Back to the College Football Uniforms
Akron is best known as the hometown of LeBron James, but there’s a college football team known as the Zips that also stake claim to the fifth largest city in Ohio.
Similar to the St. Louis Rams’ color flow of white, navy and gold, the Zips usually don all-navy sets with gold trim and shoulder stripes at home and a white jersey accented in navy on the road. The program’s “AKRON” wordmark has been presented across both sets for the last several seasons.
In the past with the three stripes brand, the wordmark was replaced with a “Z” secondary logo, but the “AKRON” splash is more definitive. Perhaps a well-spaced “ZIPS” wordmark would be pleasing on alternate jerseys, but Adidas has no plans for those threads just yet.
Wide side panels set Akron’s look apart from the rest of the Mid-American Conference but the program’s decision to tone down its gold pants for only special occasions was disappointing. Gold is the primary accent color now for the Zips’ navy and white scheme.
The best combination Akron has donned in the last decade was an Adidas throwback get up once during the 2005 season. During a home game against Kent State, the Zips appeared in all-navy and gold 1980s-inspired retro threads free of white. Helmet decals were also switched to the white “A” enclosed in a navy circle.
