The Zips were led by first-year head coach Tom Arth and played their home games at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio.

Following the firing of seven-year head coach Terry Bowden at the end of the 2018 season, Akron announced the hiring of Tom Arth on December 14, 2018.

[2] Arth had spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, leading them to records of 3–8 and 6–5 in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

1 Mount Union to claim an Ohio Athletic Conference title in 2016 and was named D3football.com Coach of the Year.

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Zips predicted to finish in fifth place in the East Division.