They were led by fifth-year head coach Paul Haynes and played their home games at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

On August 28, 2017, the school announced that head coach Paul Haynes would be taking a medical leave of absence and miss the first two to three weeks of the season.

[2] Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell was named interim head coach.

[3] Haynes returned to the Flashes after missing two games due to prostate cancer treatments.

[5][6] On December 19, the school hired Sean Lewis as head coach.