Akron’s fan-play-calling contest draws backlash over finalist selection

What Happened

Akron’s promotion gives one fan the chance to help script the Zips’ first offensive drive at home against Robert Morris. Nine season-ticket holders were named finalists. Two finalists have large online audiences: Barstool Sports’ Dan “Big Cat” Katz, with 1.8 million Twitter followers, and EA Sports College Football creator James Bordeaux, with 132,000 Twitter followers and nearly 600,000 YouTube followers. Critics questioned whether their inclusion was designed to create exposure for Akron. The selection used a random drawing conducted by the accounting school. Each ticket counted once, while successful season-ticket referrals added entries. No official response to the criticism was provided in the available account.

Why It Matters

• The promotion now carries a credibility question: a random drawing can still favor people who accumulated extra entries through ticket referrals.
• Katz and Bordeaux could turn one scripted drive into sustained attention for Akron, but their online profiles also make the contest look less like a private fan experience.
• The football effect is limited to the opening drive against Robert Morris, where Katz has discussed “shark wheel” and Bordeaux has discussed using only Wildcat.

THE PATE STATE READ

THE PATE STATE READ: Akron gets credit for building a fan experience around a real football moment. The failure condition is selection trust. If the process was random and referral entries were available to every season-ticket holder, the presence of two large creators is unusual without being proof of a fix. If the final winner is another high-profile entrant, the marketing value rises and the backlash gets louder. I’ve said an evaluation has to account for both the best and the worst. That applies here too: the flashy names draw attention, but the process has to survive the ugly plays.(Josh has not yet commented.)

What's Next

• Akron’s final winner announcement for the Robert Morris home opener.
• Akron’s home opener against Robert Morris, when the selected fan’s first-drive plan is used.
• The team’s first offensive drive, including whether “shark wheel” or Wildcat appears.