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BOCA RATON – Kangaroos roaming free in Ohio and elephants loose in Alabama – if the media kickoff for this year’s Boca Raton Bowl is any indication, South Florida – and all of college football, for that matter – needs to prepare for an entertaining couple of weeks.
With Akron coach Terry Bowden and FAU coach Lane Kiffin sitting on the same stage for the first time since their teams were announced as the participants in the fourth Boca Bowl, the two coaches divulged little with respect to strategy but delighted with their interaction.
Boca Raton mayor Susan Haynie asked Bowden if he could explain why Akron’s nickname is the Zips but the mascot is a kangaroo.
Bowden responded with a brief history lesson, noting that northeast Ohio was home for many of the major tire companies, and one company in the area used the surplus of rubber in the area to create boots and rain coats.
Zippers were sewn into the boots – the first ever use of a zipper. Akron’s original nickname was the Zippers, eventually shortened to Zips.
But a zipper doesn’t make for an engaging, cuddly mascot, so when Akron decided it needed something furry to entertain fans, the Zips elected to go with a Kangaroo. That prompted this exchange:
Bowden: We are the Akron Zips, which is our mascot, the kangaroo, which is [named] Zippy, that comes from actually a zipper that came from a boot. But now that that’s all said, the players really like the Z [helmet sticker], The Z is a cool thing. They like that better than the kangaroo head.
Kiffin: I’m not very educated. Did you just say there’s live kangaroos in Akron?
Bowden (referring to Kiffin’s previouse school, Alabama, which has an elephant as a mascot): There are no elephants in Tuscaloosa. You know the deal. People do crazy things. People do crazy things. I grew up in West Virginia we had the Mannington Gators. There’s no gators in West Virginia, either. But anyway.
Mayor Haynie: We have Owls.
Kiffin: I’ve actually not seen an Owl, so that might not be true, really. I saw raccoons on our campus this morning when I was driving in, though.
And then the conversation veered back to football. For the most part.
FAU seems to be warming to the idea of playing a bowl game in their home stadium.
When the match-up and the bowl pairing was first announced on Sunday, FAU fans and even some FAU officials didn’t view the Boca Raton Bowl as the ideal destination for the Owls. It may not be, but playing on Howard Schnellenberger Field has its advantages.
“Miami used to want to do what? Go to the Orange bowl,” Kiffin said. “USC, UCLA wanted to do what? Go to the Rose Bowl. It can be really special when it’s a premier bowl like this.”
Kiffin’s Owls won their first Conference USA title on Saturday by defeating North Texas 41-17. On Tuesday, Conference USA rewarded seven FAU players with All-Conference selections. Another, tight end Harrison Bryant, made second-team all-conference.
One day later the conference selected FAU running back Devin Singletary as its MVP.
It’s a massive turnaround for the Owls, who went 3-9 in the three years prior to Kiffin taking over, but they are achievements that Kiffin said didn’t surprise the Owls.
“We’re just getting started,” Kiffin said. “This is what our expectation was. I know that’s probably strange to hear. We expected to win the conference championship. We expected to be in a premier bowl like this. This is just the beginning.”
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