The Ohio State University's intercollegiate sports teams and players are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree, the Buckeye), and participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. (The men's hockey program competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and its women's hockey program competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association). The school colors are scarlet and gray. Ohio State's mascot is Brutus Buckeye. Ohio State is one of only four universities to have won an NCAA national championship in baseball, basketball and football. Ohio State has also won national championships in men's swimming & diving, men's outdoor track & field, men's golf, men's gymnastics, men's fencing, co-ed fencing, and synchronized swimming. [1] 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. [2] During the 2005-2006 school year Ohio State became this first Big Ten team to win conference championships in football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. They repeated this feat in the 2006-2007 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 one-versus-two basketball game. Outstanding sports figures that 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 (golf); and Chic Harley (three-time All-American football running back). Hall of Fame coaches at Ohio State have included Paul Brown and Woody Hayes in football, Fred Taylor in basketball, Larry Snyder in track and field, and Mike Peppe in swimming and diving. Notable sports figures in Ohio State history may be inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame.

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Football

Heisman Trophy winners
Year	Player
1944	Les Horvath
1950	Vic Janowicz
1955	Howard Cassady
1974	Archie Griffin
1975	Archie Griffin
1995	Eddie George
2006	Troy Smith

• National Champions : 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002
• Big Ten Champions :1916, 1917, 1920, 1935, 1939, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• OAC Champions :1906, 1912

Men's Basketball

The Ohio State men's basketball team has played in Ten NCAA Final Fours, winning the championship in 1960, when they were led by Basketball Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and Bob Knight off the bench. Twenty-three times a Buckeye has been named first team All American 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 University fired men's basketball coach Jim O’Brien 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 University on three years probation for the violations, and gave heavier penalties to Coach O’Brien and a former assistant coach. ^[3] 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, the current coach of the Buckeyes, took over O'Brien's spot three years ago. Ohio State recruited such talents as Greg Oden, and Mike Conley, Jr. 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, 84-75. The Buckeyes ended the 2006-2007 season with a record of 35-4.

Women's Basketball

Currently coached by Jim Foster, the Ohio State women's basketball team plays its home games in the Jerome Schottenstein Center, which they moved into in 1998. Prior to 1998, they played at St. John Arena. They have won ten Big Ten titles, which is the most in the conference ^[4] and have fourteen appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the most recent being in 2007. In 1993 they lost to Sheryl Swoopes and the Texas Tech Red Raiders 84-82 for the national title, while they captured the NIT title in 2001, beating the New Mexico Lobos 62-61. ^[5] Notable alumni include former All-Americans Katie Smith and Jessica Davenport.

Golf

Ohio State's two golf courses, the Scarlet and the Gray, were completed in 1938. The Scarlet 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 in 1945, Tom Nieporte in 1951, Rick Jones in 1956, Jack Nicklaus in 1961 and Clark Burroughs in 1985.

Baseball

Ohio State has played baseball since 1881 ^[6], winning a national championship in 1966 along with fourteen 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 Bob Todd and play their home games at Bill Davis Stadium, ^[7] 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. The current head coach is Bob Todd.

Synchronized swimming

Ohio State has been the best program in the first 30 years of national collegiate synchronized swimming competition. In the team event, Ohio State won 24 collegiate championships between 1977, the first year of the collegiate national championships, and 2004. Head coach Mary Jo Ruggieri (Olympic Coach,) led the team to 17 wins between 1977 and 1995, and Linda Lichter-Witter added seven more since 1996. Ohio State also has taken 61 individual honors in that span, including 11 by Karen and Sarah Josephson.

Men's Gymnastics

The Ohio State gymnastics team has won three national titles and nine big ten titles. The team is coached by Miles Avery. The Buckeyes play all home games and tournaments at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Ice hockey

Ohio State hockey team was est. in 1961 and played at the OSU Ice Arena until 1999 when they moved into Value City Arena. The Buckeyes compete in the CCHA. They have won one conference championship in 1972, the first year of the CCHA and the tourney 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 Frozen Four in 1998. They have only retired one number, #22 Paul Pooley.

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 and is often considered 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. Were Ohio State to be considered as a separate nation, it would rank 31st for all time medalists and 26th for all time gold medalists. ^[8]. Ohio State's track team is coached by Hobert Gregand, and plays all 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.

National Championships

Ohio State has 61 total team national titles. Of these, 22 are NCAA championships. ^{[9] [10] [11]} The Buckeye athletics program also has 299 individual national champions. ^[9]

• Men's
• *Baseball: 1966
• *Basketball: 1960 , 1986 (NIT), 2008 (NIT)
• *Fencing: 1942 , 2004
• *Football: 1942, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970, 2002
• *Golf: 1945, 1979
• *Gymnastics: 1985, 1996, 2001
• *Swimming & Diving: 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1962
• *Outdoor Track & Field: 1929
• Women's
• *Cheerleading: 1993
• *Synchronized swimming: 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
• *Pistol: 2003, 2004, 2009
• Coed
• *Fencing: 2004, 2008
• *Pistol: 2000

Bold indicates an NCAA championship.

Big Ten Champions

Men's

• Baseball : 1917, 1924, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001
• Basketball : 1925, 1933, 1939, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1971, 1991, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007
• Cross Country : 1923
• 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
• Golf : 1928, 1945, 1951, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004
• Hockey (CCHA) : 1972, 2004
• Gymnastics : 1983, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Indoor Track : 1942, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1993
• Outdoor Track : 1942, 1948, 1992, 1993
• Soccer : 2000, 2007
• Swimming : 1938, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956
• Tennis : 1915, 1943, 1991, 2001, 2006, 2007
• Volleyball (MIVA): 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007
• Wrestling :1923, 1951

Women's

• Basketball : 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
• Field Hockey : 2006
• Golf : 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• Gymnastics : 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
• Rowing : 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Softball: : 1990, 2007
• Swimming: : 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
• Volleyball : 1989, 1991, 1994

Media

On April 2, 2009, Ohio State signed a 10-year media-rights agreement with IMG College and RadiOhio, worth nearly $128 million, the largest such agreement in college sports. ^[13]

The Ohio State University Marching Band

The Ohio State University Marching Band - or as it is some times referred to as "The Best Damn Band In The Land" - is one of the most recognized college marching bands in the country, and is currently under direction of Dr. Jon R. Woods. This all brass band has 225 members, and was first formed in 1878. The band is well-known for its traditions including "Script Ohio", during which, it is a great honor for a senior Sousaphone player 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. ^[14] 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

Notes

1. Schools with the Most NCAA National Championships
2. U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup Previous Scoring
3. Ohio State University and Former Men's Basketball Coaches Penalized for Infractions
4. Big Ten Championship Teams
5. 2001 Postseason WNIT
6. Records by Year
7. See Bill Davis Stadium
8. See All-time Olympic Games medal count
9. Buckeye Champions
10. Ohio State Basketball quick facts
11. Ohio State Finishes 14th at Cheerleading National Championship
12. Buckeye Champions
13. Ohio State announces media deal
14. J. H. Galbraith, "Choosing the University Colors," The Ohio State University Monthly, Dec. 1914-Jan. 1915, pp. 11-13