Akron Reveals Fan to Serve as OC for 1st Drive of CFB Season Opener After Viral Contest

Akron has named its "Offensive Coordinator of the Game" for its home opener against Robert Morris after a viral contest decided who gets to call plays on the opening drive of the game.

The team revealed that Martin Allan Whims II will help Zips head coach Joe Moorhead script offensive plays on the opening drive on Sept. 12.

Akron announced earlier this month that it would hold a contest that gave one lucky season-ticket holder a chance to script plays for the opening drive in the team's home opener.

The contest was clearly a tactic to drive up season-ticket sales, and it worked. In the days after the contest was revealed, the team sold out its suite inventory for the first time in program history.

Akron senior deputy athletic director and COO Matt Pottorff told Ellyn Briggs of Front Office Sports that the school had far exceeded its season-ticket sales goal just days after the contest was announced.

Pottorff also said the team wouldn't let the fan go in completely blind.

"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 said. "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."

While the fan, Whims, doesn't have a background in college football coaching, he's well-versed in Akron football. Per Nate Urlich of the Akron Beacon Journal, he has held season tickets since InfoCision Stadium opened in 2009.

Whether Whims will have success dialing up plays for Akron remains to be seen, but it's safe to say Akron's season-ticket promotion achieved what it set out to accomplish.