The team's arch-rival is the Akron Zips from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The two teams both play in the Mid-American Conference and are separated by approximately . The series began in 1916 with a 12–1 Akron win in Kent, but did not become a conference game until 1993 when Akron joined the Mid-American Conference. The rivalry unexpectedly ended after the 2015 season when the University of Akron announced the baseball team would be eliminated because of budget concerns. This was later reversed and Akron reinstated the baseball team for the 2020 season. The rivalry was scheduled to resume April 1 with a game in Kent, followed by a rematch April 28 at Canal Park in downtown Akron, the home of the AA-level minor league Akron RubberDucks. The games were canceled in March 2020, along with the remainder of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the rivalry resumed in 2021, with five games in Kent, where the Flashes took three of five. Through the 2023 season, Kent State leads the series 118–59–1.
