoming, saying instead he just wants his team to perform and play the way he envisions inside InfoCision Stadium. He has coached in his home state before, but never as the boss.

In reality, this will be a chance to reminisce and smell the roses, if you will.

"That will be really cool," he said, that midwest accent always shining through. "This is a cool thing. This is a big deal that you don't really think about until after it's all over, you know? We have to win a game. We have to go on the road and we have to play well. That's really all I care about."

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Sawvel said during his introductory press conference in December of 2023 that he wasn't worried about his critics. The biggest one still lives in his childhood home, his mother Polly Sawvel.

The Cowboys, of course limped to a 3-9 record during her son's first season on the sideline as a head coach at any level.

Was she blowing up the phone?

"Oh, all the time," he said with a smile. "More than anything, though, she knows how hard I'm going to take it when we don't perform as well as what we need to, too. So, you know, it's not like she had to pile on a lot of stuff, in that regard."

Will this one hold a candle to the first time he coached at home, leading the University of Minnesota defense into a meeting with the No. 1 Buckeyes inside the Famous Horse Shoe back in 2015?

That remains to be seen.

The Gophers dropped that one 28-14 in front of 108,075 fans, holding Ezekiel Elliott to just 114 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Cardale Jones threw for just 187 yards while completing only a dozen passes.

"I remember the first time I was an assistant and coached at Ohio State," he said. "You go, OK, this is, you know, Ohio State University. You don't even think about it until you're done with the game."

That won't be the case Thursday night in Akron. He's embracing the moment. All of it.

Notable Akron Alums, Ties:

You can't even begin typing this list without mentioning these two names: Larry Shyatt and Larry Nance Jr.

These two legends in Wyoming basketball both, at one time, called Akron home. The latter was born there and is currently just 44 minutes up the road in Cleveland for his second stint with the Cavaliers.

His head coach in Laramie, Shyatt began his career at the University of Akron, serving as an assistant from 1973-75. He also received his master's in secondary education at the school.

Shyatt and Nance led Wyoming to its lone Mountain West Conference Tournament title back in 2015, which led to an automatic berth in March Madness. The Cowboys lost in the opening round to Northern Iowa, who ironically is next week's opponent inside War Memorial Stadium.

Remember defensive end Victor Jones and tackle Ravontae Holt? Those two capped their college careers in an Akron uniform. Jones appeared in 37 games as a Cowboy, tallying 72 tackles and 10.5 for loss. The oft-injured Holt registered 18 tackles and finished with two QB hits in his lone season at Akron.

Former UW tight end Nate Weinman also served as a strength coach for the Zips.

Like Wyoming, Akron has had a number of high-profile football coaches make pit stops, including Jim Tressel (also an alum), John Heisman, Terry Bowden and Gerry Faust.

Remember Matthew McConaughey's character in the movie We Are Marshall? That man's name is Jack Lengyel in real life and he got his start at Akron, which is also his hometown. Ara Parseghian also hails from the Rubber City. He briefly played for the Zips before joining the US Navy during World War II. He went on to lead Notre Dame to a pair of national championships in 1966 and '73.

You might recall his character in the movie Rudy. He promised the scrappy walk-on he would dress for one game during his senior season in South Bend. He resigned that offseason, leaving plenty of doubt that Rudy's dream would ever come to fruition. Spoiler alert: reluctantly, it eventually did.

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The Black Keys, and American rock duo, has roots in Akron. Singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach, along with drummer Patrick Carney, both attended the university. So did actor and comedian George Wallace (Mr. Deeds, Little Nicky, Batman Forever). Emmy nominee Yvette Nicole Brown (Tropic Thunder, Avengers: End Game, The View) is also an alumni.

Two-time Grammy winner James Ingram is also a Zip. "Baby, Come to Me" and "I Don't Have the Heart" were both No. 1 singles in the early 80's.

Let's get back to football, shall we?

You remember Jason Taylor? Akron's lone player representative in the College Football Hall of Fame, Taylor was an unblockable defensive end for the Miami Dolphins from 1997-2007, tallying 131 of his 139.5 career sacks. He is still seventh all-time on that illustrious list.

In 2017, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just 24 miles south of Akron in Canton.

What in the world is a Zip?

The word is short for "Zippers," which the Akron teams were known by from 1925 to 1950. The reference was to rubber boots made by the local B.F. Goodrich Company. Freshman Margaret Hamlin, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, was awarded $10 in January 1926 after the student body voted for her name suggestion. Unique, for sure.

What's with the kangaroo?

Remember the old cartoons with the kangaroo in boxing gloves? That's where the inspiration for Akron's mascot came from. No, seriously. The local newspaper wrote Dick Hansford, the UA vice president and dean emeritus of student services, made the suggestion, adding there were plenty of Bulldogs and Tigers. On May 1, 1953, Zippy -- then known at Mr. Zip -- was born. Good stuff.

Here is all you need to know -- and the links -- for Thursday's opener:

WHO: Wyoming (0-0, 0-0) at Akron (0-0, 0-0)
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. MST
WEATHER: High of 80, low 56, mostly sunny, wind 10 mph, morning showers
WHERE: InfoCision Stadium, Akron, Ohio (30,000 capacity)
TRAVEL: Ohgo.com
STREAMING: ESPN
TV: ESPN-Plus
RADIO: Cowboy Sports Network
TICKETS: Wyoming Ticket office
BOX SCORE: ESPN
ROSTERS: Wyoming / Akron
HISTORY: First Meeting
BETTING ODDS: UW -5.5, O/U 48.5
HEAD COACHES: Jay Sawvel / Joe Moorhead

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