Story by
Inside Akron basketball head coach change with John Groce, Zips AD
- Story by
- Inside Akron basketball head coach change with John Groce, Zips AD
Former University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce said he is reflecting on his nine seasons at the helm of the Zips "with a smile," adding it wasn't "easy" during an emotional time to inform his players on March 30 he would leave for a job at the College of Charleston .
"I ended up talking to all those guys directly," Groce said. "I thought that was really important. I wanted them to hear from me. Obviously, I love all those guys dearly. I care for them a lot. We've been through a lot together."
Advertisement
Groce and Akron athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich spoke to the Beacon Journal by phone about Groce leaving to become the men's basketball coach at Charleston and the Zips quickly hiring longtime UA assistant Dustin Ford as Groce's successor .
Here are highlights from those conversations:
Why did John Groce leave the Akron Zips basketball team for Charleston?
Everyone who follows the Zips wants to know why Groce chose to leave Akron, especially for another mid-major program. It's widely considered a lateral move.
Akron went 29-6, including 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, during the 2025-26 season. UA became the first men's team to three-peat as a MAC Tournament champion. The Zips captured four MAC tourney crowns (2022, '24, '25 and '26) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in five years under Groce , losing in the first round of March Madness each time. Last season, Charleston went 21-11, including 14-4 in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team suffered a season-ending defeat in the quarterfinal round of the CAA tourney. Charleston made back-to-back March Madness appearances in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Advertisement
"The biggest thing is the opportunity there [at Charleston]," Groce said of his decision. "We went through nine years [at Akron]. I feel very strongly about this place and how it was supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward. But also in combination with that would be the special opportunity at College of Charleston. They've got great leadership there with president [Andrew T.] Hsu and athletic director Matt Roberts.
"They obviously have great resources. It's a great city. They love basketball. It's important to them there — high care factor. There's a lot of pluses other than just the weather, as people like to reference a lot. So, I think it's just a combination of those two things."
Akron Zips assistant coach Dustin Ford (right) advises head coach John Groce in the first half against Texas Tech in a NCAA Tournament first-round game, March 20, 2026, in Tampa.
Financial terms of Groce's five-year contract with Charleston were not immediately disclosed. Akron extended Groce's deal several times during his employment, most recently in June 2025. The latest version of Groce's contract with UA had been scheduled to run until June 30, 2035. His base salary and supplemental compensation combined for $850,000 a year. He had incentives in his contract, too, and buyout language in his deal states he owes $350,000 for terminating it this year.
Advertisement
Of course, a modern-day college coach's salary is only part of the money with which he or she must be concerned. Name, image and likeness deals are used to build rosters and retain talent. The Fear the Roo Collective founded by local businessman Bud Wentz has played a crucial role in shaping Akron basketball's personnel in recent years. Like other schools, UA has also been allowed to directly pay its student-athletes through revenue sharing since July 2025.
Zips column: Coach John Groce has established himself as an Akron legend | Opinion
Akron Zips head coach John Groce watches his team play against Miami during the first half of the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Cleveland.
Groce's aforementioned comment about Zips basketball being "supported in multiple areas, and that was certainly more challenging as we moved forward" gives rise to a natural follow-up question.
Advertisement
Was Groce's decision to leave Akron related to a desire for the university to boost its financial support for men's basketball?
"I don't really want to comment on that just because right now we've obviously moved on, and my focus is on what's ahead," Groce said. "That's a great opportunity with great commitment, high care factor, investment and great resources there [at Charleston] and really good people that I've had an opportunity to meet very quickly. You can tell there's good alignment, and obviously those things are important to any program that's trying to be consistently successful."
Zips sports: Longtime Akron basketball coach John Groce is hired by Charleston
New Akron Zips athletic director Andrew Goodrich talks during his introductory news conference May 12, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Akron Zips AD Andrew T. Goodrich points to UA's financial challenges being tied to John Groce's decision
Hired nearly a year ago as Akron's AD, Goodrich did not shy away from his thoughts about financial support being part of the equation with Groce's departure. Simply put, Goodrich explained he expects Charleston to invest more in men's basketball than UA.
Advertisement
"I believe that the other school offering a greater amount of money specific for revenue share did play a role in John making the decision he made," Goodrich said.
However, Goodrich pushed back against this popular theory: Charleston can afford to throw more money into its men's basketball bucket than Akron because Charleston doesn't have a football team and Akron does.
"I don't think that has anything to do with football," Goodrich said. "I think those things are mutually exclusive. [On social media], somebody asked a question about we lost John Groce because of football. That is absolutely 100% patently false. There's no way that that's true."
Akron Zips athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich reacts visiting The B.F. Goodrich Museum in Canal Place, Dec. 8, 2025. Goodrich discovered he is a distant relative of Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, the industrialist who established the B.F. Goodrich Co. in Akron in 1870.
To further illustrate the point, Goodrich cited the philosophies of one his mentors, retired Duke University AD Kevin White.
Advertisement
"When he got to Duke, they said, 'Hey, we need to protect Duke basketball at all costs,'" Goodrich said. "And they said, 'Well, what do we need to do?' And he said, 'You need to have a good football team, and they need to stay in the ACC because if the football team gets kicked out of the ACC, then you won't have money for Duke men's basketball.' That's proven to be true.
"When you see everything that's going on out there right now about college sports and the Save College Sports group and the media rights bundling, all of it is tied to football. So, the best way to protect, not just men's basketball, but men's soccer, track and field, swim and dive, all of our sports, is by having a robust football program, especially over the next 10 years. Because when the next multimedia-rights package happens and it's bundled, all of that money will go to the universities that have football."
Bud Wentz of Wentz Financial Group, left, chats with Akron Zips coach John Groce after the Zips won the Mid-American Conference championship, March 14, 2026, in Cleveland,.
University of Akron's athletics budget dropped by $8 million, AD Andrew Goodrich says
Aside from the football discussion, questions about why Akron didn't increase its financial commitment to men's basketball to supplement the contributions made by the Fear the Roo Collective remain, especially if an uptick could have convinced Groce to stay.
Advertisement
No other coach has guided UA basketball to as many Division I NCAA Tournament berths as the 54-year-old Groce. With the Zips, he went 197-94, including 114-50 in the MAC. His career record is 377-225, including 4-7 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 at Ohio, 1-1 at Illinois and 0-4 at Akron).
"This university is still on the rebound financially, the whole university, right?" Goodrich said. "We all know the story that we went from 30,000 students down to 15,000. Now, last year, we had a 3.4% increase in enrollment, which kind of looks like a bounce. But the financial piece of that is more like a tsunami, right? You have the earthquake, and then the water comes later. So, we are growing as a university, but the financial support is going to come later."
University of Akron President R.J. Nemer, left, welcomes the school’s new athletic director Andrew Goodrich during an introductory press conference on Monday, May 12, 2025.
Goodrich referenced a study of UA athletics conducted by the Huron Consulting Group.
Advertisement
"The Huron study showed that Akron's competitive athletics expenses are 10.5% below the MAC median, and we are still fighting to get our budget back up," Goodrich said. "Our [annual operating athletics] budget right now, this year's budget is $30 million. It used to be $38 million."
Did UA tell Groce he would need to take a pay cut amid the university's cost-cutting measures? After all, it would be another logical reason for a coach to seek employment elsewhere.
"No, John was never told he needed to take a pay cut. Never," Goodrich said. "... In fairness to John, I told him, as I've told every single person here, 'There may be additional belt-tightening here.' For example, what happens if our enrollment goes down again this year? I can't guarantee anybody the same budget. You can't do it.
"If we have fewer kids, we'll have fewer dollars, and that's it, right? That's why we're trying so hard to get people to support us with gifts because there's a very good chance that the university may ask to cut even more of our budget. So, that's the reality of where we are at the University of Akron. That's why every single dollar matters."
Dustin Ford coaches the University of Akron men's basketball team during the 2025-26 season.
Why did Akron hire Dustin Ford as its new men's basketball coach?
Goodrich said he knew for months Groce would be a hot name on the coaching job market. Although Groce had been linked to several head coaching vacancies, he declined to comment on whether he interviewed anywhere other than Charleston.
Advertisement
"He is a great coach, and people have been trying to get John for a long time," Goodrich said. " ... I have a lot of friends in intercollegiate athletics who, if you call this friendly, [gave me] friendly warning shots: 'Hey, if we need a coach, I might come looking at your coach. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't want you to be upset or sideswiped, Andrew, if people start coming after your coach.'"
Goodrich said the feedback caused him to form a succession plan for Groce, and the exercise led him to Ford, who previously held the title of Zips associate head coach. Ford worked as an assistant under Groce for 18 seasons — all four of Groce's seasons at the helm of Ohio (2008-12), all five at Illinois (2012-17) and all nine at Akron (2017-26).
Dustin Ford worked for the past 18 seasons as an assistant basketball coach on John Groce's staff.
A native of Cambridge, Ohio, the 47-year-old Ford has never previously been a college head coach, yet he has been learning from Groce for nearly two decades.
Advertisement
"We will miss John," Goodrich said. "He is a wonderful human being. We miss the coach, but we're going to miss the man. I love his smile. I love being around him. He's awesome. But he had to talk with his family. He had to search his heart, and I think what he did, he thought maybe it was a time for a change. But that's why I feel so incredibly blessed that Dustin Ford is here and wants to be here and wants to lead this team.
"As sad as I am to lose John, I'm equally glad that Dustin is here, and Dustin's ready. There's not a fan, there's not a college basketball expert who has watched Dustin over the last nine years here ... with John who hasn't thought, 'All right, this guy's ready for head coaching.' He's ready. And I'll be honest with you. If it didn't end up [happening] here, it would have been somewhere else. He was ready, and I know that people were reaching out to him and considering him for jobs."
Akron Zips coach John Groce celebrates during the first half of the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game March 15, 2025, in Cleveland.
Goodrich said he had other options in mind to replace Groce, but he only interviewed Ford because hiring him was "plan A". The meeting occurred on March 30 after Groce told the Zips he would accept the job at Charleston. Goodrich acted quickly. Terms of Ford's contract have not been disclosed and are pending approval by UA's board of trustees.
Advertisement
Groce said he anticipates bringing some Akron assistant coaches with him to Charleston and will collaborate with Ford on the process.
"He's earned the type of opportunity that this presents," Groce said of passing the torch to Ford at Akron. "He's beyond paid his dues. He's well versed in all areas of being able to run a program successfully. We've been doing it such a long time together. I think his strength is his versatility and the fact that he can do just about anything within that coaching box.
"In addition to that, obviously, he has a high work capacity. He's a guy that really works at it, that really cares. I think very highly of him and absolutely love his family. I'm so thankful and grateful for all he's done, not only to help the program at Akron, but to help me and our family."
Groce has similar feelings about Greater Akron as he prepares for the next stop on his coaching journey.
Advertisement
"Just an incredible nine years in the community, at the university with the people that I had the opportunity to do it with, staff, support staff, and then, most importantly, the players," Groce said. "Over nine years, we had a lot of guys that devoted a lot of their time, their effort. They were invested and sacrificed to do something special together. I hope we made a lot of the people certainly in the community and the people that came out to watch us play smile."
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com . On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: John Groce, Andrew Goodrich discuss Akron basketball coach change
