Players from one college football team can afford to keep their foot off the gas in 2025, as no matter how well they play or how many games they win, they won’t be going to the playoffs.
According to On3 Sports, the Akron Zips are ineligible for bowl games, with the start of the next college football season still months away.
The Zips have no chance of making the playoffs in 2025 after failing to meet the minimum of 930 on the Academic Progress Rate (APR). The team’s APR dropped to 925 last season, which earned them a Level One penalty of reduced practices. The number has since dropped below 914, which rules them out of playoff eligibility for next season.
On3 adds that the Zips are one of three ineligible football programs heading into next season.
“Akron is one of three programs ruled postseason ineligible, according to the APR. Two others – Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas, Pine Bluff – are not eligible for the FCS postseason due to their multi-year APR.”
The Akron Zips Chose To Fall Under The Threshold Just As College Football Brought APR Penalties Back
The NCAA recently reinstated APR penalties, having previously suspended them because the COVID-19 pandemic affected classes. LSU was a notable program to drop below the threshold, but the program was fortunate to get a COVID-19 waiver. The Zips, however, weren’t so lucky and will be the first program to face such a penalty in nearly 10 years.
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Still, they probably couldn’t care less given that they’ve won just eight games in the last three seasons and have only been bowl-eligible three times in their 40 years as a Division I-FBS program. Their only win came 10 years ago in the Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Zips have had only four winning seasons since the turn of the century, but playing without the pressure of trying to qualify for the playoffs could foster a new winning atmosphere. Who knows?
