Wagon Wheel (trophy)

Wagon Wheel

Akron Zips Kent State Golden Flashes
Sport	Football
First meeting	1923 Akron 32, Kent State 0
Latest meeting	November 27, 2015 Akron 20, Kent State 0
Next meeting	October 1, 2016
Trophy	Wagon Wheel
Statistics
Meetings total	55
All-time series	Akron leads, 31–24–2
Largest victory	Kent State, 47–0 (1949)
Longest win streak	Kent State, 10 (1942–1954)
Longest unbeaten streak	Akron, 12 (1923–1941); Kent State, 12 (1942–1974)
Current win streak	Akron, 1 (2015)

Akron

Kent State

Locations in Ohio

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.

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, the rivalry has been played every year. Through the 2015 game, Kent State leads the Wagon Wheel series 23–21–1 while Akron leads the overall series 32–24–2.

History

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 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 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 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 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 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. After Kent State's 58–18 win in 1954, the series was 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 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 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 a 28–20 Akron win, which tied the Wagon Wheel series at 19 wins each. Since then, Kent State won three in a row through the 2012 game with Akron taking the 2013 meeting.

Conference affiliations

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 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 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 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.

Game results

Akron victories are shaded ██ blue. Kent State victories shaded ██ gold. Ties shaded ██ silver.

Date	Site	Winning team		Losing team		Wagon Wheel series	Overall series
1923	Akron	Akron	32	Kent State	0		UA 1–0
1924–1927	No games
1928	Akron	Akron	8	Kent State	6		UA 2–0
October 5, 1929	Akron	Akron	25	Kent State	0		UA 3–0
October 11, 1930	Akron	Akron	12	Kent State	6		UA 4–0
October 10, 1931	Akron	Akron	12	Kent State	6		UA 5–0
October 22, 1932	Akron	Tie, 0–0					UA 5–0–1
October 7, 1933	Kent	Akron	19	Kent State	6		UA 6–0–1
October 5, 1934	Akron	Akron	26	Kent State	0		UA 7–0–1
October 11, 1935	Akron	Akron	3	Kent State	0		UA 8–0–1
October 9, 1936	Akron	Akron	6	Kent State	0		UA 9–0–1
1937–1939	No games
November 9, 1940	Akron	Akron	23	Kent State	7		UA 10–0–1
November 15, 1941	Akron	Akron	41	Kent State	13		UA 11–0–1
November 14, 1942	Akron	Kent State	23	Akron	6		UA 11–1–1
1943–1945	No games
Wagon Wheel games
November 16, 1946	Akron	Kent State	13	Akron	6	KSU 1–0	UA 11–2–1
November 14, 1947	Kent	Kent State	6	Akron	0	KSU 2–0	UA 11–3–1
November 12, 1948	Akron	Kent State	31	Akron	0	KSU 3–0	UA 11–4–1
November 12, 1949	Kent	Kent State	47	Akron	0	KSU 4–0	UA 11–5–1
November 11, 1950	Akron	Kent State	19	Akron	7	KSU 5–0	UA 11–6–1
November 10, 1951	Kent	Kent State	48	Akron	7	KSU 6–0	UA 11–7–1
November 7, 1952	Akron	Kent State	34	Akron	14	KSU 7–0	UA 11–8–1
November 7, 1953	Kent	Kent State	54	Akron	19	KSU 8–0	UA 11–9–1
November 6, 1954	Akron	Kent State	58	Akron	18	KSU 9–0	UA 11–10–1
1955–1971	No games
September 13, 1972	Akron	Tie, 13–13				KSU 9–0–1	UA 11–10–2
October 26, 1974	Kent	Kent State	51	Akron	14	KSU 10–0–1	Tie 11–11–2
1975–1978	No games
September 15, 1979	Akron	Akron	15	Kent State	13	KSU 10–1–1	UA 12–11–2
1980	No game
September 19, 1981	Kent	Kent State	17	Akron	6	KSU 11–1–1	Tie 12–12–2
1982	No game
September 3, 1983	Akron	Akron	13	Kent State	6	KSU 11–2–1	UA 13–12–2
September 1, 1984	Kent	Kent State	24	Akron	17	KSU 12–2–1	Tie 13–13–2
September 14, 1985	Akron	Akron	24	Kent State	0	KSU 12–3–1	UA 14–13–2
September 13, 1986	Kent	Akron	17	Kent State	7	KSU 12–4–1	UA 15–13–2
September 12, 1987	Akron	Kent State	27	Akron	23	KSU 13–4–1	UA 15–14–2
September 10, 1988	Kent	Kent State	32	Akron	12	KSU 14–4–1	Tie 15–15–2
September 9, 1989	Akron	Akron	40	Kent State	7	KSU 14–5–1	UA 16–15–2
September 8, 1990	Kent	Akron	38	Kent State	10	KSU 14–6–1	UA 17–15–2
1991	No game
October 10, 1992	Kent	Kent State	20	Akron	16	KSU 15–6–1	UA 17–16–2
September 11, 1993	Akron	Akron	42	Kent State	7	KSU 15–7–1	UA 18–16–2
September 17, 1994	Kent	Kent State	32	Akron	16	KSU 16–7–1	UA 18–17–2
October 28, 1995	Akron	Akron	14	Kent State	6	KSU 16–8–1	UA 19–17–2
October 5, 1996	Kent	Kent State	32	Akron	17	KSU 17–8–1	UA 19–18–2
November 8, 1997	Akron	Akron	45	Kent State	35	KSU 17–9–1	UA 20–18–2
October 10, 1998	Kent	Akron	45	Kent State	16	KSU 17–10–1	UA 21–18–2
November 13, 1999	Akron	Akron	37	Kent State	34	KSU 17–11–1	UA 22–18–2
November 18, 2000	Kent	Akron	34	Kent State	6	KSU 17–12–1	UA 23–18–2
September 29, 2001	Akron	Akron	14	Kent State	10	KSU 17–13–1	UA 24–18–2
November 23, 2002	Kent	Akron	48	Kent State	10	KSU 17–14–1	UA 25–18–2
August 28, 2003	Akron	Kent State	41	Akron	38	KSU 18–14–1	UA 25–19–2
September 23, 2004	Kent	Akron	24	Kent State	19	KSU 18–15–1	UA 26–19–2
November 24, 2005	Akron	Akron	35	Kent State	3	KSU 18–16–1	UA 27–19–2
September 30, 2006	Kent	Kent State	37	Akron	15	KSU 19–16–1	UA 27–20–2
September 22, 2007	Akron	Akron	27	Kent State	20	KSU 19–17–1	UA 28–20–2
October 4, 2008	Kent	Akron*	30	Kent State	27	KSU 19–18–1	UA 29–20–2
November 7, 2009	Akron	Akron	28	Kent State	20	Tie 19–19–1	UA 30–20–2
October 9, 2010	Kent	Kent State	28	Akron	17	KSU 20–19–1	UA 30–21–2
November 12, 2011	Akron	Kent State	35	Akron	3	KSU 21–19–1	UA 30–22–2
November 3, 2012	Kent	Kent State	35	Akron	24	KSU 22–19–1	UA 30–23–2
November 2, 2013	Akron	Akron	16	Kent State	7	KSU 22–20–1	UA 31–23–2
November 28, 2014	Kent	Kent State	27	Akron	24	KSU 23–20–1	UA 31–24–2
November 27, 2015	Akron	Akron	20	Kent State	0	KSU 23–21–1	UA 32–24–2

* Overtime game

Wagon Wheel Challenge

In 2011, 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 after Akron eliminated their baseball program after the 2015 season. Through a sponsorship agreement with PNC Financial Services it is known as the "PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge". Each sport is worth one point, awarded to the winning team. In sports with multiple meetings per season, whichever team wins 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 the point if the teams split their regular-season meetings, with the conference tournament meeting acting as a deciding game. Kent State won the first four years of the Wagon Wheel Challenge, and the Zips claimed their first Wagon Wheel Challenge in the 2015–16 season.

Akron victories are shaded ██ blue. Kent State victories shaded ██ gold. Ties shaded ██ silver.

Year	Winner	Total score	Baseball	Men's basketball	Women's basketball	Men's cross country	Women's cross country	Football	Men's golf	Women's golf	Women's soccer	Softball	Men's track and field (indoor)	Women's track and field (indoor)	Men's track and field (outdoor)	Women's track and field (outdoor)	Women's volleyball
2011–12	Kent State	9–6	3–1	3–0	1–1	KSU	UA	KSU	KSU	KSU	KSU	2–0	UA	KSU	UA	KSU	1–1
2012–13	Kent State	8–7	3–0	2–1	2–0	UA	UA	KSU	KSU	KSU	KSU	2–0	UA	KSU	UA	KSU	2–0
2013–14	Kent State	8.5–6.5	3–1	1–1	2–0	UA	UA	UA	KSU	KSU	KSU	2–0	UA	KSU	UA	KSU	2–0
2014–15	Kent State	8–7	2–1	2–1	2–0	UA	KSU	KSU	KSU	KSU	KSU	2–1	UA	UA	UA	UA	2–0
2015–16	Akron	7.5–6.5	NA	1–1	2-0	UA	KSU	UA	KSU	KSU	KSU	2–1	UA	UA	UA	UA	2–0