Akron Zips men's basketball
Year Seed Location Round Result
1998 3rd Akron , OH Quarterfinal L 95-88 to ( 6 ) Kent State
1999 4th Akron , OH Quarterfinal L 80-74 ( 5 ) Bowling Green
2000 4th Akron , OH Opening L 75-73 to ( 13 ) Central Michigan
2001 9th Oxford , OH Opening L 69-56 to ( 8 ) Miami
2002 11th Kalamazoo , MI Opening W 90-83 over ( 6 ) Western Michigan
Cleveland , OH Quarterfinal L 60-58 to ( 3 ) Bowling Green
2003 6th Akron , OH Opening L 79-77 to ( 11 ) Ohio
2004 11th Muncie , IN Opening L 76-72 to ( 6 ) Ball State
2005 6th Akron , OH Opening W 79-66 over ( 11 ) Eastern Michigan
Cleveland , OH Quarterfinal L 66-60 to ( 3 ) Western Michigan
2006 3rd Cleveland , OH Quarterfinal W 72-57 over ( 6 ) Western Michigan
2007 2nd Cleveland , OH Quarterfinal W 82-53 over ( 7 ) Central Michigan
2008 3rd Cleveland , OH Quarterfinal W 81-60 over ( 6 ) Central Michigan
2009 5th Cleveland , OH Opening W 93-92 over ( 12 ) Toledo
MAC Tournament
Since joining the MAC for the 1992–1993 season , the Zips have appeared in the last 16 conference tournaments , making their first appearance in 1998 , the same year they won their first MAC East division title . [ 4 ] Since then they have posted a record of 21–14 in tournament play including appearances in the championship game between 2007–2013 . By appearing in 7 consecutive MAC Tournament Championship Games , the Zips are the MAC record-holder for the most consecutive appearances .
The Akron Zips men's basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The Zips are currently coached by John Groce. Prior to becoming members of the MAC in 1992, the Zips were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference. In 2008, the Zips officially announced they had signed a three-year partnership to be outfitted by the LeBron James line by Nike. They are now the only team with a LJ23/Nike contract. Nike has released several Zips themed versions of LeBron's shoes. Some are available to the public, while others are exclusively for the members of the basketball team. The team first played in the NCAA Tournament in 1986 when Bob Huggins was their coach. The Zips won their first MAC East division title in 1998. In 2006, the Zips received an invitation to the NIT and won their first-ever post season game at Temple University before falling in the second round. In 2007, the team won their second MAC East title and tied the school record for wins in a season in the Division I era with 26.