Ohio State University - Athletics

Athletics

Ohio State's intercollegiate sports teams are called the "Buckeyes" (derived from the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, the Ohio Buckeye – Aesculus glabra), and participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports (Division I FBS in football) 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. Brutus Buckeye is the mascot. Ohio State currently has 36 varsity teams.

Ohio State is one of only four universities (the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of California at Berkeley being the others) to have won national championships in all three major men's sports (baseball, men's basketball, and football). Ohio State is also one of only two universities to appear in the national championship games in both football and men's basketball in the same calendar year (the other university is the University of Florida, who defeated Ohio State in both contests in 2007.) 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 multiple synchronized swimming championships. The Ohio State equestrian team has won eight Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships. 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 2005–2006 school year Ohio State became this first Big Ten team to win conference championships in Football, Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball. Ohio State repeated the feat during the 2006–2007 school year, winning solo championships in all three sports. In 2007, Sports Illustrated nicknamed Ohio State's athletic program as being "The Program" due to the unsurpassed facilities, unparalleled amount of men's and women's sport teams, their success, and the financial support of an impressive fan base.

Outstanding sports figures that were student athletes at Ohio State include 1936 Olympics gold medalist Jesse Owens "the Buckeye Bullet" (track and field), John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas, Bobby Knight, and Larry Siegfried (basketball), 2010 Olympics silver medalist Ryan Kesler (ice hockey), Katie Smith and the first 3-time player of the year in Big Ten Basketball history Jessica Davenport (women's basketball), Frank Howard (basketball and baseball), Jack Nicklaus (golf); and Chic Harley (three-time All-American football running back). Ohio State football players have combined for seven Heisman Awards including the only two-time winner Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975, Eddie George in 1995, and most recently Troy Smith in 2006. 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. Hall of fame players, in pro-football, include Sid Gillman, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Jim Parker, Paul Warfield, Dick LeBeau, and Bill Willis.