For any fan who has said they could draw up a better play than a coach, the University of Akron is giving them that very chance.
The Zips are offering one season ticket holder a chance to be “offensive coordinator of the game” and draw up the opening drive for the football team’s home opener on Sept. 12 against Robert Morris.
The winning season-ticket holder will work with head coach Joe Moorhead to script the opening drive.
Whether that helps or hurts the Zips will be seen in September.
“I’m looking forward to collaborating with the season ticket holder who wins this contest,” Moorhead said in a statement. “This will give our fans a behind-the-scenes experience that has never been done before anywhere, so I’m excited to show them how to put together the opening script and see what they can do.”
Akron is coming off a season in which it averaged 353.5 yards per game and 22.3 points per game, which were good for fifth- and eighth-best in the MAC, respectively.
The Zips did go 5-7 in 2025 and 3-3 at home.
“We’re always looking for new ways to bring our fans closer to the program,” director of athletics Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich said in a statement. “This is about giving one of our most loyal supporters a seat at the table, right alongside our coaching staff, on the biggest night of the season.”
Existing season ticket holders are already entered into the contest automatically and they will receive an additional entry for every new season ticket holder they refer.
The winner will be selected at random on Aug. 19 and they will meet with Moorehead at some point ahead of the season opener to script the plays for the game against Robert Morris.
