has only been a conference meeting since 1992 when Akron joined the Mid-American Conference. Prior to 1992, the rivalry was played in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) for two periods, the first from 1932, when Kent State joined the conference, until 1936, when Akron left the OAC. The second period of conference play began in 1944 after Akron returned to the OAC, and ended when Kent State left the conference in 1951 to join the MAC. When the MAC created East and West divisions in 1998, both teams were placed in the East division. Since 2011, the games count as part of the larger Wagon Wheel Challenge between the two schools. Since the start of MAC divisional play late 1990s, the two programs have met regularly with MAC East and overall championships on the line. Through the 2021–21 season, the Flashes and Zips have combined for 16 MAC East titles, 10 MAC regular-season championships, and 10 MAC tournament championships. The teams have often had their second meeting of the season as the regular season's final game, with several of those games featured in national broadcasts. Akron won the East division with a 66–64 overtime win at the MAC Center to end the regular season and claimed the MAC regular-season title in 2012 with a 61–55 win in Kent. The second meeting in 2010, played at James A. Rhodes Arena and broadcast nationally on ESPN, featured both teams atop the conference standings at 12–3. Kent State won the game 74–61 to clinch the MAC regular-season title. The following season, the Flashes clinched their second-consecutive MAC title with a 79–68 win over the Zips at the MAC Center in a nationally televised game on the regular season's final day, repeating the feat in 2015 with a 79–77 win over the Zips on ESPN2 to claim the regular-season and East division co-championship. The Zips and Flashes have also met in the MAC tournament on a number of occasions, including four times in the championship game, all at the Cleveland venue now known as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Kent State defeated the Zips 74–55 in the 2008 MAC Championship game, the Zips claimed the 2011 MAC tournament championship over Kent State with a 66–65 overtime win, Kent State won the 2017 MAC tournament championship over Akron, 70–65, and the Zips claimed the 2022 MAC men's basketball tournament title over Kent State, 75–55. Overall, the Zips