Kickoff is 11 a.m. with the game being nationally televised by ABC. Practice sessions for the contest begin tomorrow.
Already committed to play in the Senior Bowl, Jan. 18, in Mobile, Ala., Taylor is the only Mid-American Conference player listed to play in the Blue-Gray Classic. The 6-5 1/2, 240-pounder led the Zips with 18 tackles for loss (72 yards in losses), including 10 quarterback sacks. He also forced three fumbles, recovered four fumbles and broke up six passes. His 64 total tackles (43 solo) were sixth on the team.
Taylor was a first-team All-MAC selection and joined forces with inside linebacker Nate Boyd and safety Andre McCray to lead an Akron defensive unit which ranked third in the 10-team Mid-American Conference. Taylor earned MAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week notice after a monstrous game Sept. 7 against Virginia Tech. In a 21-18 loss to the 15th-ranked Hokies, he registered 12 tackles (five solo), three tackles behind the line for 17 yards in losses (two QB sacks), two fumble recoveries and one special teams tackle for a safety. Taylor also lined up as a tight end, primarily in goal-line situations, and caught a 1-yard touchdown pass at Illinois. The Zip senior was chosen Most Valuable Lineman, Outstanding Senior and Captain for a 1996 Akron squad which finished 4-7 overall (3-5 in the MAC, tied for sixth place) in Coach Lee Owens' second season.
Taylor was the subject of an ESPN College Gameday feature on Nov. 16. Twice during the season, he was singled out by Sports Illustrated, once for being among the nation's under-publicized stars and once for his ability as a two-way player. In August, The Sporting News selected him as one of five unheralded NFL prospects.
As a junior, Taylor played outside linebacker and led UA with 99 total tackles, including 11 for loss (five sacks). An Akron basketball letterwinner in 1994-95, he averaged 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Home schooled by his parents, Taylor hails from Wilkins Township in suburban Pittsburgh and competed for Woodland Hills High School. He also has operated a summer basketball camp for urban youngsters in his home area.
Richard Rumsey, a 1987 graduate of SUNY-Oneonta, will replace Greg Burke as Director of Development for Athletics. Burke accepted the athletic director's post at Northwestern State University in Louisiana last August. Rumsey comes to Akron from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., where he served as the Director of Athletic Development for four years.
Gerald Yearwood fills the newly created position of Life Skills Coordinator/Assistant Director of Academic Advising. He has worked as the Chief of Addiction Services/Alcoholism Services at the Syracuse (N.Y.) Community Health Center for the past year, and will team with Coordinator of Academic Advising for Student-Athletes Mary Lu Gribschaw. Yearwood is a 1974 graduate of St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C.
UA football coach Lee Owens now has two openings on his staff. Last month, secondary coach Mark Murphy resigned his post after two years.
Donley, 24, is in her first season with the Zips, having graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 1995. An honorable mention All-America basketball player, she established career records for scoring (1,064 points) and field-goal percentage (55.4) in three seasons at NKU. A native of Grant County, Ky., Donley had coached three AAU teams and served as an assistant girls' basketball coach at Boone County (Ky.) High School prior to her appointment at Akron.
On the men's side, No. 17 (AP) Xavier will invade JAR Arena this Saturday at 3 p.m. Coach Dan Hipsher's squad, now 1-5, is coming off a 69-48 loss at Canisius on Sunday. Xavier, 7-0, has not been ranked this high since 1958.
Other school records were set by the men's 4x400m relay team of Donatelli, C. J. Lemp (Brunswick), Pringle and Marquai Moss (Columbus), who clocked 3:17.62 on their way to a third-place finish. Freshman sprinter LaTrese Taylor (Canton) broke two school records in her first outing as a Zip, as she ran a 7.28 55m dash and a 41.32 300m. A similar performance was put on by Christi Smith (Columbus), as her first collegiate competition yielded school records in the long jump (18-11 1/2) and pentathlon (3,335 points). Monago's winning time in the 400m dash, 58.50, was also a school record.
Donley, 24, is in her first season with the Zips, having graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 1995. An honorable mention All-America basketball player, she established career records for scoring (1,064 points) and field-goal percentage (55.4) in three seasons at NKU. A native of Grant County, Ky., Donley had coached three AAU teams and served as an assistant girls' basketball coach at Boone County (Ky.) High School prior to her appointment at Akron.
"We have every confidence in Angel Donley," said UA Director of Athletics Michael A. Bobinski. "She has the complete support of everyone in our department in helping her to make the transition. Angel is mature beyond her years. She was an outstanding collegiate player and is a bright young coach."
Bobinski indicated a national search to appoint a women's basketball coach will be undertaken once this season is complete.
The Zips, 1-3, are in Myrtle Beach, S.C., next week for the Carolinas Holiday Classic and a Dec. 18 first-round date with the seventh-ranked (AP) Alabama Crimson Tide.
In the midst of her fourth season in charge of the Zip women, Grimes has guided Akron to respectability in the Mid-American Conference. She inherited a program which had won 13 games and lost 69 in the three seasons prior to her arrival. UA improved from 5-21 to 9-18 to 13-13 in the first three years under Grimes. The injury-riddled Zips have gotten off to a 1-3 start this season.
"This has been a trying season, and it has taken its toll," said Grimes. "We have things pointed in the right direction, but it will be in the best interest of the program for me to step aside."
"I am supportive of Coach Grimes' decision and appreciative of all the effort she has given to improve our women's basketball program," said Akron Director of Athletics Michael A. Bobinski.
An interim head coach will be announced before the team leaves for Myrtle Beach, S.C., and a Dec. 18 date with ninth-ranked Alabama.
Ball tallied 34 points, seven assists and six steals in Zip losses to University of California-Santa Barbara (65-58) and Rider College (68-65) at the UCSB Gaucho Classic.
Walker, a Florida State transfer, collected 34 points and 17 rebounds as the women's team fell to Detroit Mercy (111-72) and Liberty (96-90) at the Lady Flames Classic in Lynchburg, Va.
The team is comprised of 115 players from schools which finished the 1996 season under .500.
McCray and Taylor were both recently named to the All-Mid-American Conference Team. The Zips won four of their last seven games and posted a 4-7 (3-5 MAC) mark.
Graduate student Mike Stoops (Suffield) and senior Joe Blandine (Newton Falls) have been notified for athletic training interships with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, respectively, for spring training 1997.
Both young men have assisted the UA athletic training department, under the direction of Marilyn Bowman, Brett Draper and Rich Eroshevich.
Akron dropped both games of the Lady Flames Classic in Lynchburg, Va., over the weekend, falling to Detroit Mercy, 111-72, and to host Liberty, 96-90.
Coach Mary Ann Grimes' club has been beset by injuries. Sophomore guard Abby Hoy (knee surgery, out for the season), senior center Jerilyn Cushing (right knee, out until January), freshman point guard Erica Glover (left leg stress fracture, out 1-2 more weeks) have yet to see action this season. Another name was added to the list during Akron's 87-58 loss to Youngstown State, when senior Michalene Timco (Chardon) suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep her out for the remainder of the season.
At Liberty, freshman forward Jamie Scott (Canal Winchester) took a blow to the head on Saturday and saw limited action the rest of the way. Senior Kelley Burrier (Louisville) scored 18 points in the Detroit loss on Friday and then missed the Liberty game to be at her sister's wedding.
Junior forward Ruth Daley (Ocala, Fla.) is academically ineligible for the rest of the fall semester.
Fresh off a 97-73 victory over Robert Morris, coach Mary Ann Grimes' women (1-0) travel to Youngstown State on Tuesday before leaving Thursday for the Lady Flames Classic in Lynchburg, Pa. UA will meet Detroit in the first round at 5:30. Host Liberty faces Stetson at 7:30.
Coach Dan Hipsher's men (0-2) entertain Wooster (3-0) on Tuesday at 7:30 and then depart for Santa Barbara, Calif., on Wednesday. Akron will draw host UC-Santa Barbara in Thursday's nightcap. Rider will tangle with Westmont at 9:00 EST.
Akron, which opened last season at 3-1, dropped its final 22 games of 1995-96 and is 0-2 to date. The NCAA Division III Fighting Scots are 3-0 and last met Akron on Nov. 26, 1991, falling 80-71 at JAR Arena. Tuesday's meeting marks the 91st renewal of this series.
Coach Dan Hipsher's Zips suffered a 71-55 defeat at Duquesne on Saturday, despite going out to an early 8-0 lead. Second-half shooting woes turned a five-point halftime deficit into an insurmountable lead. Akron shot 26.5 percent from the field in the second half, and 34.9 for the game. The Zips have yielded 30 offensive rebounds in two games, 16 against the Dukes.
Freshman point guard Jimmal Ball (Canton) led the Zips for a second straight game, scoring 13 points, along with six assists and two of Akron's three blocked shots.
Five Zips scored in twin figures as Akron dispatched Robert Morris, 97-73, in its opener Saturday at JAR Arena. Freshman forward Jamie Scott (Canal Winchester) collected 20 points and 13 rebounds in her college debut. Junior Kaila Walker (Mableton, Ga.), freshman Amanda Hubbard (Canton), senior Kelley Burrier (Louisville) and junior Amie Marks (Jewett) tallied 15, 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Three injuries have hampered the Zips to date: sophomore guard Abby Hoy (knee surgery, out for the season), senior center Jerilyn Cushing (right knee, out until January), freshman point guard Erica Glover (left leg stress fracture, out 3-4 weeks). Junior forward Ruth Daley (Ocala, Fla.) is academically ineligible for the rest of the fall semester.