Akron Zips reveal origin of 'Offensive Coordinator of Game' contest

While University of Akron football coach Joe Moorhead scripted plays for Zips practice in late July, athletic director Andrew T. Goodrich and senior deputy AD and chief operating officer Matt Pottorff paid an unannounced visit to Moorhead’s office and slid a piece of paper across his desk.

Pottorff had printed a graphic promoting UA’s “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” contest on the paper he and Goodrich presented to Moorhead.

“My knee-jerk reaction was, ‘This is utterly ridiculous. There's no chance in the world that I'm going to let somebody call plays. I don't even let my assistant coaches call plays,’” said Moorhead, who will soon enter his fifth season as Akron’s head coach and offensive play-caller.

More Akron Zips football: UA's College of Business vouches for offensive coordinator contest

But as the conversation continued, Goodrich and Pottorff sold Moorhead on their vision.

“He was being very respectable of us, but his body language screamed, ‘No way. We're not doing this. I hate this,’” Goodrich said of Moorhead. “That's what his body language said. Then we talked about it, and we talked about it.

“I think once he knew, in his mind, this was not going to embarrass the University of Akron, it wasn't going to embarrass college football and it wasn't going to do anything to diminish the experience of our athletes, of our players, then his mind opened up to the possibilities.”

Goodrich and Pottorff told Moorhead the contest winner would be an Akron football season-ticket holder selected through a random drawing, and he or she would not call plays. Instead, the “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” would collaborate with Moorhead on scripting plays for UA's opening possession of its 2026 home opener against Robert Morris on Saturday, Sept. 12. 

Moorhead agreed to participate in the promotion before the meeting with Goodrich and Pottorff ended. Without Moorhead’s approval, the contest would not have been put into motion, Goodrich said.

“We began to discuss guardrails and parameters and some of the minutiae, detail, that it would be more of a quote, unquote collaboration than somebody coming in on a Friday less than 24 hours from kickoff and installing either a new play or a new style of offense, which just doesn't work,” Moorhead said. “Once we started going through the process and being on the same page that we weren't going to make a mockery of the game or our opponent and we weren't going to do anything to hurt our chances of winning the football game, [then I was on board].”

On Tuesday, Aug. 25, Akron will announce the winner of its innovative contest. With UA’s College of Business and George W. Daverio School of Accountancy managing the selection process, the winner has been determined but not publicly disclosed. The "Offensive Coordinator of the Game" will be one of nine finalists the university disclosed on Wednesday, Aug. 19, during a news conference at House Three Thirty.

Moorhead, Goodrich and Pottorff recently spoke to the Beacon Journal about the origin of the promotion, the reaction it has received and how they think it could affect the future of college sports in an era defined largely by name, image and likeness deals.

More Zips football: Akron football names nine finalists for offensive coordinator contest

How did the Akron Zips come up with their ‘Offensive Coordinator of the Game’ contest?

Goodrich sat near the court at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, on March 20, when the 12th-seeded Akron men’s basketball team lost 91-71 to fifth-seeded Texas Tech in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament.

The outcome isn’t what the Zips wanted, yet Goodrich was energized by the large contingent of Akron fans who traveled to the game and could be heard loud and clear in the arena.

On a flight back from Tampa, Goodrich and Pottorff brainstormed about how to channel the passion Akron fans displayed during March Madness to the football program. Goodrich pointed out Moorhead does not have an offensive coordinator on his coaching staff, so perhaps a fan could be chosen as an honorary OC and call plays. Pottorff laughed but pondered aloud whether a fan calling the offense’s first play of a game would be a realistic compromise. As they continued to banter, Goodrich and Pottorff wondered about the possibility of a fan scripting an opening drive.

Pottorff has been aware of Goodrich's creativity for a long time. They have known each other for roughly 13 years and previously worked together at the University of Miami. But this concept? They had never heard of a college athletic department attempting it.

“It just maybe was such a late night and long day and maybe we were delirious, but we just believed it could work and thought this is really cool,” Pottorff said. “We knew that we needed to wait until the right time, though, and so we've had this idea [for months] before we launched it. We just wanted to make sure it was going to be the right time before the season started. We thought we were going to have maybe a lull in the media, and we could at best maybe get a million views.”

University of Akron is pleasantly surprised its offensive coordinator promotion went viral

Remember the graphic Pottorff printed out to show Moorhead in the coach’s office?

At 2:14 p.m. Aug. 4, Akron posted the same graphic on social media to announce its “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” contest.

Goodrich arrived home from work at about 7:15 p.m. and checked the graphic posted on X, formerly Twitter. He was surprised to discover it already had reached 1 million views. Then Goodrich and his wife, Erika, took their dog, Charley, for a walk lasting about 45 minutes. When they returned, Goodrich checked his phone again. The tweet with the graphic had reached 2 million views.

“That's when I called Coach Moorhead,” Goodrich said. “I said, ‘Coach, I know you've been really cool about this concept. You need to be as cool as you can be because this thing just got a million views in the last hour. We're at 2 million overall, and we just launched this afternoon.’ And he was stunned. I think that was the first moment that I realized we've really struck gold here.”

Make history and be the lucky season ticket holder to design the opening drive of the home opener when @ZipsFB hosts Robert Morris‼️

🗞️https://t.co/G5aTUlVpzT#GoZips🦘#MakeTheClimbpic.twitter.com/Qzu1w0R29O

— Akron Football (@ZipsFB) August 4, 2026

As of Aug. 24, the tweet with the graphic had received more than 23 million views. Pottorff said the promotion had generated 2.03 billion social media impressions worldwide.

The contest became a national story. Moorhead has done interviews about it with TMZ Sports and "The Pat McAfee Show." Moorhead said he has shifted “from standoffish to leaning into” the contest.

“I wouldn't say the viral reaction to the promotion caused me to change my mind, but I think that played a small part in seeing some of the ancillary benefits in a sense of shining a bright light on Akron football,” Moorhead said.

A crucial factor in Moorhead warming up to contest, he explained, is the impact it will have on NIL money the football program receives from the university. Moorhead’s team has been operating with what he described as “meager” revenue sharing.

Anyone who knows anything about the local football scene is aware it’s not uncommon for a high school game held at the University of Akron to draw more fans than a Zips home game. However, UA announced it sold out InfoCision Stadium suites for the first time and has had a record number of new season-ticket memberships because of its “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” promotion.

“One of the huge benefits of selling more tickets is we are allocating 70% of all ticket sales on all sports towards NIL,” Pottorff said. “So, it's a win-win for the program. Obviously, we get more people in the stands. We generate more buzz. But that money is also going to our coaches to be able to directly use to support the recruiting and retention [of players].”

Is Akron’s offensive coordinator contest the future of college sports?

LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, isn’t the only one who owns a whiteboard.

Goodrich said he and Pottorff have other marketing ideas “on our whiteboard that we talked about and haven't used yet.” Pottorff added, “There's a few more up our sleeve.”

Akron fans have lobbied with the UA athletic department to implement similar contests for the university’s basketball and soccer teams, Pottorff said. Goodrich and Pottorff said they expect other schools to copy their “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” contest.

Will Akron’s contest prove to be the future of college sports?

“I hope it is,” Pottorff said, “and I hope we are a part of creating that future.”

Goodrich and Pottorff credited Moorhead and university leadership with supporting their collective imagination. Pottorff said Akron president R.J. Nemer asked during a recent lunch meeting why UA’s contest is unprecedented.

“I said, ‘R.J., we could have never done this at [Power Four] schools that we worked at before,’” Pottorff said. “I said, ‘If we're at Miami, there's no way we would've been able to do this.’ Our president would've said, ‘This is insane.’

“Our head coach would've said, ‘Absolutely not. You're not going to be allowed to do this.’ But we've got the right people around us who say, ‘Yes, let's embrace this. Let's try something new.’ So, that's how we're able to do it.”

How Zips football coach Joe Moorhead plans to collaborate with Akron’s 'Offensive Coordinator of the Game' contest winner

Although Moorhead conceded he doesn’t know exactly how his scripting session with the “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” will unfold, he wants to do his part to ensure the promotion is a success.

“I'm not going to shortchange [the contest winner],” Moorhead said. “I want this person, whoever it is, to kind of see how the sausage is made. So, this ain't going to be a fluff [experience], OK, whatever, pat them on the back, give them a T-shirt and send them on their way. I mean, I want it to be worthwhile.”

Prior to meeting with the contest winner a day or two before Akron's home opener, Moorhead envisions going through his normal game-planning process, which includes assembling a list of 12 to 16 plays for the opening script. Those plays called “openers” give Moorhead options for first and second down, third down, fourth down, red zone, tight red zone and goal line.

“I'm going to sit this person down, and I'm going to actually take them through the Robert Moore scouting report,” Moorhead said. “I'm going to show them their tendencies on first and second down by formation. [I'll say], 'These are the plays that we like for each formation. This is how I've constructed the openers to attack them and why. Let's see what you have and if there's anything that we're able to kind of translate into our system or terminology.'

“I'm going to have the openers scripted, and they're going to have their ideas. I don't know if it would be a reordering, or, quite frankly, they may have a freaking great idea that fits what we do offensively. And I'll say, ‘All right, well, let's substitute that play for this one.’

“I don't think this has ever been done. I kind of have a rough idea of the way I'd like it to go, but I don't know. Maybe the person they bring in here knows a ton of ball, and it can really be more of a true exchange of ideas than with someone that's maybe a little less experienced.”

A day after Akron announced the promotion, Moorhead assured his players the contest won’t interfere with the Zips’ goal to win their home opener, which is scheduled to be televised by ESPN+.

“No one calls plays here but me, and it's a creative, exciting, unique opportunity for somebody, but I will quit coaching football before I make a mockery of the game or opponent or allow [our players] to think they're going to be put in a bad [position],” Moorhead said. “I don't know that they were nervous about it, but at least there was some clarification on the direction of the promotion.”

Goodrich has taken the pulse of Zips players, too.

“I think the players think it is cool. I think they just think it's fun," he said. "I think it will become more palpable when they meet that person, because I think two things are going to happen. When this person ultimately wins and they go and meet the players, when they look in the eyes of these guys, they're going to see how hungry they are, how driven they are and they're going to see how real this has just become. They want to score.

“[The players] also know that maybe the most views that they'll ever receive in their entire career will be on this opening drive, so you want to perform. When ESPN cuts in on every single channel, like, ‘Hey, we're going to cut in live to the opening drive here because [ESPN+ is] broadcasting it,’ I think that's going to be amazing, and that's their time to shine. That's when you want to make that big play.”

Akron announces nine finalists for 'Offensive Coordinator of the Game'

Here is the complete list of finalists for Akron's "Offensive Coordinator of the Game" promotion:

• Brandon Wigen of Bellevue, Nebraska
• Dan "Big Cat" Katz of Barstool Sports
• Jack Rooney of Long Island, New York
• James Bordeaux of Kentucky (a popular YouTuber and streamer who predominantly plays sports video games, including College Football 27)
• Martin Alan Whims II of Akron (former UA student and longtime Zips football season-ticket holder)
• Mike Beck Jr. (longtime Zips football season-ticket holder)
• Sean Struncius of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey (now based in Kansas City, Missouri)
• Steve Moyer (1989 UA graduate and longtime Zips football season-ticket holder)
• Tim Sharfman of Austin, Texas
• A 10th candidate was selected but withdrew from the contest, according to UA

When does Akron football start the 2026 season?

Akron is scheduled to open its 2026 season on the road against Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3.

UA's home opener featuring the input of the "Offensive Coordinator of the Game" is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, against Robert Morris at InfoCision Stadium.

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips reveal origin of 'Offensive Coordinator of Game' contest