The University of Akron may have unearthed one of the great marketing and outreach gems in the history of college football.
The moribund MAC school hasn’t had a winning season in over a decade, since Terry Bowden was roaming the sidelines in 2015. That year the Zips won the Idaho Famous Potato Bowl. Sadly, after Bowden left in 2018, the program went through a series of disastrous campaigns, winning just seven games in five years.
Coach Joe Moorhead at least brought the Zips back to a .500 conference record in 2025 and a 5-7 mark overall. But the school has largely been an afterthought in college football for some time. At least until this offseason.
The Zips have gone viral thanks to a promotion where they are allowing one lucky season ticket holder to script the opening drive of the season in their opener against Robert Morris. The unprecedented idea has gone viral and ticket sales have gone through the roof. But the promotion hasn’t just gotten attention from Akron fans and natives, but from personalities who are hoping to win the lottery and use the opportunity as potential content.
Enter one of the biggest sports podcast hosts in the country.
Incredibly, Barstool’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz of Pardon My Take fame is one of nine finalists announced by the school on Wednesday.
BREAKING MOOS
Big Cat is a Top Ten finalist to call plays on Akrons opening drive this season pic.twitter.com/wgkPPurhgj
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 19, 2026
After the promotion was announced, Big Cat revealed on PMT that he was all in on trying to win it by buying several season tickets in the hopes of boosting his chances. In fact, it ended up being 18 season tickets in total, which he says he has already donated.
Big Cat is stockpiling Akron season tickets in hopes to win this contest https://t.co/bUxd8K4Beapic.twitter.com/ZP5pdT3CMv
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 7, 2026
Yes. I don’t care. I ended up buying 18 season tickets. I want to see shark wheel right in Robert Morris’s face https://t.co/Rfw2f9Q1Ji
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) August 19, 2026
Donated them to the non profit “Tickets For Kids”.
I do want to get to a weekday game but all unused are going to them https://t.co/g4UwDESIV4
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) August 19, 2026
Another college football content creator, James Bordeaux, is among the finalists as well. He has drawn national recognition for his YouTube videos standing up against EA Sports for placing microtransactions in this year’s college football video game.
The final contest winner has already been drawn and will be named on August 25. Akron has stressed that the drawing has been held completely at random and independent from the university’s athletic department, being conducted by its school of business.
Although the drawing is random, you have to think Akron is hoping one of the content creators wins so that the school can receive even more publicity and attention. And since the scripting of plays will be done with Moorhead, the Zips coaches will still maintain a reasonable amount of control and ensure that it’s not three consecutive Statue of Liberty plays.
But even if Big Cat or Bordeaux don’t end up winning, hopefully the school keeps an open door on a collaboration at some point this season. Opportunities to get fans and personalities on board like this don’t come about every day and it’s a remarkable chance to put Akron on the map.
Of course, next year they may have to top it by letting a contest winner call plays for an entire game, conduct recruiting visits, or manage their NIL, but Akron can cross that bridge next year.
The post Big Cat is a finalist in Akron OC contest sweepstakes appeared first on Awful Announcing.
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