Akron Football Sells Out Suites for 2026 CFB Season After Viral Offer to Call Opening Drive

Thanks to a unique promotion that took social media by storm this week, the University of Akron football team is moving season tickets at a rapid rate ahead of the 2026 season.

According to Ellyn Briggs of Front Office Sports, Akron has already sold out its suite inventory for the first time in program history, and the club and loge level seats are "almost gone" as well.

Those sales are the direct result of a contest that Akron announced on Tuesday. In a post on X, the school announced that one season-ticket holder will be randomly selected to script the opening offensive drive of the game against FCS foe Robert Morris in the Zips' home opener on Sept. 12:

That opportunity generated a ton of traffic and interest, as the X post was viewed 16 million times in the first 24 hours, and is now the most-viewed X post by any college football team this summer, per digital analytics firm Zoomph (h/t Briggs).

Akron senior deputy athletic director and COO Matt Pottorff informed Briggs that the football program has already far exceeded its ticket sales goal thanks in large part to the promotion.

Pottorff also explained what the winner of the contest can expect when they are chosen, saying, "First, we're going to call that person NFL draft–style and let them know that they got selected. Then we'll find a time for them to come to campus, where they'll meet with [head football] coach Joe Moorhead. He'll run them through what plays we would normally call in the opening drive, and then figure out what they want to do with it."

Once the lucky fan is done calling their offensive series from the coaches box, they will be taken to a suite where they can enjoy the remainder of the Akron vs. Robert Morris game alongside their invited guests.

Coming off a 5-7 season in 2025, which was their best record since 2017, the Zips already had some momentum on their side, but the offensive coordinator of the game promotion has generated more excitement around the program than perhaps ever before.