Akron's 2026 football schedule features 4 weekday MACtion games

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Just as winter turns to spring and there are calls to play ball, it, of course, is the perfect time to start thinking about —football.

With that in mind, the University of Akron released the Zips 2026 schedule which opens the first Saturday in September.

The Zips ups their level of competition playing three FBS teams, including two Power 4 [Wake Forest in the ACC, the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gopher] teams, this season.

And, of course, there are the usual suspects in the Mid-American Conference with the annual battles with Kent State (Oct. 24) for the Wagon Wheel, Ohio (Nov. 3) and Buffalo (Nov. 27). And, yes, there will be MACtion as the Zips play four weekday games in November.

The season also begins on a weekday when the Zips travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to play the Demon Deacons on Thursday, Sept. 3. The time for the game hasn’t been set.

The Akron Zips have something to play for in 2026 season

Unlike last year, the coach Joe Moorhead’s team will have much to play for coming off their best effort in his tenure. The Zips, 5-7 last season, faced a postseason ban from the NCAA in 2025. That restriction was recently rescinded. Ultimately, how things shake out will depend on how the coaching staff can rebuild a roster that lost starting quarterback Ben Finley.

Akron Zips football 2026 schedule

  • Thursday, Sept. 3 at Wake Forest
  • Saturday, Sep. 12 vs. Robert Morris
  • Saturday, Sept. 19 at Minnesota
  • Saturday, Sept. 26 vs. UNLV
  • Saturday, Oct. 3 at Central Michigan
  • Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Eastern Michigan
  • Saturday, Oct. 17 at Miami
  • Saturday, Oct. 24 at Kent State
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3 vs.  Ohio
  • Tuesday, Nov. 10 vs. Western Michigan
  • Wednesday, Nov. 18 at UMass
  • Friday, Nov. 27 vs. Buffalo

George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips release 2026 football schedule loaded with weekday games

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