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Last season Keith Dambrot led his Akron Zips men's basketball team to the best regular season in school history. They tied the school record for wins (26), had the nation's longest winning streak (19), split the regular season MAC title with Ohio, and won the MAC title for the second time in three seasons.
For all of that success Dambrot was awarded with a one-year contract extension to his 10-year deal he signed prior to last season. The new contract keeps the Akron alumnus on the Zips sideline through the 2022-2023 season.
Through his nine seasons at Akron Dambrot has turned the Zips into the the kings of the MAC. He's led them to eight straight 22-win seasons, seven postseason appearances (three NCAA appearances), won the MAC Tournament three times, and three MAC East regular season titles. He's compiled a 210-94 overall record, while going 107-41 in the MAC.
Few teams, mid-major or major, have had the level of sustained success that Akron has had during the past nine seasons.
In the release from the Zips Athletic Department, Dambrot said, "The progress we have made as a program and the commitment from The University and the community make this one of the premier jobs in the nation."
As far as mid-major jobs go, he's not wrong. Akron has rebuilt year after year, and succeeded on the court in spite of off the court issues that have plagued the team. In the 2012-2013 season Dambrot led his Zips to success despite suspending 2011-2012 Sixth Man of The Year, Quincy Diggs, for the season before the season began, and suspending and eventually dismissing All-MAC point guard Alex Abreu for his arrest and eventual conviction for drug trafficking.
With him under lock for the next 10 years, the Zips should continue to be a force in the MAC for some time.