On a late March flight from Tampa, Fla., to Akron, Ohio, Andrew Goodrich was deep in thought.The Akron athletic director was heading home after watching his men’s basketball team lose 91-71 to Texas Tech in the first round of March Madness. But the defeat didn’t occupy his mind. Instead, the fervency of a fan base he witnessed hundreds of miles from campus did.“We had this great fan interaction (in Tampa), and when I sat on the plane, I was like, ‘How in the world do we bring that kind of energy to a football game?’” Goodrich told The Athletic. “How do we do it? Honestly, it’s a long flight back, and you’re just racking our brains.”Somewhere during that flight, the idea of an “honorary offensive coordinator of the game” took root. Goodrich pitched it to senior deputy athletic director Matt Pottorff, sitting beside him.Pottorff “very appropriately said, ‘No, that’s a bad idea,’” Goodrich recalled.Still, the conversation refused to die.Pottorff countered with a more modest suggestion of letting a fan call a single play. Goodrich wasn’t convinced that would inspire the kind of investment he envisioned.Head football coach Joe Moorhead said Goodrich and Pottorff pitched the final, bolder idea to him only a week before the promotion went up on social media: Let a fan help script the opening 10 to 15 offensive plays.“Initially I thought it was ridiculous,” Moorhead said. “Once the shock value wore away, and we discussed some benefits, now you see it spoke for itself. It’s a really unique opportunity that’s created a lot of positive publicity for our program.”On Aug. 4, Akron unveiled the promotion on X, where it has since garnered 22 million views. Every season ticket holder is automatically entered into a raffle, with the winner announced Aug. 19.