1997 Akron Zips football team

American college football season

1997 Akron Zips football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
Record	2–9 (2–7 MAC)
Head coach	Lee Owens (3rd season)
Home stadium	Rubber Bowl
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Marshall x$	7	–	1	10	–	3
Miami (OH)	6	–	2	8	–	3
Ohio	6	–	2	8	–	3
Bowling Green	3	–	5	3	–	8
Kent State	3	–	5	3	–	8
Akron	2	–	7	2	–	9
West Division
Toledo x	7	–	1	9	–	3
Western Michigan	6	–	2	8	–	3
Ball State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Eastern Michigan	4	–	5	4	–	7
Central Michigan	1	–	7	2	–	9
Northern Illinois	0	–	8	0	–	11
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 1997 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season as members of the Mid-American Conference. They were led by third–year head coach Lee Owens. The Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. They finished the season with a record of 2–9, 2–7 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East Division.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
August 30	at No. 6 Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 14–59
September 13	at Miami	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	L 20–49
September 20	Bowling Green	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 28–31
September 27	at No. 13 LSU*	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 0–56
October 4	Central Michigan	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 53–14
October 11	at Marshall	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	L 17–52
October 18	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	L 0–45
October 25	Ohio	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 17–21
November 1	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	L 14–31
November 8	Kent State	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH (Wagon Wheel)	W 45–35
November 15	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 10–42
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

References

^ "1997 Akron Zips Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 3, 2020.

v t e Akron Zips football
Venues	League Park (c. 1910) Buchtel Field (c. 1915–1939) Rubber Bowl (1940–2008) InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kent State (Wagon Wheel) Youngstown State (Steel Tire, 1940–1995)
Culture & lore	Zippy "Akron Blue and Gold" Zips Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897–1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024