The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Westlake native Tom Arth named Akron coach
Almost two years to the day, Tom Arth was coaching the John Carroll football team in a Division III national semifinal.
That game was at Wisconsin-Oshkosh in early December 2016. The Blue Streaks lost, 10-3, but it was a historic season for JCU, which defeated Mount Union to win the Ohio Athletic Conference outright.
Shortly after that game, Arth jumped a level of college football and was named head coach at FCS Chattanooga, where he went 3-8 in 2017, then 6-5 this season.
On Dec. 14, the University of Akron announced Arth, a Westlake native, was returning to Northeast Ohio as the Zips’ head football coach. He will be introduced as Akron’s coach on Dec. 17 on campus.
Said Akron Athletic Director Larry Williams: “Tom’s experience in leading two programs, his ties to Northeast Ohio, his tremendous football IQ, and his passion for developing student athletes for their future endeavors made him the perfect candidate to elevate our program.”
In the span of two years, Arth has gone from John Carroll to the FCS level to Akron.
“Yes, I can believe it because of who he is,” said senior JCU running back Sam Kukura of Kirtland. “He’s a young coach who has great aspirations.”
Kukura was thrust into the Arth era during JCU’s magical 2016 season. Kukura was a transfer from Kent State, and immediately saw the passion and drive Arth brought to every practice.
So did JCU quarterback Anthony Moeglin. As a freshman in 2016, he was a first-year starter for Arth and responded with a solid season as he threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns during the Blue Streaks’ 12-2 season.
“Coach Arth is a guy who is true to himself,” said Moeglin. “When he finds a formula that works, he sticks to it. That formula is about getting better every day, and he’ll challenge (Akron players) every day to get better. That’s what made us successful ... His knowledge is second to none. This is a guy who studied behind Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre.”
After graduating from JCU in 2003, Arth spent three seasons as a backup quarterback to Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts. He spent part of those years playing in NFL Europe and was on the preseason roster with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.
In four seasons as the Blue Streaks’ coach, Arth had a 40-8 overall record while guiding the Blue Streaks to three NCAA Division III playoff appearances.
As a quarterback at JCU, he was a unanimous D-III All-American as a junior and senior, and set 18 school records. As a senior in 2002, he guided JCU to a 12-2 record, and a spot in a national semifinal for the first time in program history.
Arth is a graduate of St. Ignatius, where as a senior he guided the Wildcats to a state semifinal game. It was in high school when Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle saw a potential coach in Arth.
“In high school, he just loved to play,” Kyle told The News-Herald in 2016. “Loved being the student of the game. Finding out more information. That’s the seeds of a good coach. Finding the love of the game, and the value of it.”