Why is Kentucky paying $750,000 to play a football game at Akron in 2024?
The University of Kentucky will play a football game at the University of Akron in 2024. And it will pay $750,000 for the opportunity.
UK and Akron entered into a three-game contract in 2017 but have not played since their only previous meeting in 2010 (a 47-10 UK win). That contract has undergone multiple revisions, but all have included a home game for the Zips, a member of the Mid-American Conference. A copy of the contract was obtained by the Herald-Leader through an open records request.
The contract originally called for the Wildcats to host Akron in 2021 before a game there in 2023, followed by another UK home game in 2024. It was amended in 2018 to move the 2021 home game to 2026. Previously, UK was to pay Akron $1.2 million for its trip to Lexington in 2024 and $550,000 for the 2026 trip. UK was to receive no guarantee fee for its visit to Akron in 2023.
The sites and guarantee amounts were changed in the latest amendment, which occurred last year. Now, UK will pay $750,000 to host Akron in 2023, $750,000 to travel there in 2024 and $550,000 to welcome the Zips back in 2026.
So-called “guarantee” games are common in college sports, but it’s uncommon for a visiting party to pay the agreed-upon fee. The total guarantee paid to Akron over the three-game contract has increased by 17.1 percent, to $2.05 million from $1.75 million, but the cost will now be spread out over the course of three budget cycles rather than two.
Akron’s home game was originally scheduled to be played on Sept. 16, 2023, in the third week of the season. The new Akron home game will be played on Aug. 31, 2024, the first Saturday of that season.
The officials for all three games will be assigned by the Southeastern Conference and be paid for by UK. Akron owns the TV rights to its home game, but the MAC, like the SEC, is partnered with ESPN.
There is no specific language in the contract pertaining to a potential buyout of the Akron home game, but as evidenced by the previous amendments, the scheduling of future non-conference contests is always subject to change. That would especially be true if Oklahoma and Texas, scheduled to join the SEC in 2025, are released from their Big 12 affiliation earlier than anticipated.
Kentucky was scheduled to play a game at Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference in 2019 but the Eagles agreed to move that game to Lexington for a fee.
As of now, UK seems intent on playing Akron in its first game in the state of Ohio since hopping across the river to beat Miami (Ohio) 42-0 at Paul Brown Stadium in 2009. A game at Akron would be Kentucky’s first true road game in Ohio since a 24-3 loss at Cincinnati in 1996. Excluding in-state rival Louisville, formerly of Conference USA, UK since the trip to UC has played only one road game at a non-major school; the Cats won 24-17 at Southern Miss in 2017.
Head coach Mark Stoops and associate head coach Vince Marrow hail from Youngstown, Ohio, which is about an hour east of Akron, and much of the Wildcats’ recent success is attributable to their success recruiting that state. Sixteen of the players on UK’s spring roster were from Ohio, second only to Kentucky (37).
Akron in the last five seasons has played at Auburn and South Carolina, both losses. It last hosted a Power Five school in 2017, falling to Iowa State, 41-14. The Zips have never hosted an SEC school, and are 0-8 against the conference all-time.
InfoCision Stadium, where Akron plays its homes games, has a capacity of about 30,000. Joe Moorhead, formerly the head coach at Mississippi State, was named head coach of the Zips in December.
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 11:11 AM.
