The Mount Union Purple Raiders football program represents the

University of Mount Union The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduat ...

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

level as members of the

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) was formed in 1902 and is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States. Its current commissioner is Sarah Otey. Former commissioners include Mike Cleary, who was the first General Manager of a profe ...

(OAC). Mount Union have played their home games at Mount Union Stadium in

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

since 1913, which makes it the oldest college football stadium in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The Purple Raiders have claimed 13

NCAA Division III Football Championship The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

and 30 OAC titles and have 12 undefeated seasons. Mount Union's first game was an 18–0 loss at home to

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

, from

Gambier, Ohio Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,391 at the 2010 census. Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. A major feature is a gravel path running the length of the village, referred to as "Middle Path". This ...

, on November 7, 1893. The first program victory came 11 days later in a 20–0 win over

Salem University Salem University is a private for-profit university in Salem, West Virginia. It has about 250 students on campus and about 600 online students that are enrolled in undergraduate as well as graduate programs. The university was founded by the Sev ...

Salem, West Virginia Salem is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,485 at the 2020 census. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia Route 23; the North Bend Rail Trail passes through the city.DeLorme ( ...

. The team competed as an independent from 1893 until 1913, and joined the OAC in 1914. The Purple Raiders played in the OAC for 71 years before winning their first conference title, which came in 1985 under coach

Ken Wable Kenneth Wable (August 22, 1927 – September 6, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mount Union University The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in ...

. Since then, the program has won 30 titles in 35 years, including a 24-year streak from 1992 to 2015. During this run, the Purple Raiders went 214–2 versus OAC opponents. The title-streak spanned two coaches,

Larry Kehres Larry Kehres (born September 7, 1949) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mount Union—formerly known as Mount Union College—in Alliance, Ohio for 27 ...

and Vince Kehres.

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3, ...

ended the streak by winning the OAC title in 2016 where they defeated Mount Union 31–28 on November 12, 2016.

History

Beginnings (1893–1913)

The first football game played by Mount Union was on the school's baseball field on November 7, 1893 against

. In their first year they went 1–2, with their lone win coming against

. The following season, the team had their first coach, Coach Davis, who led them to a 4–5 record. In 1895 and 1898 the team failed to field a team, but was able to have their first winning season, under Coach Battles in 1899, with a 5–1–1 record. It wasn't until 1903 and 1904 that the program maintained a head coach for two consecutive years, which was Pearl Sommerville, who went 4–11–1 in his two seasons. The program built stability when Robert Dawson took over as coach in 1909 and oversaw the program as it joined the

(OAC) in 1914.

A growing program (1914–1961)

In addition to Dawson's eight-year tenure and a transition to the OAC, Mount Union Stadium was built which gave the program a permanent home and even more stability. Over the course of Dawson's career, he went 49–24–4 (10–7, OAC). From 1920 to 1921, Mount Union was coached by

Eddie Casey Edward Lawrence Casey (May 16, 1894 – July 26, 1966) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Harvard University and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Casey was MVP of the 1920 Rose Bowl ...

, who went on to be inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1968. Following his time at Mount Union, he coached

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

's Boston Bears. John M. Thorpe coached the Purple Raiders from 1922 to 1931, compiling a 55–32–7 (42–22–4, OAC) record. During his tenure, he served as both head coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

for the school. He was followed by Harry Geltz (1932–1941), who was unable to match his long-term success and left the program in 1941, when he went 1–15–1 (0–11, OAC) in his final two years.

Pete Pederson Willard Merrill "Pete" Pederson (October 28, 1910 – September 8, 1982) was an American college football and basketball coach as well as professional basketball player. Professionally, he played in the National Basketball League for the Oshkosh ...

was hired in 1942, but after one season the program was suspended due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The program remained suspended for three seasons and returned under Pederson in 1946. Pederson left after the 1949 season to take over as head coach at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

Ken Wable era (1962–1985)

was hired as the head coach for the Purple Raiders in 1962. He had previously served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest, Muskingum, and

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Wable coached at Mount Union for 24 seasons, where he went 123–95–2. Beginning in 1979, Wable coached the team to a winning record of 7–2, and every season since, the program has maintained a winning record. Wable was named OAC Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1985. In 1985, he led the Purple Raiders to their first conference title and first berth in the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs.

Larry Kehres era (1986–2012)

became the athletic director at Mount Union. In 1986, he took over as head football coach. His teams have won 11 NCAA Division III Football Championships (1993, 1996–1998, 2000–2002, 2005–2006, 2008, 2012). Kehres' teams hold several

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

records. In addition to owning the two longest winning streaks in NCAA history, 54 wins from 1996–1999 and 55 wins from 2000–2003, the Mount Union Purple Raiders won a conference title in 23 of his 27 seasons; at Kehres' retirement, Mount Union had an ongoing streak of 21 conference titles. During his tenure, Kehres only lost eight games and tied three times in conference play. From 1994 to 2005, his squads won 100 consecutive games against

opponents. The 1994 season was the last under his tenure in which the Purple Raiders lost more than one game. Finally, his record of 72–3 (.960) in his final five seasons is the best in college football history, surpassing

Tom Osborne Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a former American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska. He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 season ...

's 60–3 (.952) in his final five seasons at

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Kehres is 3–1 against college football's all-time winningest coach,

John Gagliardi John Gagliardi ( ; November 1, 1926 – October 7, 2018) was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1953 until 2012. From 1949 to 1952, he was the head footbal ...

, having beaten Gagliardi's St. John's squads twice in playoff match-ups and traded wins in the national title game in 2000 and 2003. In 2009, Kehres was named first vice president of the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA). He was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the AFCA in January 2010. In 2013, Kehres retired after 27 years as head coach to become the Athletic Director of Mount Union.

Vince Kehres era (2013–2019)

Vince Kehres, who had previously served as defensive coordinator, was hired as the next head coach of Mount Union on May 8, 2013, replacing his father. During his time as coach Vince went 95–6 winning six OAC titles and two national titles in his seven years. He was named OAC Coach of the year three times. On January 13, 2020, it was announced that Vince was leaving the program to take a position with the

Toledo Rockets The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The ...

. All together, Vince spent 13 years with Mount Union, eight of which were as defensive coordinator. He would leave the university with the highest winning percentage in program history.

Head coaching history

Championships

Through the 2022 season, the Purple Raiders have won 33

(OAC) titles. They won their first OAC title in 1985 and repeated in 1986, followed by a third title in 1990. Beginning with their 1992 OAC championship, the team won 24 consecutive OAC titles, with their 2015 championship being the final in the streak. Through the 2022 season, Mount Union has won 13 Division III National Championships and has 22 total appearances in the

Stagg Bowl The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

, including 11 consecutively, along with 33 playoff appearances.

Individual awards and achievements

NCAA Division III Player of the Year

* 1993:

Jim Ballard James Ballard (born April 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. College career Ballard was a one-year starter at Wilmington College then transferred after his freshman year to Mount Union College. While at Mount Union, Ballard ...

* 1996: Bill Borchert * 1997: Bill Borchert * 2001: Chuck Moore * 2002: Dan Pugh * 2008:

Nate Kmic Nate Kmic (born June 22, 1987) is a former professional American football running back. He played college football at Mount Union College after graduating from Delta High School in rural Delta, Ohio In his college career, he set rushing r ...

& Greg Micheli * 2013: Kevin Burke * 2014: Kevin Burke

Mike Gregory/Bob Packard Award

Awarded to the OAC's Most Valuable offensive back and offensive lineman. The award was renamed in 2008. * 1975: Gary Frost * 1982: Dave McLaughlin * 1983: Steve Harter & Tony Colao * 1985: Scott Woolf * 1986: Mike Groff & Scott Gindlesberger * 1987: Russ King * 1989: Mike Garn * 1990: Brad Petro & John Bouloubasis * 1992:

& Mike Elder * 1993:

* 1994: Matt Johnson * 1996: Bill Borchert * 1997: Bill Borchert * 1998: J. W. Wearley * 1999: Tom Bauer * 2000: Gary Smeck & Jason Gerber * 2001: Ed Malone & Chuck Moore * 2002: Dan Pugh * 2003: Larry Kinnard * 2004: Zac Bruney * 2005: Jason Lewis * 2006: Jason Lewis * 2007: Greg Micheli * 2007: Derek Blanchard * 2008:

* 2012: Kevin Burke * 2014: Kevin Burke * 2017: D’Angelo Fulford * 2018: D’Angelo Fulford * 2019: D’Angelo Fulford * 2021: Braxton Plunk

OAC Defensive Player of the Year

* 1984: Troy Starr

Paul Hoernemann Award

Awarded to the OAC's most valuable defensive lineman * 1985: John Heather * 1992: Mike Hallett * 1993: Mike Hallett * 1997: Jim Eismon * 1998: Jeremy Yoder * 2001: Matt Campbell * 2002: Matt Campbell * 2007: Pat McCullough * 2008: James Herbert * 2011: Charles Dieuseul * 2012: Matt Fechko * 2014: Tom Lally * 2015: Tom Lally

Ed Sherman Award

Awarded to the OAC's Most Valuable Receiver * 1988: Ed Hogya * 1992: Rob Atwood * 1993: Ed Bubonics * 1996: Kevin Knestrick * 1997: Kevin Knestrick * 1999: Adam Marino * 2000: Adam Marino * 2003: Randell Knapp * 2005: Scott Casto * 2006:

Pierre Garçon Pierre Andre Garçon (; born August 8, 1986) is a former American Football wide receiver. He played college football at Norwich University and Mount Union College, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

* 2007: Pierre Garcon * 2008: Cecil Shorts * 2009: Cecil Shorts * 2017: Justin Hill * 2018: Justin Hill * 2019: Justin Hill * 2021: Wayne Ruby Jr.

Bill Edwards/Gene Slaughter Award

Awarded to the OAC's most valuable or top linebacker. The award was renamed. * 1990: Dave Lasecki * 1993: Rob Rodgers * 1994: Rob Rodgers * 1995: Mike Wenderfer * 1998: Jason Hall * 2000: Jesse Pearson * 2001: Jason Perkins * 2004: Shaun Spisak * 2005: Mike Gibbons * 2009: Sam Kershaw * 2012: Charles Dieuseul * 2015: Hank Spencer * 2018: Danny Robinson * 2021: Mason McMillen

Lee J. Tressel Award

Awarded to the OAC's most valuable defensive back. * 1996: Sean Moore * 1997: Mark Black * 1998: Kris Bugara * 2001: Chris Kern * 2002: Chris Kern * 2004: Jesse Clum * 2008: Daryl Ely * 2009: Drew McClain * 2011: Nick Driskill * 2012: Nick Driskill * 2014: Alex Kocheff * 2015: Tre Jones * 2018: Louis Berry IV * 2019: Kordell Ford * 2021: Malik Britt

Ken Wable Award

Awarded to the OAC's top offensive lineman. * 2011: Antonio Tate * 2012: Antonio Tate * 2016: Brooks Jenkins * 2017: Cole Parish * 2019: Sean Sherman * 2021: John Valentine

Clyde A. Lamb Award

The Clyde A. Lamb Award is presented annually to the top male and female senior scholar-athlete at each Ohio Athletic Conference institution. * 1985: Rick Marabito * 1986: Scott Woolf * 1987: Scott Gindlesberger * 1988: Joe Knoll * 1989: Paul Hrics * 1992: Jeff Bartolet * 1993: Eric Mysona * 1995: Richard Dine * 1998: Michael Altier * 1999: Darin Kershner * 2000: Tom Bauer * 2001: Matt LaVerde * 2002: Chuck Moore * 2003: Josh Liddell * 2004: Zac Bruney * 2006: Scott Casto * 2007: Eric Safran * 2008: Greg Micheli * 2009: Judd Lutz * 2011: Alex Ferrara * 2012: Nick Driskill * 2015: Hank Spencer * 2019: Louis Berry IV

First Team All-Americans

* 1959: Bill Davis (QB/DB) * 1979: Paul Gulling (WR), Jeff Teece (DT) * 1985: Scott Woolf (QB), John Heather (DT) * 1986: Russ Kring (FB), Scott Gindlesberger (QB) * 1987: Russ Kring (FB) * 1990: Dave Lasecki (LB), Ken Edelman (K) * 1992:

(WB), Mike Elder (OT), Rob Atwood (TE), Chris Dattilio (LB) * 1993: Ed Bobonics (WR), Mike Hallett (DT), Rob Rodgers (LB), * 1994: Matt Johnson (OT) * 1995: Matt Liggett (DT), Mike Wenderfer (OG) * 1996: Bill Borchert (QB), Josh Weber (OT), Brian Wervey (LB), Josh Weimer (OT) * 1997: Bill Borchert (QB), Josh Weimer (OT), Vic Ricketts (OG) * 1998: Jason Hall (LB), Kris Bugara (DB), J.W. Wearley (OT) * 1999: Tom Bauer (C), Jason Gerber (OT), Adam Marino (WR) * 2000: Jason Gerber (OT), Gary Smeck (QB), Adam Marino (WR), Bill Rychel (OL) * 2001: Adam Indorf (OL), Todd Braden (DE), Matt Campbell (DE), Chris Kern (CB), Ed Malone (OL) * 2002: Matt Campbell (DE), Chris Kern (CB), Larry Kinnard (OL), Dan Pugh (RB) * 2003: Larry Kinnard (OL), Bob Bradley (OL), Shaun Spisak (LB) * 2004: Shaun Spisak (LB), Johnny Josef (DE) * 2005: Ross Watson (CB), Mike Gibbons (LB), Jason Lewis (OT) * 2006: Jason Lewis (OT), Justen Stickley (DE),

(WR), Derek Blanchard (OL),

(RB) * 2007: Pierre Garcon (WR), Derek Blanchard (OL), Eric Safran (OL), Matt Kostelnik (DB), Nate Kmic (RB), Greg Micheli (QB), Patt McCullough (DT) * 2008:

(RB), Greg Micheli (QB), James Herbert (DL), Luke Summers (DL) * 2009: Cecil Shorts (WR), Sam Kershaw (LB) * 2010: Cecil Shorts (WR) * 2011: Brett Ekkens (OL), Charles Dieuseul (DL), Nick Driskill (DB) * 2012: Nick Driskill (DB), Antonio Tate (OL), Jasper Collins, Chris Denton (RET), Matt Mattox (OL) * 2013: Kevin Burke (QB), Matt Fechko (DL) * 2014: Kevin Burke (QB), Alex Kocheff, Tom Lally * 2015: Alex Kocheff, Tom Lally, Mike Furda * 2016: Mitch Doraty, Brooks Jenkins, BJ Mitchell, Mike Vidal * 2017: Mike Vidal, Elijah Berry, Cole Parrish, Gabe Brown, Alex Louthan * 2018: Louis Berry IV, Danny Robinson, Andrew Roesch, D'Angelo Fulford

Notable alumni

* Kevin Burke, former

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1984. The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based ...

and

Nationalliga A (American football) The Nationalliga A is the highest league level of American football in Switzerland and was formed in 1982. The first Swiss Bowl championship was played in 1986. Below the ''Nationalliga A'' sits the ''Nationalliga B'', also made up of six teams. T ...

player. Two time NCAA Division III Player of the Year. *

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Europe,

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

and

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

player. Inducted into the

. * Matt Campbell, current

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

head coach *

Jason Candle Jason Tyler Candle (born November 12, 1979) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at the University of Toledo. He had been an assistant at Toledo since 2009, and at Mount Union before that. Candle played wide re ...

, current

head coach *

Dom Capers Ernest Dominic Capers (born August 7, 1950) is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Carolina Panthers and ...

, former

head coach of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

(1995–1998) and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

(2002–2005) * Jasper Collins, current

player * Wilmer Fleming, former

player *

Pierre Garcon Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...

, former

player, 2013 NFL receptions leader *

Alex Grinch Alexander Gregory Grinch (born May 29, 1980) is an American football coach who serves as the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California (USC). He previously served as defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma, Ohio S ...

, current

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

, former Mount Union head coach *

, former

IFAF The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a pro ...

World Champion, IFAF World Championship MVP,

Vaahteraliiga The Vaahteraliiga (Maple League) founded in 1980 is the highest level of American football in Finland played under American Football Association of Finland. The winner of the Vaahteraliiga is the Finnish champion. The Vaahteraliiga season is playe ...

pro player. All time leading rusher in college football history. *

Harry March Harry Addison March (December 11, 1875 – June 10, 1940) was an early football historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize the National Football League and well as the second American Football League. March ...

, co-founder of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and president of the

(1936) * Kyle Miller, former

player * Kurt Rocco, former

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player * Cecil Shorts, former

player,

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

fourth-round pick *

Jeff Shreve Jeff Shreve is an American public address announcer for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, University of Akron football and men's basketball, the Mid-American Conference and the former public address announcer of the Cleveland C ...

, current

public address A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Akron Zips football Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

and

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

* Scott Woolf, former

player *

Nick Sirianni Nicholas John Sirianni (born June 15, 1981) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from ...

, current

head coach of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

References

External links

* {{Ohio Athletic Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1893 1893 establishments in Ohio