Meet the real estate company CFO who will call plays for Akron after viral contest

For college football fans, calling plays for your favorite team might be considered a pipe dream. But the Akron Zips made that dream a reality for one lucky longtime Zips supporter this week. 

Earlier this month, Akron went viral after it revealed it was hosting a raffle for season-ticket holders for one lucky fan to call offensive plays alongside Zips head coach Joe Moorhead. The contest is being sponsored by Arby's. 

Just two weeks before Akron's home opener against Robert Morris on Sept. 12, the football team announced which fan won the contest.

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Who won Akron's Offensive coordinator of the game contest?

The honors have gone to Martin Allan Whims II, who is from Akron and has been a season ticket holder since 2008. According to the school's official release, Whims graduated from Akron, and is a regular on game days with the Zips. 

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Who is Martin Alan Whims II?

Martin Alan Whims II was at Akron from 1998-2002 according to his LinkedIn Page. He received his Bachelor's of Science in Accounting from Akron, and currently works in Cleveland, Ohio for a real estate development company, Stark Enterprises.

Whims has served as the company's chief financial officer since January 2023. His previous work experience listed on LinkedIn is as a controller in Cleveland from April 2003 to early 2023.

"It's super cool," Whims said in Akron football's video released on X. "My boss shared it on LinkedIn, so business contacts are reaching out, friends, family. I mean, everybody's just super excited about it, wishing me good luck. It's been awesome."

What was Akron's Offensive coordinator of the game contest?

Earlier this month, Akron went viral after it announced it was offering a raffle for season-ticket holders to enter for a chance to call plays alongside Coach Moorhead. On Aug. 4, Akron posted the contest details on social media. Within a matter of hours, the promotion went viral, and according to ESPN Akron has produced a record for season ticket sales, as well as stadium suites. 

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Athletic Director Andrew T. Goodrich and chief operating officer Matt Pottoroff had the idea after seeing how many passionate Akron fans make the trip to Tampa, Fla. for the Zips' March Madness game against No. 5 seed Texas Tech. 

The two were discussing how to translate that passion to the football program on the flight back to Akron. The idea came to Goodrich, who has been Akron's athletic director since May 2025, after he pointed out that Moorhead doesn't have an offensive coordinator on his staff, as he calls the plays himself.

“It just maybe was such a late night and long day and maybe we were delirious, but we just believed it could work and thought this is really cool,” Pottorff said via the newspaper. “We knew that we needed to wait until the right time, though, and so we've had this idea [for months] before we launched it. We just wanted to make sure it was going to be the right time before the season started. We thought we were going to have maybe a lull in the media, and we could at best maybe get a million views.”

Dan Katz of Barstool Sports, who primarily goes by Big Cat, tried to make a case to win the contest on social media.

Instead, Akron has chosen a longtime season-ticket holder to do the honors, which appears to line up better with the vision that Pottoroff and Goodrich envisioned.

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When is the Akron vs Robert Morris game?

The Zips have their home opener in Week 2 on Sept. 12 against Robert Morris. Akron opens the regular season on Thursday, Sept. 3 on the road against Wake Forest, so they will return home the week after.

Coach Moorhead, who has been Akron's head coach for the last five seasons, is expected to meet with Whims before the Sept. 12 home opener.  

“I'm going to sit this person down, and I'm going to actually take them through the Robert Morris scouting report,” Moorhead said via the Akron Beacon Journal. “I'm going to show them their tendencies on first and second down by formation. [I'll say], 'These are the plays that we like for each formation. This is how I've constructed the openers to attack them and why. Let's see what you have and if there's anything that we're able to kind of translate into our system or terminology.'

“I'm going to have the openers scripted, and they're going to have their ideas. I don't know if it would be a reordering, or, quite frankly, they may have a freaking great idea that fits what we do offensively. And I'll say, ‘All right, well, let's substitute that play for this one.’"

How to watch Robert Morris vs. Akron

• When: Saturday, Sept. 12
• Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• Live Streaming: ESPN+

For now, the Akron home opener will not air on a major television network, but the game will air live on ESPN+.