AKRON, OHIO – When the Akron Zips take the field for their 2019 season opener at Illinois, they will do so with a 37-year-old native of northeast Ohio as their new head football coach.
Tom Arth was named as the 28th head coach in UA football history at a press conference late Monday afternoon at InfoCision Stadium.
“I am both excited and motivated by the challenges ahead to lead this program and the student athletes great success both on and off the field.” Arth said in his opening remarks.
“Tom’s experience in leading two programs and his ties to Northeast Ohio made him the exceptional candidate to elevate our program.” UA Athletic Dirtector Larry Williams said.
His appointment marks the third Mid-American Conference new head coach for the 2019 season joining Scot Loeffler at Bowling Green, and Jim McIlwain at Central Michigan.
Prior to his two seasons in Chattanooga, Arth was head coach at his alma mater, John Carroll University, in suburban Cleveland, where he had a 40-8 record and three visits to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
When the Zips play the Fighting Illini, Arth will become one of the youngest head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivison, joining Kent State’s Sean Lewis, Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, Mike Sanford at Western Kentucky, and P. J. Norvell at Memphis as some of the younger head coaches taking the helm.
Arth was born in Cleveland and grew up in the suburb on Westlake. He played High School football at Saint Ignatius High School for legendary head coach Chuck Kyle. In his senior season of 1998, he passed fopr 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading the Wildcats to the Ohio Division I Championship Game against Canton McKinley.
In his four seasons at JCU he set 18 school records, passing for 10,457 yards and 89 touchdowns. In his senior season of 2002, he led the Blue Streaks to the Division III playoffs, collecting wins over Hobart, Muehlenberg, and SUNY-Brockport before losing in the semi-finals to perennial Division III power Mount Union.
Arth did have a stint in professional football, spending three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts as a backup to future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. He also played in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores and the Hamburg Sea Devils.
In 2006, Arth signed with the Green Bay Packers but was released before that season’s training camp. In 2007 he signed and was later released by the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts before ending his playing career in the Arena Football League with the Grand Rapids Rampage and later the Georgia Force in 2008.
After a time in the private secture, Arth came back to football as an assistant head coach at JCU in 2012 and then was promoted to head coach in 2013.
His Blue Streaks had an 11-win season in 2014 and notched two wins in the Division III playoffs over Centre College and Wheaton. Then, in his last season of 2016, the Streaks went 12-2 with wins playoff wins over Olivet,
Wesley, and Wisconsin-Whitewater before losing in the semi-finals to Wisconsin-Oshkosh 10-3.
Arth, who was announced one day before a key National Letter of Intent signing period, must now put together a staff and build for MAC battles, especially with Eastern Division teams.
After the season opener, Arth’s first home game comes against UAB on September 7. The Zips will round out their non-conference schedule with a home game against Troy and a road test at Massachusetts