Kent State Golden Flashes football The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent , Ohio . The team is a member of the Mid - American Conference East division , which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ' s Football Bowl Subdivision ( formerly Division I - A ) . The Golden Flashes played their first game in 1920 and since 1969 have played their home games at Dix Stadium . Darrell Hazell , the former assistant head coach at Ohio State , was hired as head coach in 2010 . History . The team was founded in 1920 and played their first game against Ashland College , a 6 - 0 loss under coach Paul Chandler . Kent State would record their first win that year , but it would be in the form of a forfeit . The team would not record their first true victory until November 14 , 1925 , a 7 - 6 win over West Liberty State College . Outside the forfeited win in 1920 , Kent State would fail to score in their first 14 games , posting a record of 0 - 13 - 1 before finally putting points on the board in a 7 - 6 loss to West Liberty in 1923 . During that streak , Kent State would suffer the worst loss in school history , a 118 - 0 loss to Baldwin - Wallace College , also in 1923 . Following the 7 - 6 loss to West Liberty , a new shutout streak began which lasted 8 games , in which the Flashes , then known as the " Silver Foxes " went 0 - 6 - 2 . The streak began with the second most lopsided loss in school history , an 82 - 0 loss to Slippery Rock . The streak finally ended with a 6 - 6 tie with the Indiana ( PA ) Normal School in 1925 , the game which preceded Kent State ' s first true victory . Kent State posted their first winning season in 1928 , going 4 - 2 - 2 . Ohio Athletic Conference . Kent State would join the Ohio Athletic Conference beginning in the 1931 season , playing in the OAC through the 1950 season except for the 1943 – 1945 seasons , which were cancelled due to American involvement in World War II . Under coach G . Donald Starn , who coached Kent State from 1935 – 1942 , the Flashes would begin to taste success , posting winning seasons in 1938 ( 6 – 2 ) , 1940 ( 8 – 1 ) , and 1942 ( 5 – 3 ) . During their time in the OAC , the Flashes never won a conference title , but did finish second in 1940 with a 4 – 0 conference record . The team finished third in both 1948 and 1949 , going 3 – 0 and 2 – 0 respectively in conference play . Coach Trevor Rees . In 1946 , the program was revived after the conclusion of World War II under coach Trevor Rees , who would coach the Flashes to their first era of consistent success . During his tenure , which lasted 18 seasons , the Flashes would post winning seasons in all but 5 of them . In 1950 , the team opened their first true stadium , Memorial Stadium , by defeating Marietta College 57 - 0 . The next season saw the Golden Flashes join the Mid - American Conference . Rees would guide the team to its first bowl appearance in the 1954 Refrigerator Bowl . Rees coached Kent State from 1946 - 1963 , posting a record of 92 - 63 - 5 ( . 591 ) . MAC Championship . In 1971 , Don James took over as head coach . Under James , and with notable players such as Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and former Pittsburgh Steelers middle linebacker Jack Lambert , current Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban , and current Missouri Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel , Kent State was finally able to celebrate its first — and so far only — Mid - American Conference title in 1972 followed by a trip to the 1972 Tangerine Bowl . James would coach at Kent State four seasons ( 1971 - 1974 ) , posting an overall record of 25 - 19 - 1 ( . 567 ) which included a 9 - 2 record in 1973 . James left after the 1974 season to accept the head coaching job at the University of Washington , where he would eventually win the 1991 national championship . Inconsistencies . Following the departure of Don James , the team ' s fortunes began to decline . Although James ' successor Dennis Fitzgerald , who coached for three seasons ( 1975 – 77 ) , was able to lead the team to a 8 – 4 record and second - place MAC finish in 1976 and a winning 1977 season , by 1979 the team was once again at the bottom of the MAC , going 1 – 10 . From 1975 – 1993 Kent State had 7 different coaches with no coach lasting beyond three seasons . Also during that time period , the Flashes had three winless seasons and two 1 - win seasons . Glen Mason was hired in 1986 and in his two seasons in Kent posted two consecutive 2nd place MAC finishes including a 7 - 4 overall mark in 1987 , the Flashes ' first winning season since 1977 . Former Flashes standout Jim Corrigall began in 1994 and became the first coach since Don James to coach more than three seasons , though he lasted only four . Dean Pees was hired in 1998 and suffered through the Flashes ' most recent winless season ( 0 – 11 in 1998 ) before leading the team to a slow recovery . In 2001 Kent State posted their first winning season since 1987 when they were led by quarterback Joshua Cribbs to a 6 – 5 overall record , 5 – 3 in the MAC . Pees would leave Kent State after the 2003 season to take a job with the New England Patriots ; Pees once the Linebackers coach , is now the Defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens . Head coach Doug Martin began his tenure in 2004 . His best season was the 2006 season , which saw Kent State go 6 – 6 overall and 5 – 3 in the MAC , finishing second in the East division . Kent State began the 2010 season with hopes of contending for a MAC title , but early losses at Miami and Toledo ended any hope for a title . The team did record its first - ever sell - out at Dix Stadium on October 9 when a crowd of 24 , 211 watched the Flashes defeat the arch - rival Akron Zips 28 – 17 to reclaim the Wagon Wheel . In the days following a 38 – 3 loss at Western Michigan , which dropped the team ' s record to 4 – 7 and 3 – 4 , Doug Martin announced his resignation , effective at the conclusion of the season . The team responded with a 28 – 6 upset win over the first - place Ohio Bobcats at Dix Stadium to finish with a record of 5 – 7 overall and 4 – 4 in the MAC . Martin finished his tenure with a record of 29 – 53 ( ) overall and 21 – 35 ( ) in the MAC . Darrell Hazell , an assistant coach at Ohio State , was hired December 20 , 2010 , as the team ' s 20th head coach . Darrell Hazell . In Hazell ' s first season , 2011 , the team had two three - game losing streaks , but also had a five - game winning streak in the latter half of the season . Kent State dropped their first three contests , which included losses at eventual BCS national champion Alabama and Kansas State and a home loss to Louisiana - Lafayette . Hazell ' s first win at Kent State came on September 24 , in a 33 – 25 win over South Alabama at Dix Stadium . The team then dropped their first three MAC games before defeating Bowling Green , which was the start of a five - game wining streak that included a 35 – 3 win over arch - rival Akron at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field , Kent State ' s first win in Akron since 2003 . The season ended with a 34 – 16 loss at Temple . The Flashes finished third in the MAC East with a 5 – 7 record overall and 4 – 4 in the MAC . The 2012 season began with a 41 – 21 win over Towson at Dix Stadium , followed by a 47 – 17 loss at Kentucky . Following the loss , the Flashes defeated Buffalo at University at Buffalo Stadium and followed that with a come - from - behind 45 – 43 win over Ball State in Kent . A 31 – 17 win over Army at Michie Stadium was the first victory for Kent State over a non - conference team on the road since 2007 . The winning streak reached six , the longest for Kent State since 1940 , after a 35 – 23 win over undefeated and 18th - ranked Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium . The win was the Flashes ' first over a ranked opponent after entering the game 0 – 22 against ranked teams . The win earned Kent State votes in the October 28 , 2012 AP Poll , Coaches ' Poll , and the Harris Interactive College Football Poll . The team continued winning , beating Akron in the Battle for the Wagon Wheel game at Dix Stadium , followed by a 48 – 32 win over the Miami RedHawks at Yager Stadium . The win over Miami set a new team record for consecutive victories in a season at eight and tied the 1973 team for most wins in a season at nine . On November 11 , the Flashes were ranked 25th in the weekly AP poll , their first time being ranked since November 5 , 1973 , when they were ranked 19th for one week . Kent State clinched their first - ever MAC East Division title and spot in the 2012 MAC Championship Game with a 31 – 24 win over Bowling Green at Doyt Perry Stadium on November 17 and completed their first - ever undefeated season in MAC play and first undefeated season at home since 1956 by beating Ohio 28 – 6 at Dix Stadium on November 23 . Following the win over Bowling Green , the Flashes rose to # 23 in the AP poll and entered the Coaches ' and Harris polls at # 25 . Kent State was also ranked for the first time in the Bowl Championship Series standings at # 23 . Championships . Conference championships . Kent State has won 1 conference championships in school history . Division championships . Kent State was a MAC East Division champion during the 2012 season . Notable players . Despite the overall lack of success in the program , Kent State has produced a number of standouts including several prominent figures in college football , the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League . National Football League . 40 Kent State alumni have either played in or are currently playing in the National Football League — although as noted below , not all of them played football at the school . Current players . Eight former Kent State football players are currently on active NFL rosters , and two other current NFL players are Kent State alumni . In 2007 , two former Flashes football players and a former Flashes basketball player were named to the Pro Bowl . Current NFL players from Kent State include :