The Blue and Gold Wagon Wheel , now known simply as the Wagon Wheel , is awarded to the winner of the annual college football game between the Zips of the University of Akron and the Golden Flashes of Kent State University . The trophy is, as the name implies, the wheel from a horse-drawn wagon that is painted blue and gold, the school colors for both universities. It was first contested in 1946 when the rivalry resumed after World War II .
80-486: Although the two schools are in neighboring Northeast Ohio counties and are only approximately 10 miles (16 km) apart, they only played each other in football periodically since the first meeting in 1923. The rivalry was contested annually over several periods of time, but none lasted longer than nine consecutive years prior to the current run. Akron joined the Mid-American Conference in 1992, and since then,
160-459: A "counter" as "an individual who is receiving institutional financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport." The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in each sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a decimal point ; for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if required. The NCAA also has rules specifying
240-698: A 28–20 Akron win, which tied the Wagon Wheel series at 19 wins each. Since then, the series remained tied through 2019. Since 1992, both Kent State and Akron have been members of the Mid-American Conference, and when the MAC divided into divisions in 1997, both schools were placed in the East Division. From 1932–1935 and 1944–1950, both schools were members of the Ohio Athletic Conference . Akron joined
320-756: A decimal point. Numbers for equivalency sports are indicated with a decimal point, with a trailing zero if needed. Notes: The following table lists the men's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. D-I college wrestling has lost almost half of its programs since 1982. The following table lists the women's individual D-I sports with at least 1,000 participating athletes. Sports are ranked by number of athletes. NCAA Division I schools have broadcasting contracts that showcase their more popular sports — typically football and men's basketball — on network television and in basic cable channels. These contracts can be quite lucrative, particularly for D-I schools from
400-622: A labor force of almost 2.2 million. The GDP (nominal) of Northeast Ohio is over $ 195 billion, which makes it comparable to that of New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland . Most of Northeast Ohio is part of the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area , which ranked as the 17th-largest Combined Statistical Area (CSA) in the United States as of the 2020 Census with a population of 3,769,834. It includes
480-422: A later vote of the league's school presidents and athletic directors and has since increased to 45. The Patriot League only began awarding football scholarships in the 2013 season, with the first scholarships awarded only to incoming freshmen. Before the conference began its transition to scholarship football, athletes receiving scholarships in other sports were ineligible to play football for member schools. Since
560-626: A near-complete membership turnover that saw the conference stripped of all but two of its football-sponsoring members. The two remaining football-sponsoring schools, Idaho and New Mexico State , played the 2013 season as FBS independents before becoming football-only members of the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. Both left Sun Belt football in 2018, with Idaho downgrading to FCS status and adding football to its all-sports Big Sky Conference membership and New Mexico State becoming an FBS independent. The WAC added two more football-sponsoring schools with
640-502: A pipeline or building near the eventual site of Kent State University. He connected the wheel to both schools by creating a legend that the wheel had been part of the carriage of Akron industrialist John R. Buchtel , the main benefactor and original namesake of what is now the University of Akron (known as Buchtel College from 1872–1913). Manchester's story was that Buchtel had been near the future site of Kent State in 1870 while scouting for
720-419: A site to locate a new college. Buchtel's carriage became stuck in the mud and his horses pulled it apart, with one of the wheels becoming embedded in the mud. That incident, Manchester claimed, caused Buchtel to ultimately choose Akron as the site of the new college, which opened in 1872 and eventually became the University of Akron. While Akron went 10–0–1 in the rivalry's beginning, Kent State proceeded to win
800-410: A specific bowl game bid for which the conference has a tie-in. Some conferences have numbers in their names but this often has no relation to the number of member institutions in the conference. The Big Ten Conference did not formally adopt the "Big Ten" name until 1987, but unofficially used that name when it had 10 members from 1917 to 1946, and again from 1949 forward. However, it has continued to use
880-820: A substantial number of players in Championship Subdivision programs are on full scholarships. A former difference was that FCS schools had a limit of 30 players that could be provided with financial aid in a given season, while FBS schools were limited to 25 such additions per season. These limits were suspended in 2020 before being completely eliminated for both subdivisions in 2023. Finally, FCS schools are limited to 95 individuals participating in preseason practices, as opposed to 105 at FBS schools (the three service academies that play FBS football are exempt from preseason practice player limits by NCAA rule). A few Championship Subdivision conferences are composed of schools that offer no athletic scholarships at all, most notably
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#1732859359483960-566: A title game, the NCAA Division I Football Championship . As of the 2018 season, the tournament begins with 24 teams; 10 conference champions that received automatic bids, and 14 teams selected at-large by a selection committee. The postseason tournament traditionally begins on Thanksgiving weekend in late November. When I-AA was formed 46 years ago in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams for its first three seasons, doubling to eight teams for one season in 1981. From 1982 to 1985, there
1040-614: Is a geographic and cultural region that comprises the northeastern counties of the U.S. state of Ohio . Definitions of the region consist of 16 to 23 counties between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains , home to over 4.5 million people. It is anchored by the metropolitan area of Cleveland , the most populous city in the region with over 372,000 residents in 2020. Other metropolitan centers include Akron , Canton , Mansfield , Sandusky , and Youngstown . Northeast Ohio includes most of
1120-521: Is considered an FBS member for scheduling purposes. The newest full FBS members are Jacksonville State , James Madison , and Sam Houston , which completed the transition from FCS prior to the 2024 season . The next school to become a full FBS member is Kennesaw State , which joined Conference USA (CUSA) in 2024 and will become a full FBS member a year later. Delaware and Missouri State are set to join CUSA in 2025 and become full FBS members in 2026. Since
1200-524: Is distributed in more than a dozen ways — almost all of which directly support NCAA schools, conferences and nearly half a million student-athletes. About 60% of the NCAA's annual revenue — around $ 600 million — is annually distributed directly to Division I member schools and conferences, while more than $ 150 million funds Division I championships" (NCAA 2021). Finances Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet
1280-652: Is named for its series of postseason bowl games , with various polls ranking teams after the conclusion of these games, while the FCS national champion is determined by a multi-team bracket tournament. For the 2020–21 school year, Division I contained 357 of the NCAA's 1,066 member institutions, with 130 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), 127 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and 100 non-football schools, with six additional schools in
1360-658: Is the Atlantic Coast Conference . For the first 60 years after its 1953 founding, the ACC consisted entirely of schools in Atlantic Coast states. However, in 2013 , the conference added three new schools, two of which ( Pittsburgh and, for non-football sports, Indiana-based Notre Dame ) were in states without an Atlantic shoreline. The following year saw the ACC add another non-Atlantic school in Louisville . Then, in 2023 ,
1440-407: The 2016 season , all FBS conferences have been allowed to conduct a championship game that does not count against the limit of 12 regular-season contests. Under the current rules, most recently changed in advance of the 2022 season, conferences have complete freedom to determine the participants in their championship games. From 2016 to 2021, FBS rules allowed such a game to be held either (1) between
1520-457: The 2022 season , with all participating in one of 14 conferences. The "I-AA" designation was dropped by the NCAA in 2006, although it is still informally and commonly used. FCS teams are limited to 63 players on scholarship (compared to 85 for FBS teams) and usually play an 11-game schedule (compared to 12 games for FBS teams). The FCS determines its national champion through an NCAA-sanctioned single-elimination bracket tournament , culminating in
1600-819: The Horizon League . Six schools compete at the NCAA Division II level: the Lake Erie Storm , Ursuline Arrows , Malone Pioneers , Ashland Eagles , Notre Dame Falcons , and Walsh Cavaliers . There are nine schools at the Division III level: Mount Union Purple Raiders , Hiram Terriers , John Carroll Blue Streaks , Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets , Case Western Reserve Spartans , Kenyon Lords , Oberlin Yeomen , Wooster Scots , and Franciscan Barons . One school,
1680-622: The Ivy League and the Pioneer Football League (PFL), a football-only conference. The Ivy League allows no athletic scholarships at all, while the PFL consists of schools that offer scholarships in other sports but choose not to take on the expense of a scholarship football program. The Northeast Conference also sponsored non-scholarship football, but began offering a maximum of 30 full scholarship equivalents in 2006, which grew to 40 in 2011 after
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#17328593594831760-721: The Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars , competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Cleveland Metroparks are a system of nature preserves that encircle the city, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses the Cuyahoga River valley between Cleveland and Akron. The region is home to Mentor Headlands Beach , the longest natural beach on the Great Lakes . In
1840-801: The National Football League (NFL) are based at Cleveland Browns Stadium , and the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) play at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse . Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is also home to one additional professional franchise, the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League . The Monsters are the top minor league affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of
1920-927: The National Hockey League (NHL). There are a number of other professional sports teams in the region that play in various minor leagues. The Guardians have three minor league affiliates in the area: the AA Akron RubberDucks of the Eastern League who play at Canal Park in Akron, the Single-A Lake County Captains of the Midwest League who play at Classic Park in Eastlake , and the Single-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers of
2000-887: The New York–Penn League , who play at Eastwood Field in Niles . Additionally, there is an independent baseball team, the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League , who play at Sprenger Stadium in Avon . The region also boasts of a lower league professional soccer team in Cleveland SC that plays at Don Shula Stadium . The Youngstown Phantoms are a junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League that has home games at Covelli Centre . Motorsports venues in
2080-426: The access bowls . FBS schools are limited to a total of 85 football players receiving financial assistance. For competitive reasons, a student receiving partial scholarship counts fully against the total of 85. Nearly all FBS schools that are not on NCAA probation give 85 full scholarships. As of the current 2024 college football season, there are 133 full members of Division I FBS, plus one transitional school that
2160-474: The 1936 game. From 1932–1935, both teams were members of the Ohio Athletic Conference , which Akron had joined in 1915 and Kent had joined in 1932. During that time period, all of the games were Akron wins except a scoreless tie in 1932. After Akron left the OAC in 1936, the series was interrupted again after the 1936 meeting and resumed in 1940 with Akron wins in 1940 and 1941 before Kent State recorded their first win in
2240-585: The 1950s, AT&T assigned most of Northeast Ohio area code 216 . The western half of the region, including Ashland and Richland counties, and parts of Huron , Wayne and Erie counties, was assigned area code 419 . In 1996, area code 216 was reduced in size to cover the northern half of its prior area, centering on Cleveland. Area code 330 was introduced for the southern half of Northeast Ohio, including Summit , Portage , Medina , Stark , Columbiana and Mahoning counties, and much of Wayne , Trumbull and Tuscarawas counties. In 1997, area code 216
2320-571: The 1978 and 1979 seasons. The following year, 1980, Akron moved to Division I-AA, and began play in the Ohio Valley Conference . In 1987, the Zips left the OVC in football and transitioned to Division I-A, becoming the first team to do so since Division I had been divided. From 1987 through the 1991 season, the Zips were again independent in football until they joined the MAC for the 1992 season. In 2011,
2400-400: The 2006 season, it was possible for the number of Bowl Subdivision schools to drop in the future if those schools were not able to pull in enough fans into the games. Additionally, 14 FCS schools had enough attendance to be moved up in 2012. Under current NCAA rules, these schools must have an invitation from an FBS conference in order to move to FBS. The difference in the postseasons in each of
2480-432: The 2014–15 fiscal year, the conferences that earned the most revenues (and that distributed the most revenues to each of their member schools) were: The NCAA has limits on the total financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. It divides sports that are sponsored into two types for purposes of scholarship limitations: The term "counter" is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines
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2560-521: The 2020 arrival of Tarleton and Utah Tech (then Dixie State) from Division II; both schools planned to be FCS independents for the foreseeable future. The WAC would reinstate football at the FCS level in 2021, coinciding with the arrival of four new members with FCS football; for its first season, it entered into a formal partnership with the ASUN Conference to give it enough playoff-eligible members to receive an automatic playoff berth. This partnership
2640-619: The FCS from a lower division (or from the NAIA ) are also ineligible for the playoffs. Division I FCS schools are currently restricted to giving financial assistance amounting to 63 full scholarships. As FCS football is an "equivalency" sport (as opposed to the "head-count" status of FBS football), Championship Subdivision schools may divide their allotment into partial scholarships. However, FCS schools may only have 85 players receiving any sort of athletic financial aid for football—the same numeric limit as FBS schools. Because of competitive forces, however,
2720-472: The Football Championship Subdivision (124 schools in 2017), only four percent of football and five percent of men's basketball programs generated positive revenues. In 2012, 2% of athletic budgets were spent on equipment, uniforms and supplies for male athletes at NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision school, with the median spending per-school at $ 742,000. In 2014, the NCAA and the student athletes debated whether student athletes should be paid. In April,
2800-609: The I-AA playoffs was Jackson State in 1997 ; the SWAC never achieved success in the tournament, going winless in 19 games in twenty years (1978–97). It had greater success outside the conference while in Division II and the preceding College Division. From 2006 through 2009, the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference champions played in the Gridiron Classic . If a league champion
2880-543: The Midwest (Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame), Upper South (Louisville, Memphis) and Southwest (Houston, SMU). The non-football conference that assumed the Big East name when the original Big East split in 2013 is another example of this phenomenon, as half of its 10 inaugural schools (Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier) are traditionally regarded as being Midwestern. An even more extrema example of this phenomenon
2960-501: The NCAA approved students-athletes getting free unlimited meals and snacks. The NCAA stated "The adoption of the meals legislation finished a conversation that began in the Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet. Members have worked to find appropriate ways to ensure student-athletes get the nutrition they need without jeopardizing Pell Grants or other federal aid received by the neediest student-athletes. With their vote, members of
3040-558: The OAC in 1915 but left in 1936 only to rejoin in 1944. Kent State joined the OAC in 1932 and remained a member until joining the MAC in 1951. In 1956, the NCAA divided its membership into two divisions: the University Division for larger schools and the College Division for smaller schools. Kent State, with other MAC schools, played in the University Division, which became Division I in 1974 and Division I-A in 1978. Akron and
3120-467: The OAC played in the College Division, which eventually became Divisions II and III . After leaving the OAC in 1966, the Zips played as an independent. When the NCAA changed the divisions again to create three, the Zips played one season, 1973, in Division III before moving to Division II in 1974, where they continued to compete as an independent until joining the Mid-Continent Conference for
3200-648: The Youngstown/Warren region. It is the 19th largest in the United States as of 2023, according to Nielsen Media Research . Northeast Ohio and the Cleveland CSA are also part of the larger Great Lakes Megalopolis . Northeast Ohio is home to a number of higher education institutions, including: Northeast Ohio is home to a number of professional sports teams, including three from the major North American sports leagues. The Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball play at Progressive Field , Cleveland Browns of
3280-593: The addition of Arizona and Arizona State, and "Pac-12" (instead of "Pacific-12") in 2011 when Colorado and Utah joined . Conferences also tend to ignore their regional names when adding new schools. For example, the Pac-8/10/12 retained its "Pacific" moniker even though its four most recent additions (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah) are located in the inland West, and the original Big East kept its name even after adding schools (either in all sports or for football only) located in areas traditionally considered to be in
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3360-515: The area known historically as the Connecticut Western Reserve . Different sources define the region as having various boundaries. In its most expansive usage, it contains six metropolitan statistical areas : Cleveland–Elyria , Akron , Canton–Massillon , Youngstown–Warren , Mansfield , and Weirton–Steubenville along with eight micropolitan statistical areas . There are 23 counties in the region, with over 4.5 million residents and
3440-540: The biggest conferences. For example, the Big Ten conference in 2016 entered into contracts with Fox and ESPN that pay the conference $ 2.64 billion over six years. The NCAA also holds certain TV contracts. For example, the NCAA's contract to show the men's basketball championship tournament (widely known as March Madness) is currently under a 14-year deal with CBS and Turner that runs from 2010 to 2024 and pays $ 11 billion. For
3520-553: The champions of its East and West divisions. Also, three of its member schools traditionally do not finish their regular seasons until Thanksgiving weekend. Grambling State and Southern play each other in the Bayou Classic , and Alabama State plays Tuskegee (of Division II ) in the Turkey Day Classic . SWAC teams are eligible to accept at-large bids if their schedule is not in conflict. The last SWAC team to participate in
3600-607: The completion of the transition with the 2016 season, member schools have been allowed up to 60 full scholarship equivalents. Several Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision conferences have member institutions that do not compete in football. Such schools are sometimes unofficially referred to as I-AAA. The following non-football conferences have full members that sponsor football: The following Division I conferences do not sponsor football . These conferences still compete in Division I for all sports that they sponsor. Of these,
3680-646: The conference announced it would expand in 2024 to the Pacific coast with San Francisco Bay Area rivals California and Stanford , and also add SMU from Dallas–Fort Worth . ** – "Big Four" or "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the "access bowls" associated with the College Football Playoff before its 2024 expansion to 12 teams *** – "Group of Five" conferences The Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ), formerly known as Division I-AA , consists of 130 teams as of
3760-404: The council said they believe loosening NCAA rules on what and when food can be provided from athletics departments is the best way to address the issue." According to the finance section of the NCAA page, "The NCAA receives most of its annual revenue from two sources: television and marketing rights for the Division I Men's Basketball Championship and ticket sales for all championships. That money
3840-567: The eponymous post-season championship tournament. The Ivy League was reclassified to I-AA (FCS) following the 1981 season , and plays a strict ten-game schedule. Although it qualifies for an automatic bid, the Ivy League has not played any postseason games at all since becoming a conference, citing academic concerns. The Ivy League member to play in a bowl game was Columbia in the 1934 Rose Bowl . The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) has its own championship game in mid-December between
3920-471: The existence of an official NCAA championship in the latter subdivision. Before the 2023 season, the NCAA required that FBS schools average at least 15,000 attendance, allowing schools to report either total tickets sold or the number of persons in attendance at the games. The requirement was a minimum average of 15,000 people in attendance every other year. These numbers are posted to the NCAA statistics website for football each year. With new rules starting in
4000-594: The following criteria: FBS conferences must meet a more stringent set of requirements for NCAA recognition than other conferences: † "Power Four" conferences that had guaranteed berths in the New Year's Six , the bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff , before the playoff's 2024 expansion to 12 teams ‡ "Group of Five" conferences Sports are ranked according to total possible scholarships (number of teams x number of scholarships per team). Scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without
4080-584: The introduction of area code 234, assignments of new telephone numbers in the area did not continue at an accelerated pace, and new phone numbers for area code 234 were not assigned until 2003. NCAA Division I NCAA Division I ( D-I ) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States , which accepts players globally. D-I schools include
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#17328593594834160-632: The latter of which will move football to the Patriot League in 2025). The MAAC stopped sponsoring football in 2007, after most of its members gradually stopped fielding teams. Among current MAAC members that were in the conference before 2007, only Marist , which plays in the Pioneer Football League, still sponsors football. From 2013 to 2021, the Western Athletic Conference was a non-football league, having dropped football after
4240-454: The major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Division II and Division III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition. This level was previously called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower-level College Division; these terms were replaced with numeric divisions in 1973. The University Division
4320-526: The membership totals to 14 in 2023 and 16 effective in 2024. On the other hand, the Pac-12 Conference used names (official or unofficial) that have reflected the number of members from the establishment of its current charter in 1959 until its collapse in 2024 . The conference unofficially used "Big Five" (1959–62), "Big Six" (1962–64), and "Pacific-8" (1964–68) before officially adopting the "Pacific-8" name. The name duly changed to "Pacific-10" in 1978 with
4400-421: The most games takes the full point. If the teams split the season's meetings, each school gets a half-point. For sports that only compete against each other as part of the conference championship meet, such as cross country, golf, and track and field, whichever team finishes higher in the championship meet is awarded the point. Games in the respective conference tournaments can also factor in to which school receives
4480-410: The name even after it expanded to 11 members with the addition of Penn State in 1990, 12 with the addition of Nebraska in 2011 , and 14 with the arrival of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 . The Big 12 Conference was established in 1996 with 12 members, but continues to use that name even after a number of departures and a few replacements left the conference with 10 members, and later expansions brought
4560-479: The next 10 games, including the first 9 of the Wagon Wheel series. Several of the wins were by large margins, including a 47–0 win in 1949 that stands as the largest margin of victory for either team. Prior to Kent State's 58–18 win in 1954, Akron announced the series was being discontinued as being noncompetitive. In the 1970s, the rivalry was revived, but the teams only met occasionally as they played in different conferences and different NCAA levels. The first meeting
4640-407: The point if the teams split their regular-season meetings, with the conference tournament meeting acting as a deciding game. Through the 2023–24 season, Kent State leads the challenge 8–5. Kent State took victory in the first four seasons, followed by Akron in the next five, including the abbreviated 2019–20 season, and Kent State has won the next four. Northeast Ohio Northeast Ohio
4720-760: The region include Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington and Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk , a major NHRA venue. The region is home to a number of NCAA athletic programs, including four in Division I: the Akron Zips , Cleveland State Vikings , Kent State Golden Flashes , and Youngstown State Penguins . Both Akron and Kent State are members of the Cleveland-based Mid-American Conference , while Cleveland State and Youngstown State are members of
4800-411: The rivalry has been played every year. Through the 2024 game, Kent State leads the Wagon Wheel series 27–26–1. Akron leads the overall series 36–28–2. The University of Akron and Kent State University, located approximately 10 miles (16 km) apart, first played football against each other in 1923, a 32–0 win for Akron. The two schools did not meet again until 1928 and played annually from 1928 through
4880-477: The same season. The Pioneer Football League earned an automatic bid beginning in 2013. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) began abstaining from the playoffs with the 2015 season. Like the SWAC, its members are eligible for at-large bids, and the two conferences have faced off in the Celebration Bowl as an alternative postseason game since the 2015 season. Schools in a transition period after joining
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#17328593594834960-471: The series with a 23–6 win in 1942. World War II halted the series again as neither school fielded a team for the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons. Akron rejoined the OAC in 1944 and the Wagon Wheel trophy was introduced when the series resumed in 1946. It was the idea of Raymond Manchester, the dean of men at Kent State. Manchester donated the wheel, claiming it had been discovered in Kent in 1902 during construction of
5040-505: The six counties that make up Greater Cleveland (Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Lorain, Medina, and Ashtabula), the Akron metropolitan area (Portage and Summit counties), the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area (Stark and Carroll counties), and the Sandusky metropolitan areas, in addition to the Norwalk , New Philadelphia–Dover , Wooster , Fremont , and Coshocton micropolitan areas. The Cleveland–Akron–Canton media market covers much of this area, including all of Northeast Ohio except for
5120-447: The sport in which multi-sport athletes are to be counted, with the basic rules being: Subdivisions in Division I exist only in football . In all other sports, all Division I conferences are equivalent. The subdivisions were recently given names to reflect the differing levels of football play in them. As of the 2023 season, the main distinctions between Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision schools are scholarship policies and
5200-524: The subdivisions grant the FCS an advantage to have the best record in college football history, 17–0, while the FBS only allows a 15–0 record. FBS attendance requirements were abolished early in the 2023 season, effective immediately. In their place, Division I added new requirements for athletic funding. Effective in 2027–28, FBS schools must fund the equivalent of at least 210 full scholarships across all of their NCAA sports; spend at least $ 6 million annually on athletic scholarships; and provide at least 90% of
5280-417: The total number of allowed scholarship equivalents across 16 sports, including football. Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ), formerly known as Division I-A , is the top level of college football . Schools in Division I FBS compete in post-season bowl games , with the champions of five conferences, along with the highest-ranked champion of the other five conferences, receiving automatic bids to
5360-443: The transition from Division II to Division I. There was a moratorium on any additional movement up to D-I until 2012, after which any school that wants to move to D-I must be accepted for membership by a conference and show the NCAA it has the financial ability to support a D-I program. Division I athletic programs generated $ 8.7 billion in revenue in the 2009–10 academic year. Men's teams provided 55%, women's teams 15%, and 30%
5440-409: The two schools began the Wagon Wheel Challenge , which counts all athletic contests in the sports where they compete head-to-head. Initially, the challenge involved 15 sports, but was reduced to 14 from 2015 to 2019 after Akron eliminated their baseball program. Following the reinstatement of Akron's baseball team and the addition of Women's Lacrosse at Akron in 2019, the challenge grew to 16 sports, but
5520-473: The two that most recently sponsored football were the Atlantic 10 and MAAC. The A-10 football league dissolved in 2006 with its members going to CAA Football, the technically separate football league operated by the all-sports Coastal Athletic Association. In addition, four A-10 schools ( Dayton , Fordham , Duquesne , and Massachusetts ) play football in a conference other CAA Football, which still includes two full-time A-10 members ( Rhode Island and Richmond ,
5600-400: The winners of each of two divisions, with each team having played a full round-robin schedule within its division, or (2) between the conference's top two teams after a full round-robin conference schedule. Before 2016, "exempt" championship games could only be held between the divisional winners of conferences that had at least 12 football teams and split into divisions. The prize is normally
5680-492: Was a 12-team tournament; this expanded to 16 teams in 1986. The playoffs expanded to 20 teams starting in 2010, then grew to 24 teams in 2013. Since the 2010 season, the title game is held in early January at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas . From 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in December in Chattanooga, Tennessee , preceded by five seasons in Huntington, West Virginia . The Football Championship Subdivision includes several conferences which do not participate in
5760-424: Was announced that by the third quarter of 2024, area code 440 would be exhausted. Area code 436 was assigned to overlap the existing area code 440. Any new phone number in the geographical area formerly covered by area code 440 could be assigned a phone number in either the 436 or 440 are codes. In 2000, it was anticipated that the available phone numbers in area code 330 would be exhausted, and an overlay area code
5840-667: Was further split as the need for additional phone numbers grew. Area code 216 was again reduced in geographical area to cover the city of Cleveland and its inner ring suburbs . Area code 440 was introduced to cover the remainder of was what previously area code 216, including all of Lake , Lorain , Ashtabula and Geauga counties, and parts of Trumbull, Huron, Erie and Cuyahoga counties. Some communities, such as Parma and Parma Heights , were divided into multiple area codes. In 1999, Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced federal legislation to protect small and medium-sized cities from being split into two or more area codes. In 2023, it
5920-552: Was in 1972, which resulted in a 13–13 tie, and they met again two years later in 1974. Kent State's 51–14 win in the 1974 game capped a stretch where the Golden Flashes went 11–0–1 against the Zips and tied the overall series. Akron finally recorded their first Wagon Wheel win five years later with a 15–13 win at the Rubber Bowl and the Zips' first win over KSU since 1941. The two teams next played in 1981 and again from 1983–1990. 1991
6000-413: Was introduced. Area code 234 was assigned to overlap existing area code 330. With the creation of area code 234, any new phone number in the geographical area formerly covered by area code 330 could be assigned a phone number in either the 234 or 330 area codes, with no change in local or long distance toll status. This made necessary the use of ten-digit dialing within the 330/234 area code region. After
6080-635: Was invited to the national championship playoff as an at-large bid (something the Pioneer league, at least, never received), the second-place team would play in the Gridiron Classic. That game was scrapped after the 2009 season when its four-year contract ran out; this coincided with the NCAA's announcement that the Northeast Conference would get an automatic bid to the tournament starting in 2010. The Big South Conference also received an automatic bid in
6160-645: Was not categorized by sex or sport. Football and men's basketball are usually a university's only profitable sports, and are called "revenue sports". From 2008 to 2012, 205 varsity teams were dropped in NCAA Division I – 72 for women and 133 for men, with men's tennis, gymnastics and wrestling hit particularly hard. In the Football Bowl Subdivision (130 schools in 2017), between 50 and 60 percent of football and men's basketball programs generated positive revenues (above program expenses). However, in
6240-448: Was reduced back to 14 after UA discontinued its men's cross country, men's golf, and women's tennis teams in 2020. From 2011 to 2015, through a sponsorship agreement with PNC Financial Services it was known as the "PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge". Beginning in 2016, it became sponsored by Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center. Each sport is worth one point, awarded to the winning team. In sports with multiple meetings per season, whichever team wins
6320-768: Was renamed Division I, while the College Division was split in two; the College Division members that offered scholarships or wanted to compete against those who did became Division II, while those who did not want to offer scholarships became Division III. For college football only, D-I schools are further divided into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and those institutions that do not have any football program. FBS teams have more players receiving athletic scholarships than FCS teams and formerly (until 2024) had minimum game-attendance requirements. The FBS
6400-472: Was the last interruption in the rivalry before Akron began MAC competition the following year. Since 1992, the game has been played every year. Beginning with the 1997 meeting, the Zips won six in a row and 11 of 13. Kent State's only wins in that span came in 2003 with a 41–38 victory at the Rubber Bowl led by Joshua Cribbs , and a 37–15 win at Dix Stadium in 2006. The 2009 game in Akron, the teams' first meeting at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field , resulted in
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