Current university students and alumni alike took to the stadium on October 4 for the University of Akron’s homecoming football game. The game was the closing chapter of homecoming weekend here on campus, family weekend started with a Fall Festival Family Relay Challenge on Friday, with the winning three families winning prizes to take home. Other family weekend events on campus Friday included Button Mania, where you could choose from fall themes to make your own buttons, an Autumn art make-and-take, and an opportunity to check in with campus for family weekend as well as to purchase a family weekend university branded shirt.
To kick off game day, the university hosted a Fall into Nature event held at Bath Nature Preserve, located in Bath Township. Fall Into Nature is an annual free family event including hayrides, pumpkin carving, food trucks, face painting, and live music as well as a myriad of other attractions. The homecoming tailgate event took place during the same times on campus, to end at the same time as kickoff. The tailgate featured live music from Roxxymoron, a local cover band, as well as inflatables and games. The highlight of the tailgate were the performances by UA’s Cheer and Dance Teams which captured the crowd’s attention and added an air of enthusiasm to the event.
The Akron Zips faced Central Michigan’s Chippewas, with Akron’s offense dominating from the kickoff, the tone was celebratory. Alumni and families enjoyed sitting on the grassy hill and rolling down it while the university’s band played anthems and the Cheer team kept the crowd engaged. By halftime the score was well in Akron’s favor, 14-10. President RJ Weaver joined Zippy on the field to announce the homecoming court and ultimately the Homecoming King Zach Fulton and Queen Pailey Vitale. Vitale joined Fulton and the University President to a chorus of celebratory drumbeats from her fellow band members, comradery was evident and added to the jubilant mood in the stadium.
After halftime, the stadium erupted in stomps and cheers every third down, the Cheer Team ran with flags after every touch down through the end zones to ramp up the crowd, even the concessions were full of Zips pride, as I entered a girl with face paint and a bullhorn was yelling “Go Zips”, though her sobriety was in question and not many fans were interacting with her, it did not stop her exuberant performance under the stands. It seemed, no matter what the outcome of the game, Zips everywhere were determined to celebrate the Blue and Gold in style. From the homecoming court arriving in school colors, to the alumni and faculty enjoying family time on the lawn, homecoming weekend gave every University of Akron student in attendance a sense of belonging.
