The Ohio State Buckeyes are the
intercollegiate athletic teams that represent
Ohio State University, located in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of
Ohio and after the state tree, the
. The Buckeyes participate in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA)
Division I in all sports and the
Big Ten Conference in most sports. The
Ohio State women's ice hockey team competes in the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The school colors are
scarlet and
gray. The university's mascot is
Brutus Buckeye
Brutus Buckeye is the athletics mascot of Ohio State University. Brutus made his debut in 1965, with periodic updates to design and wardrobe occurring in the years since. As a member of the spirit squad, Brutus Buckeye travels to many events aroun ...
. "THE" is the official trademark of the Ohio State University merchandise. Led by its
gridiron program, the Buckeyes have the largest overall sports endowment of any campus in North America.
Ohio State is one of only seven universities to have won an NCAA national championship in
baseball and men's
basketball, and be recognized as a national champion in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. Ohio State has also won national championships in men's swimming & diving, men's outdoor track & field, men's volleyball, men's golf, men's gymnastics, men's fencing, women's rowing, co-ed fencing, co-ed and women's pistol, synchronized swimming, and wrestling. Since the inception of the
Athletic Director's Cup, Ohio State has finished in the top 25 each year, including top 6 finishes in three of the last five years. During the 2005–06 school year Ohio State became the first Big Ten team to win conference championships in football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. This feat repeated in the 2006–07 season, which also included a February 25, 2007 men's basketball game which saw the Buckeyes defeat the
Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten's first basketball game between the number one and number two ranked squads in the nation.
A few of the many outstanding sports figures who were student athletes at Ohio State include
Jesse Owens, "The Buckeye Bullet" (track and field),
John Havlicek,
Jerry Lucas, and
Katie Smith (basketball),
Frank Howard (baseball),
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
(golf),
Archie Griffin
Archie Mason Griffin (born August 21, 1954) is a former American football running back. He played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. As college football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, he is considered one of the grea ...
(football running back, the only two-time
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
winner), and
Chic Harley
Charles Wesley "Chic" Harley (September 15, 1895 – April 21, 1974) was an American football player and athlete, often credited with bringing Ohio State University's football program to national attention. Harley was Ohio State's first consens ...
(three-time All-American football running back). Hall of Fame coaches at Ohio State have included
Paul Brown and
Woody Hayes (football),
Fred Taylor (men's basketball). Notable sports figures in Ohio State history may be inducted into the
Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame.
Sports sponsored
Baseball
Ohio State has played baseball since 1881, winning a national championship in 1966 along with 16 Big Ten regular-season titles and eight Big Ten tournament titles. The Buckeyes baseball team was the first Ohio State sports team. The team is currently coached by Greg Beals and play their home games at
Bill Davis Stadium
Bill Davis Stadium is a baseball venue located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The stadium is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team of the Big Ten Conference and is named for William C. "Bill" Davis, a businessman and Ohio State alumnus ...
, which opened in 1997. Going into the 2008 season the Buckeyes all-time record is 2228-1427-38. Notable alumni include
Frank Howard,
Nick Swisher and two time All-American
Steve Arlin
Steven Ralph Arlin (September 25, 1945 – August 17, 2016) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians for six seasons.
College star
Born in Seattle, Arlin was a collegiate star at ...
.
Men's basketball
The Ohio State men's basketball team has played in 10 NCAA
Final Fours
This is a list of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four participants (a third-place game was played from 1946 to 1981).
Participants
Teams marked with an * vacated its Final Four appearances due to violations of National ...
, winning the championship in 1960, when they were led by
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
rs
Jerry Lucas,
John Havlicek, and
Bob Knight
Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...
off the bench. A Buckeye has been named first team
All-American 23 times, including five two-time All-Americans and one three-time All-American. Between 1960 and 1964, Ohio State won five consecutive Big Ten championships, an achievement that has yet to be matched.
In 2004, Ohio State fired men's basketball coach
Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may refer to:
Sports Basketball
*Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950), American coach for Emerson College, Ohio State and Boston College
*Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951), American player for the New York Nets and Memphis Sounds
*Jim ...
for recruiting violations and self-imposed a one-year penalty, including a ban on post-season play and reduction of scholarships. In light of these University self-imposed penalties, the NCAA Division I Committee on infractions merely placed Ohio State on three years probation for the violations, and gave heavier penalties to Coach O'Brien and a former assistant coach. The lightness of this judgment was seen as encouragement for schools to be proactive in responding to violations. Nevertheless, O'Brien successfully sued Ohio State for improper termination.
Thad Matta took over O'Brien's spot in 2004. Ohio State recruited such talents as
Greg Oden, and
Mike Conley, Jr.
Michael Alex Conley Jr. (born October 11, 1987) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted as the fourth pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Conle ...
to start the 2006-2007 year. The Buckeyes finished the season with a 27–3 record; won the Big Ten tournament, and earned a number 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. After a very close game with state rival Xavier, and a thrilling 20 point come from behind victory against the
Tennessee Volunteers, the Buckeyes managed to hold off
Georgetown Hoyas 67–60 to reach the
Championship Game for the first time since 1962, which they lost to defending NCAA champions
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
, 84–75. Following years saw continued success for the Buckeyes. They won the Big Ten Championship in both the 2009-2010 and 2010–2011 season, and reached the Final Four in 2011-2012 before losing to Kansas. The Buckeyes reached the Elite Eight in 2012–2013, losing to Wichita State. 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 both saw early exits from the NCAA tournament.
Women's basketball
Currently coached by
Kevin McGuff
Kevin Patrick McGuff (born December 3, 1969) is an American college basketball coach who the current head women's basketball coach at Ohio State University after spending two seasons as head coach of the University of Washington. Prior to his tim ...
, the
Ohio State women's basketball team plays its home games in the
Value City Arena, which they moved into in 1998. Prior to 1998, they played at
St. John Arena. They have won 10
Big Ten titles, which is the most in the conference and have 14 appearances in the NCAA tournament, the most recent being in 2016. In 1993 they lost to the
Texas Tech Lady Raiders 84-82 for the National Title, while they captured the NIT title in 2001, beating the
New Mexico Lobos 62–61. Notable alumni include former
All-Americans Katie Smith and
Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport, born June 24, 1985, is an American basketball player, formerly a reserve center for the WNBA's Indiana Fever. She previously played for The Ohio State University's women's basketball team.
High school
Davenport played for ...
.
Fencing
Ohio State won its first title in 1942, when the NCAA had only men's fencing. Ohio State won the NCAA championships in fencing in both men's and women's fencing, combined, in 2004, 2008 and 2012. Israeli
Boaz Ellis
Boaz Ellis (born October 15, 1981) is an Israeli foil fencer. He is a 5-time Israeli national champion, and a 3-time NCAA champion.
Biography
Ellis was born in Tzippori, a moshav in Israel, and is Jewish. He attended Chaklai Nahalal High Schoo ...
won the NCAA title in men's foil in 2004, 2005 and 2006 for Ohio State, the first NCAA foil fencer to win three individual NCAA titles since 1963.
Football
*8× National Champions: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014
**39× Big Ten Champions: 1916, 1917, 1920, 1935, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968–1970, 1972–1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005–2009, 2010 (vacated), 2014, 2017–2020
***2× Leaders Division Champions: 2012, 2013
***7× East Division Champions: 2014–2020
**2×
OAC Champions: 1906, 1912
Golf
Ohio State's two golf courses, the Scarlet and the Gray, were completed in 1938.
The Scarlet
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
was designed by architect
Alister MacKenzie, who designed the
Masters course at
Augusta National. However, his original design was not implemented fully, and the greens were the only part of the course that truly resembled his designs. Golf magazines annually rate the Scarlet Course as one of the top collegiate courses in the nation. The Scarlet recently underwent a $4.2 million renovation under the supervision of Jack Nicklaus. Ohio State has won the
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships in 1945 and 1979. Five times, Buckeye men have won the NCAA golf individual championship:
John Lorms
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
in 1945,
Tom Nieporte in 1951,
Robert Jones in 1956,
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...
in 1961 and
Clark Burroughs
Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...
in 1985. They have won 23 Big Ten Conference championships. In 1952,
Mary Ann Villega
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
won the women's individual intercollegiate
golf championship on her home course (an event conducted by the
Division of Girls' and Women's Sports
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...
(DGWS) — which later evolved into the current NCAA women's golf championship). Ohio State was host to the first eight women's individual national title tournaments.
Men's gymnastics
The Ohio State gymnastics team has won three national titles and fifteen Big Ten titles, and has produced 4
Nissen Award winners (The Heisman Trophy of Men's Gymnastics). The team is currently coached by Rustam Sharipov. The Buckeyes have all their competitions at
St. John Arena in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
.
Some of the more notable Buckeye alumni include Don Perry, the first OSU All-American in the sport (Trampoline - 1954 - 4th place), brothers Seth and Noah Riskin - Co-national Champions (Parallel Bars - 1985 - 1st place), and
Mike Racanelli
Mike Racanelli is an American retired gymnast. His specialty was floor exercise, where he had an expressive style.
College career
Racanelli competed for Ohio State University, where he was a 10-time All-American. His coach at OSU was Peter Korma ...
- Ohio State's first Nissen winner in 1990. Racanelli also went on to win Gymnastic's first ''Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year'' Award that same year, given out annually to the athlete who displays the best performance in his sport (regardless of grade).
Following later in Racanelli's footsteps were other Nissen winners
Kip Simons
Kip Simons is a retired American gymnast. Simons competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 Olympics and the 1994 and 1995 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, World Championships.
Simons competed for Ohio State University. In 1994, his seni ...
(1994),
Blaine Wilson
Blaine Carew Wilson (born August 3, 1974) is a retired American gymnast. He is a five-time U.S. national champion (1996-2000), a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, 2004), and an Olympic silver medalist in the team competition at the 2004 Olympic G ...
(1997) and
Jamie Natalie
Jamie Natalie is a retired American gymnast. He was a highly decorated college gymnast, achieving the 2001 Nissen-Emery Award and a two-time individual all-around national champion. In 2000, because he had pursued collegiate gymnastics rather tha ...
(2001). Blaine Wilson (1995, 1996, 1997) and Jamie Natalie (2000, 2001) also went on to win ''Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year''. Raj Bhavsar was the only other Men's Gymnast to win ''Ohio State Athlete of the Year'' which he accomplished in 2002.
On the Olympic and World Championship stage, OSU Men's Gymnastics is well represented, by gymnasts and coaches. The Olympian list includes: Miles Avery (asst coach 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008),
Peter Kormann
Peter Kormann (born June 21, 1955) is an American retired gymnast and gymnastics coach. In the 1976 Olympics, he became the first American to medal in competition against the Soviets when he won a bronze medal in the men's floor competition. Kor ...
(Athlete in 1976, Head Coach 1996, 2000),
Raj Bhavsar (2004, 2008), Jamie Natalie (2000), Gil Pinto (1988), Kip Simons (1994) and Blaine Wilson (1996, 2000, 2004).
Two gymnasts who trained at the Ohio State facilities under coach Miles Avery, but were not NCAA Athletes due to eligibility rules, were
Paul and
Morgan Hamm - twin brothers from Wisconsin. Paul later went on to win the first ever Olympic gold medal in the Men's Gymnastics All-Around competition for the United States.
In 2011, Senior co-captain, Brandon Wynn, won his second national championship on rings. Brandon Wynn, Ty Echard, Kris Done and Jeff Treleaven earned All-America honors. In all, the seven All-America honors tie the second-best single-season performance in program history and are the most laurels since the 2005 campaign.
Ice hockey
The Ohio State men's ice hockey team was established in 1961 and played at the
Ohio State Ice Rink until 1999, when they moved into
Value City Arena. The Buckeyes competed in the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) through the 2012–2013 season. After
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
added
men's ice hockey as a Division I sport in 2012, the
Big Ten had enough teams to sponsor its own hockey conference and began play in the
2013-2014 season.
The Buckeyes won one conference championship in 1972, the first year of the CCHA, and won the conference tournament in 1974 and 2004. The Buckeyes have made it to the
NCAA tournament in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009, and went to the semi-finals in 1998. In 2006, they retired
Paul Pooley
Paul Robert Pooley (born August 2, 1960 in Exeter, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey player who played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets. He played his college hockey at Ohio State
The Ohio State Univ ...
's #22, the only number to be retired by the hockey program to date.
The Ohio State women's ice hockey team was started in 1999 and competes in the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Buckeyes have three NCAA postseason appearances, 2018, 2020, and 2022. In their first, the Buckeyes made it to the Frozen Four before being beaten by the
Clarkson Golden Knights. They received an autobid to the tournament in 2020 after winning the conference tournament for the first time before COVID 19 cancelled the NCAA tournament. . In the
2022 Frozen Four
The 2022 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the national championship tournament for men's college ice hockey in the United States scheduled for on April 7–9, 2022. The tournament involved 16 teams in single-elimination play to d ...
, the Buckeyes defeated the
Yale Bulldogs to advance to their first National championship. In the National Championship, the Buckeyes defeated the
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs by a score of 3-2 to win their first ever National Championship.
Notable Buckeye alumni include Olympians
Emma Laaksonen
Emma Kristiina Terho (born 17 December 1981) is a Finnish retired ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman and the current Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission. She previously served as General manager (ice hockey), general manager of Kiekko-Espoo Nai ...
,
Tessa Bonhomme
Tessa Bonhomme (born July 23, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and is a television sports reporter for The Sports Network (TSN). She was an Olympic gold medallist as a member of the Canadian national women's hockey team ...
, and
Lisa Chesson
Lisa Chesson (born August 18, 1986) is an American ice hockey defender, currently playing for the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Playing career Early career
Chesson attended Plainfield Central High School in Plainfiel ...
.
Lacrosse
Volleyball
Rifle
In June, 2013, Ohio State became a charter member of the
Patriot Rifle Conference. It was also announced that the Buckeyes will host the inaugural PRC championship meet on February 8 & 9, 2014. The rifle team has made four team and multiple individual appearances at the
NCAA Rifle Championship, with their highest finish being third place in 1991.
Softball
The Buckeye softball team has appeared in one
Women's College World Series in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
.
They shared the 1990
Big Ten regular season title and won the 2007 season title outright along with the 2007
Big Ten Conference softball tournament.
Synchronized swimming
In the team event, Ohio State has won 32 collegiate championships between 1977, the first year of the collegiate national championships, and 2019. Head coach Mary Jo Ruggieri led the team to 17 wins between 1977 and 1995, and Linda Lichter-Witter added at least seven more since 1996. Ohio State also has taken at least 61 individual honors in that span, including 11 by Karen and Sarah Josephson. Head Coach Holly Vargo-Brown led the team to their 32nd total championship in 2019, the most of any Ohio State varsity sport.
Tennis
The Men's and Women's Varsity Tennis teams have showed success both individually and as a team. Both the men's and women's teams share the outdoor tennis facility, the Stickney Tennis Center, dedicated in 1993. When the weather takes them indoors, both teams play at the Varsity Tennis Center, which was recently completed in November 2007. The outdoor facility has 12 courts and the indoor has six courts and are both located in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
.
Men's Tennis -
Big Ten Championships - 1915 (co-champions), 1943, 1991, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament Team Appearances (since 1977) - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 The Men's tennis team has 23 NCAA Singles Appearances, 11 NCAA Doubles Appearances and eight All-Americans.
Women's Tennis - Big Ten Championships - 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 - Note: The Big Ten officially began sponsoring championships for women with the 1981–82 season. Since then, Ohio State has yet to win a Big Ten Championship. Ohio State recently won their first Big Ten Championship in school history in 2016, after defeating Michigan in the finals.
NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament Team Appearances - 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009. The Women have five NCAA Singles Appearances, four NCAA Doubles Appearances and two All-Americans.
Wrestling
Ohio State wrestling was established at the university in 1921. Formerly the coach of
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
for 11 years, the current Head Coach of the team is Tom Ryan. He has been coaching Ohio State since the 2006-2007 wrestling season. His coaching ability led the Buckeye Wrestling team to 3 Big Ten titles, an NCAA title in 2015 and 5 NCAA runners-up finishes. The team has a practice facility named The Jennings Center and competes on campus in Covelli Arena. Two-time NCAA wrestling champion Jeffrey Jaggers, or commonly referred to as J Jaggers, made a seamless transition from student-athlete to coach in 2009-10 as the volunteer assistant coach.
Mark Coleman was a former Buckeye wrestler and a 1988 Big Ten Conference Champion & NCAA Champion Wrestler (190 lbs). Coleman a silver medalist in the 1991
FILA Wrestling World Championships, went on to become the first ever UFC Heavyweight Champion, and is a distinguished
UFC Hall of Fame member.
In 2015, Ohio State won its first national championship, after coming close in 2008 and 2009. It broke Penn State's streak of four consecutive team titles, but extended the Big Ten's national championship run to nine with the help of 4-time NCAA champion
Logan Stieber
Logan Stieber (born January 24, 1991) is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, who competed internationally at 61 and 65 kilograms. In the Olympic year of 2016, he won the non-Olympic world championship at 61kg, and in 2018, ...
.
2015 Ohio State wrestler
Kyle Snyder becomes youngest World Champion in United States Wrestling History. On Friday September 11 Kyle won five matches including a dramatic ending in the gold medal round at 97 kg/213 lbs. Trailing 4–3 with less than a minute remaining, Snyder got a takedown against returning World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia and ultimately prevailed by criteria with the score tied at 5-5. "It is amazing hearing the USA chants, especially on a day like today – September 11," said Snyder. "It's important to come out here and represent your country to the best of your ability."
Ohio State University Buckeye Wrestling Team Accomplishments include:
*Most Wins - 20 (1990, 1992, and 2002)
*1st-place finishes in the
Big Ten Conference 1923, 1951, 2015 (shared with Iowa), 2017, 2018
NCAA Championships: 2015
*Consecutive Wins - 15 (2001 and 2002)
*Most Big Ten Wins - 7 (7–1 in 2009–10 and 2008–09); (7–0 in 1991–92) and (7–2 in 1980–81)
*Most All-Americans in a Season - 8 (2018) Nathan Tomasello, Luke Pletcher, Joey Mckenna, Micah Jordan, Bo Jordan, Myles Martin, Kollin Moore, Kyle Snyder
*Most Freshman All-Americans in a Season - 3 (2012) Hunter Stieber, Logan Stieber and Cam Tessari
Olympians and track
Ohio State has produced over two hundred Olympic athletes, most notably
Jesse Owens who won four Olympic gold medals at the
1936 Berlin Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
and is one of the greatest Olympians in history. In all, 48 Ohio State athletes have combined for a total of 77 Olympic medals which includes 33 gold, 28 silver and 16 bronze medals. Ohio State's track team is coached by Karen Dennis, and hosts home meets at
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes' track team is also famous for being the first Buckeye team in any sport to win a national title.
Mal Whitfield was the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 800 Meters.
Club sports
College club sports in the United States are any sports offered at a university or college in the United States that compete competitively with other universities, or colleges, but are not regulated by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and do not have
varsity status. In some cases, club sports have
junior varsity
Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate levelâ ...
status. Oftentimes, students who play club sports later move on to play the same sport at the varsity level, or vice versa. Collegiate club sports can exist at schools that do have teams that are part of the NCAA or NAIA. Many times, club sports are student-run and receive little financial aid from the school. An estimated 2 million
student-athletes compete in club sports.
Typically, most sports offered at universities and offered in youth leagues are also available as a collegiate club team. However, the variety of sports offered is also often related to the size of the school. Collegiate club sports offer college athletes the ability to play at a
competitive level, but without the time commitment generally required for a sport governed by the NCAA. The tryout procedure for club
sports varies from school to school and from sport to sport.
Basketball
Collegiate Club Basketball is associated with the
National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association
The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) is an organization which regulates various sports through the collegiate systems across the United States. NIRSA serves students who play at the university varsity or club level in a ...
, with regional qualifying and a national tournament every year. The head coach of the Ohio State Men's Club Basketball team is Eddie Days, who played for
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Buckeyes play their home games at Value City Arena in ...
from 2009 to 2011. Ohio State Men's Club Basketball has won three National Championships (2016, 2018, 2019).
In 2018, Ohio State defeated
Harvard University in the National Championship. The
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
of the 2018 Tournament was Ohio State's Nick Moschetti, who played Division 1 basketball at
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. A campus of Purdue University, Purdue Fort Wayne was founded on July 1, 2018, when its predecessor university, Indiana University–Purdue University ...
before transferring to Ohio State. Ohio State's most recent Club Basketball National Championship took place in April 2019 in
Wichita, Kansas where Ohio State defeated
The University of Houston in the National Championship to take home the trophy. The Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Tournament was Ohio State's
Evan Grootenhuis
Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name YÉ™hÃ´á¸¥Ä ...
.
The 2020 Club Basketball season was cut short due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Ohio State was named league champion for the season, despite a majority of games not being played. No National Champion was crowned. The 2021 Club Basketball season was completely cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Football
The Ohio State Club Football team, founded in 2009, gives Ohio State students without athletic scholarships the opportunity to play full-contact, 11-on-11 football with largely NCAA rules. Although not affiliated with the NCAA program, multiple former players such as Chris Booker, De'Shawn White, Eli Goins and others have gone on to walk-on to the NCAA team. The Ohio State Club Football program joined the
National Club Football Association
The National Club Football Association (NCFA) is an association of collegiate American football teams. It is a member of CollClubSports and manages the NCFA National Championship.
NCFA teams are typically operated by student sports clubs rather ...
in 2012 and has won the last two NCFA National Championships in 2019 and 2021 (no games played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Buckeyes are one of just two programs to repeat as national champions (Coppin State 2012, 2013) and the third program to boast two national titles (Coppin State, Oakland University).
In addition to their back-to-back national championships, the Buckeyes have won two conference titles (2019, 2021) and two division titles (2018, 2019) all under current Head Coach, James Grega, Jr. Ohio State has also had 55 players named to NCFA All-American teams since its inception, including quarterback Kellyn Gerenstein, who won the league's Offensive MVP award in 2019 and the NCFA National Championship Game MVP Award in 2021.
Rugby
Founded in 1966, Ohio State's Rugby Football Club plays
college rugby in Division 1-A in the
Big Ten Universities
Big Ten Universities is a Division 1-A Rugby, Division 1-A college rugby conference founded in summer 2012 by ten of the twelve schools that then made up the Big Ten Conference (which has since 2010–13 Big Ten Conference realignment#Maryland, ex ...
conference against traditional Big 10 rivals such as Michigan. The Buckeyes are led by head coach Ron Bowers, who played rugby as a Buckeye, earning All-American honors in 1991. The Buckeyes best performances were in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, when they finished third in the nation in
both seasons.
More recently, Ohio State has appeared in the
Collegiate Rugby Championship, a tournament broadcast live on NBC, finishing 7th in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and 14th in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. The Buckeyes were led in those two tournaments by
Nate Ebner
Nathan Ebner (born December 14, 1988) is an American football safety and special teamer who is a free agent, and a rugby sevens player for the United States national rugby sevens team.
Ebner played rugby union (15-a-side) on the US Under-19 ...
, who was named to the competition's All Tournament Team in 2010 and 2011, before entering the 2012 NFL draft and signing with the New England Patriots. The Buckeyes finished the 2010–11 season ranked 23rd in the country. Ohio State finished third at the 2012
Big Ten 7s, missing out on qualification to the 2012
USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.
Tennis
The Ohio State club tennis team competes in the national
USTA Tennis on Campus
Tennis on Campus (TOC) is the national collegiate club tennis league operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The league is played on hard courts in World TeamTennis format. 370 colleges throughout the 15 USTA geographical sectio ...
league and won the
National Championship in 2018, defeating the
University of North Carolina.
Water Polo
Collegiate club water polo operates under the Collegiate Water Polo Association, with the United States split into 18 divisions based partly on geography and partly on conventional conferences across other collegiate sports. The Ohio State's Men's Water Polo club competes in the Big Ten division with other Big Ten teams such as Michigan St and Michigan. The Buckeyes competed in the CWPA National Collegiate Club Championship in 2013 (6th), 2014(5th), 2017(6th) and 2018(7th). The current head coaches of the men’s team are Larry and AP.
Championships
NCAA team championships
Ohio State has won 31 NCAA team titles.
*Men's (24)
**
Baseball (1): 1966
**
Basketball (1): 1960
**
Fencing (1): 1942
**
Golf (2): 1945, 1979
**
Gymnastics (3): 1985, 1996, 2001
**
Outdoor Track & Field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
(1): 1929
**
Swimming (11): 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1962
**
Volleyball (3): 2011, 2016, 2017
**
Wrestling (1): 2015
*Women's (4)
**
Rowing (3): 2013, 2014, 2015
**
Ice Hockey (1): 2022
*Co-ed (3)
**
Fencing (3): 2004, 2008, 2012
*See also:
**
List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships
**
Big Ten Conference NCAA national team championships
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
Other national team championships
Below are 55 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA (including sports it has never sponsored):
*Men's:
**Football (8): 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002, 2014
*Women's:
**Synchronized swimming (33): 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
**Pistol (7): 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2017, 2021, 2022
*Co-ed:
**Pistol (7): 2000, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022
*See also:
**
List of Big Ten Conference National Championships
The list of Big Ten national championships includes championships won by teams from the Big Ten Conference and former member Chicago. Including football champions listed in the official ''NCAA Records'' book, Big Ten teams have compiled 299 NCAA ...
**
List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships
**
Big Ten regular-season championships
Men's
*Football: 1916, 1917, 1920, 1935, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (vacated), 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
*Basketball: 1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1971, 1991, 1992, 2000 (vacated), 2002 (vacated), 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012
*Baseball: 1917, 1924, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2016
*Golf: 1928, 1945, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1966, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004
*Hockey: (
CCHA): 1972, 2004 (Big Ten): 2019
*Gymnastics: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2022
*Indoor Track: 1942, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1993, 2018
*Outdoor Track: 1942, 1948, 1992, 1993, 2018, 2022
*Soccer: 2000, 2007, 2009, 2015
*Swimming: 1938, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 2010
*Tennis: 1915, 1943, 1991, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
*Volleyball (
MIVA): 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018
*Fencing: 1926, 1927, 1949, 1969, 1970, 1977, (MFC): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, (CCFC): 2021, 2022
*Wrestling: 1923, 1951, 2015, 2017, 2018
*Cross Country: 1923
*Lacrosse: (GWLL) 1986, 1988, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008 (ECAC) 2014
*Rifle: (WIRC) 1948, 1950, 1952, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Women's
*Basketball: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2022
*Field Hockey: 2001, 2006, 2010
*Golf: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
*Gymnastics: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
*Rowing: 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022
*Soccer: 2010, 2017
*Softball: 1990, 2007
*Tennis: 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022
*Indoor Track: 2011, 2015, 2019, 2020
*Outdoor Track: 2011, 2012, 2019, 2021, 2022
*Swimming: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2020, 2021, 2022
*Volleyball: 1989, 1991, 1994
Media
On April 2, 2009, Ohio State signed a 10-year media-rights agreement with IMG College (now a part of
Learfield IMG College
LEARFIELD, formerly Learfield IMG College, is a large collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and ...
) and RadiOhio (former owner of the school's radio network
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
WBNS/
WBNS-FM in Columbus, and now a part of
Tegna Inc.
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
), worth nearly $128 million, the largest such agreement in college sports.
The Ohio State University Marching Band
The Ohio State University Marching Band (nicknamed "The Best Damn Band In The Land") is currently under direction of Dr. Christopher Hoch. This all brass band has 225 members, and was first formed in 1878. The band has traditions including a
field march that forms a "Script Ohio", during which, a senior
sousaphone
The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...
player gets to "dot the i" in the word Ohio.
School colors
The Ohio State school colors of scarlet and gray were chosen by a committee of three students (Curtis C. Howard, Harwood R. Pool, and Alice Townshend) prior to the school's first graduation ceremony in 1878. The committee's original recommendation was to be orange and black. The committee soon discovered that Princeton already used the colors, however, and changed their recommendation. For this reason some references claim that Ohio State's original school colors were orange and black. This claim is not quite accurate, in that the committee never filed the original report with that recommendation.
Pageantry
:Team colors:
Scarlet and
Gray
:Outfitter:
Nike J. America
:Fight songs:
Across the Field
"(Fight The Team) Across the Field" is the older of two fight songs of Ohio State University, with the newer one being "Buckeye Battle Cry". Although the lyrics reference football heroics and was composed by the football team's varsity manager, Wil ...
,
Buckeye Battle Cry
"Buckeye Battle Cry", composed by vaudeville performer and songwriter Frank Crumit, is one of two fight songs of the Ohio State Buckeyes, with the other being "(Fight The Team) Across the Field". Every football game in Ohio Stadium begins with Ra ...
:Often played songs:
Hang on Sloopy,
Le Regiment
:Alma mater:
Carmen Ohio
:Nicknames:
Buckeyes (officially adopted in 1950
[Walsh, Christopher (2009). ''Ohio State Football Football Huddleup'', Triumph Books (Random House, Inc.), , p. 120.]), The Bucks, The Silver Bullets
:Mascot:
Brutus Buckeye
Brutus Buckeye is the athletics mascot of Ohio State University. Brutus made his debut in 1965, with periodic updates to design and wardrobe occurring in the years since. As a member of the spirit squad, Brutus Buckeye travels to many events aroun ...
:Rivalries:
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
,
Illinois Fighting Illini,
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...
,
Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops
The Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops are the sports and other competitive teams at Ohio Wesleyan University. The men's and women's Bishops teams are NCAA Division III teams that compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Mid-Atlantic Ro ...
(former)
:Marching band:
The Ohio State University Marching Band, known as TBDBITL, or The Best Damn Band In The Land. Famous for "
Script Ohio
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of hand ...
" and the "
Ramp Entrance". The dotting of the "i" in "Script Ohio" by a sousaphone (tuba) player who high-kicks out and does a giant bow to the crowd was voted the #1 greatest sports tradition ever, in
Athlon Sports,
ESPN, and ''
Sports Illustrated.''
:Radio network:
Ohio State Sports Network - Flagships
WBNS AM 1460 (ESPN Columbus) and
WBNS FM (97.1 The Fan)
:Announcers:
Paul Keels (Play By Play);
Jim Lachey
James Michael Lachey (born June 4, 1963) is a radio analyst for Ohio State football and a former American football offensive tackle who played for ten seasons in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders, and ...
(Color (football)), Ron Stokes (Color (basketball))
References
External links
*
{{Navboxes
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, list =
{{Big Ten Conference navbox
{{Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's navbox
{{Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association navbox
{{Central Collegiate Fencing Conference navbox
{{Patriot Rifle Conference navbox
{{Columbus, Ohio
{{Ohio Sports
{{Ohio college sports
Sports in Columbus, Ohio