1981 Akron Zips football team

1981 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant; Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

1981 Akron Zips football
1981 Akron Zips football
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
1981 record	5–5 (4–4 OVC)
Head coach	Jim Dennison (9th season);
Captain	Don Schutz; Dennis Brumfield; Brad Reese;
Home stadium	Rubber Bowl
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

The 1981 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Led by ninth-year head coach Jim Dennison, the Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. They finished the season with a record of 5–5 overall and 4–4 in OVC play to tie for fourth place.

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 5	Middle Tennessee	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 7–10
September 12	at Eastern Michigan*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	W 14–7
September 19	at Kent State*	Dix Stadium Kent, OH (Wagon Wheel)	L 6–17
September 26	at No. 5 Eastern Kentucky	Hanger Field Richmond, KY	L 0–37
October 3	Youngstown State	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH (Steel Tire)	L 7–34
October 10	at Tennessee Tech	Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN	W 10–7
October 17	Morehead State	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 31–14
October 24	No. 4 Murray State	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 20–10
October 31	at Austin Peay	Clarksville Municipal Stadium Clarksville, TN	W 23–19
November 7	Western Kentucky	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 14–19	6,002
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "2019 Akron Zips Football Media Guide: Records" (PDF). University of Akron. p. 170. Retrieved May 10, 2020.

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v t Akron Zips football
Venues	League Park (c. 1910) (c. 1915–1939) Rubber Bowl (1940–2008) InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kent State (Wagon Wheel) Youngstown State (Steel Tire, 1940–1995)
Culture & lore	Zippy ""
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

1981 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Eastern Kentucky $^	8	–	0	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Murray State	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Youngstown State	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Tennessee Tech	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Middle Tennessee	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Western Kentucky	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Akron	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Austin Peay	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Morehead State	0	–	8	–	0	1	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll