There’s wacky college football news buzzing from the state of Ohio. And no, Ohio State fans, your school isn’t on crisis communications watch because of it.
It’s actually good news. Fun news. From Akron.
While many Tier One names in college sports zip through the U.S. court system thanks to the NCAA gone astray, the Akron Zips concocted a publicity gem out of a cross-country brainstorm.
The University of Akron is selling football season ticket packages with a bonus — buyers enter a drawing to call the first offensive series against Robert Morris in the Zips’ season opener September 12.
I truly thought this was a joke when I first read about the promotion. It’s so not-a-joke it’s driving season ticket sales through the roof (🤔 I wonder if former Marquette SID and Akron alum Kathleen Hohl bought in). The drawing for “Offensive Coordinator of the Game” will get a “behind-the-scenes experience that has never been done anywhere,” according to head football coach Joe Moorhead.
The Akron Zips unlocked the wild idea vault, and the result is a boatload of publicity and season ticket sales.
Fans can earn bonus entries by referring others to Akron’s season ticket package before the scheduled drawing August 19. The winner will collaborate with Moorhead and his staff leading up to and during the game.
Direct link between publicity and profit
Measuring publicity’s effect on the bottom line can sometimes be challenging. This one, which started as a brainstorm-to-social media wild idea, has earned attention far beyond Northeast Ohio. The result is much-needed revenue at a time when every college athletics program is lifting couch cushions looking for extra cash to pay athletes, especially mid-majors like Akron. Publicity has spread from sports to news to fan chat groups on and offline.
PR SIDEeffect – Sometimes all it takes is a little imagination — and leaders willing to take “why not this?” for a test drive. (P.S. AI can’t do that. Only humans can.)
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©2026 Gail Sideman; gpublicity.com; SIDEbar
