Before joining the staff at Penn, Akanno was an assistant director for his alma mater, the University of Connecticut. He directed all aspects of the Huskies' sprints, jumps and multi-event programs while also developing strength & conditioning programs for all speed and power events.

Akanno had countless career highlights with UConn that included coaching two NCAA All-Americans, 34 NCAA qualifiers, a Southeast Asian Games champion, a Philippines national record holder(400) and the fastest 4x100 relay in the New England area. He has helped the Huskies to 15 school records, eight American Athletic Conference (AAC) championships, 120 all-conference selections, and an AAC team championship in 2015 when he was included among the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Akanno came to Penn with previous Ivy League experience, spending four years at Dartmouth College before his return to UConn. Working with the Big Green's sprints, jumps and multi-event programs, he coached an NCAA All-America, 12 NCAA qualifiers, and 14 Ivy Heptagonal champions including Janae Dunchak who won four straight pentathlon titles. Overall, Akanno guided student-athletes to 24 school records and 46 All-Ivy selections.

Akanno was named an assistant coach for the United States National Team’s vertical jumpers and decathletes at the 31st Summer World University Games in 2020 and 2021.

Prior to coaching, Akanno was a four-year letter winner at UConn and was a part of Huskies teams that won three Big East Conference Championships. A captain his junior and senior season, Akanno was an eight-time All-East Performer in heptathlon, triple jump, and long jump.

Akanno graduated from UConn with a specialized degree in Exercise Science and Psychology with a concentration in sports psychology.