Andrew Dolph / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Akron Zips football head coach Joe Moorhead leads the team through warmups before the season-opening game against Wyoming, Aug. 28, 2025, at InfoCision Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
At one point in his career, Joe Moorhead was one of the top coaching prospects in college football. He coached the Fordham Rams to 32 wins in three seasons from 2013-2015 before becoming the offensive coordinator at Penn State, where he helped lead the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title in 2016.
These days, however, things haven’t gone exactly according to plan for Moorhead. He’s currently the head coach of the Akron Zips, who haven’t played in a bowl game since 2017, and whose five wins in 2025 were the most since that point.
Now, Moorhead and the Zips are getting creative to try to find ways to boost both fan and financial support this coming season.
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🦘#MakeTheClimb pic.twitter.com/Qzu1w0R29O
— Akron Football (@ZipsFB) August 4, 2026
You Could Potentially Call Plays For The Akron Zips!
As part of a newly introduced promotion, the Zips will pick one random season-ticket holder to design the opening drive for Akron’s home opener of the season.
Every season-ticket holder is entered, and each will receive an additional entry for any new season-ticket holder they refer. The program will then hold a drawing on Aug. 19 to determine the winner.
I’m looking forward to collaborating with the season ticket holder who wins this contest,” Moorhead said of the promo. “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 did make sure to note that Moorhead will have some role in the play-calling, because as they put it, “this hasn’t been done before, but we’re not crazy.”
That sounds fair enough.
According to their website, season tickets for the Zips start at just $75! So if you’ve ever wanted the chance to be an FBS play-caller, this might just be your in. And even if you don’t get picked, it’s a nice way to support a program that badly needs the help in the NIL era of college sports.
So, what would your first call sheet look like if you got to be an FBS offensive coordinator for a drive? Let us know in the comments below.