Rubber Bowl

The Rubber Bowl is a stadium in Akron, Ohio primarily used for American football. From 1940 to 2008, it served as the home field of the University of Akron's Zips football team. Today, it is occasionally used for high school football.

It is named after the predominance of the tire industry in Akron.

The stadium opened in 1940, has a capacity of 31,000, and is located about three miles southeast of the main campus, next to Akron Fulton International Airport.

History
Prior to playing at the Rubber Bowl, the Zips football teams played at Buchtel Field.

The Rubber Bowl has hosted 324 Akron Zips football games, 19 preseason Cleveland Browns’ games, a regular-season NFL game, over 1,500 high school games (including several Ohio High School Athletic Association playoff games), soccer matches, concerts and shows.

In the Summer of 1988,the stadium played host to Van Halen's "Monsters of Rock" tour.The show was headlined by Van Halen and featured Metallica on the bill as well. In 1998 Ozzfest was held at the Rubber Bowl instead of its normal Akron/Cleveland venue (the Blossom Music Center).

Timeline

 * October 5, 1940
 * First Akron Zips football game at Rubber Bowl.


 * November 9, 1940
 * First Akron Zips victory at Rubber Bowl.


 * November 27, 1952
 * In a "home" Thanksgiving Day game for the NFL's Dallas Texans, which was taken over by the league after ownership fell apart, the Texans earned a 27-23 upset victory against the George Halas-coached Chicago Bears, who had started their entire second-string team because Halas was confident of winning. It would be the Texans' only win in their franchise history.


 * September 30, 1961
 * First Akron Zips sellout crowd at Rubber Bowl.


 * 1971
 * The stadium was sold to the University of Akron from the City of Akron for one dollar. The city still uses it for various public school functions.


 * 1983
 * New carpet playing surface installed.




 * October 16, 1986
 * Akron Zips make their first appearance on ESPN.


 * 1988
 * The stadium played host to Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come in 1988 on Van Halen's "Monsters of Rock" tour.


 * November 24, 2001
 * Akron Zips beat Eastern Michigan 65-62; 127 combined points marked the highest scoring game in Rubber Bowl history.


 * 2003
 * New AstroPlay playing surface installed.


 * September 20, 2003
 * Akron Zips defeat Howard 65-7; the 65 points registered by the Zips tied the mark for most points scored by Akron at the Rubber Bowl in a single game.


 * November 13, 2008
 * Zips played the last game they will ever play in the Rubber Bowl against Buffalo, losing 40-43 after quadruple overtime. The Rubber Bowl was in disrepair and the University of Akron decided instead of renovating the Rubber Bowl, it would be best to build an on campus stadium, Infocision Stadium/Summa Field.

Final game
The last scheduled Akron Zips football game at the Rubber Bowl took place on November 13, 2008 against the Buffalo Bulls. It was the 324th and final scheduled Zips game in history and included a special ceremony (pictured) with current and former players and coaches to honor the 68-year history of the stadium after the game.

The game was nationally televised on ESPN and featured the two teams tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference's Eastern Division with identical 5-4 (3-2) records entering the game. Buffalo defeated the Zips 43-40 in four overtimes in front of a crowd of 18,516. For the Zips, it was the first four-overtime game in school history and also the first overtime loss in school history. The win for the Bulls guaranteed bowl eligibility and led to their eventual MAC East Division title and later overall MAC title after they won the 2008 MAC Championship Game in December.

InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field
On August 1, 2007, University of Akron officials announced the approval of a new stadium. Construction for InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field started in January, 2008 with the demolition of dorms and houses on the stadium footprint. An official ground breaking was on held April 4, 2008.

The first game was held on September 12, 2009 against the Morgan State Bears, the second game of their 2009 season.