Ohio State's Ross Bjork projects to have $500 million athletics budget 'very soon'​

Athletic director Ross Bjork expects Ohio State’s athletic department to be the first to record an annual operating budget of $500 million in the coming years.

“It’s going to happen,” Bjork said. “It could happen in three years from now. It could happen two years from now or five years from now. But we will have a $500 million athletic budget at some point in time very soon. We have that capability.”

Since replacing Gene Smith at the helm of the athletic department two years ago, Bjork has seen soaring revenues from ticket sales, sponsorship and licensing, as well as record fundraising following their national championship in football in 2024.

The university’s athletic department exceeded $300 million in operating revenue for the first time during the 2025 fiscal year, according to its annual financial report to the NCAA.

The department’s total of $336.1 million marked a significant spike from its previous high of $279.5 million from the 2023 fiscal year. Revenue and expense figures from this fiscal year ending on June 30 are not yet available.

Ohio State is a behemoth in college sports not only due to the stature of its football program, but also due to its sponsorship of 36 other varsity sports, leaving it tied with Stanford for the most among power conference schools.

Both factors have led the athletic department in recent years to pursue additional ways to generate revenue, especially as it also manages new expenses related to revenue-sharing with athletes that began last year following the settlement of three antitrust cases against the NCAA.

Bjork has sought to cultivate more donors as well as part of their fundraising efforts.

“There’s a lot of data that shows we have 12 million fans,” Bjork said. “If 1% of those people would join the Buckeye Club, what’s the math on that? One hundred and twenty thousand. Right now, we have about 25,000 donors, and that’s a great number, but how do we take the size and scale of Ohio State and maximize it?

“There really is no ceiling for our program from an engagement, enterprise, value, revenue, all of those things. That’s what we're really going to focus on. Take vision, turn it into action and make sure we're nationally competitive. We have to make sure there's some financial sustainable model.”

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has made a surprising admission about the Ohio State Buckeyes ahead of the 2026 season​

Paul Finebaum has ruffled the feathers of Ohio State fans many times over the years. His latest comment on the Buckeyes may come as a surprise for that very reason.

Paul Finebaum tells it like it is with the Ohio State Buckeyes ​

“Nobody is in Ohio State’s league right now,” Finebaum said recently. “I saw that story the other day, and the idea of a half-billion-dollar athletic budget is truly amazing. Now, remember, Ohio State has more sports than the average SEC program. I would think Texas and Georgia are considerably behind that. It’s just a number, but it’s also where college athletics is.”

Finebaum is typically viewed as somewhat of an SEC homer in Big Ten land. He was honest about no other program being on Ohio State’s level right now athletics-wise. Of course, much of it has to do with the support of Buckeye Nation, as well as the success the football team can ride on every season.

calibuck said:

Glad to hear this, and does your reply indicate that indeed it is continuing under Day? Hope so, as did expose our players to leaders in fields that they might have an interest after their shelf life in football is used up. Also, is this open to other sports, and genders as well? So enjoyed the commercial "We'll go pro in other fields" or somesuch paraphrase. Thanks for your response.

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Yes. Day has kept the program going.

SAVE MAN GETS PAID. Former Ohio State men’s hockey goaltender Jakub Dobes is cashing in after leading the Montreal Canadiens to the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals in this year’s playoffs.

Dobes received a three-year contract extension with an average annual salary of $5,357,575 from the Canadiens on Wednesday.

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Dobes was the NHL’s top rookie goaltender this past season, earning wins in 29 of his 43 regular-season appearances with a 2.78 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. He followed that up by earning nine wins with a 2.66 GAA and .908 save percentage in the playoffs, leading the Canadiens to series wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres before they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals.

Not hating elite speed from the slot.

Bags

Imagine if it's late in a playoff game and your backup guard was Mike Conley instead of Porter.. dayumm

Bagmen

pnuts34 said:

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I'm sure this will come off as homerism after he picked us, but I've been of the opinion Moss is a fringe 5* since I watched his film (camp and game). He'll need some work on weight distribution and technique, but really that's 95% of OL recruits coming out of HS (or more). Moss has all the tools to be an elite OT and at worst will be a 3 year starter type, perhaps inside at guard. Lots of work in the weight room and coaching, but 2-3 years out I can see revisiting Moss and seeing why he is in the 5 star discussion.

Regardless, I'm ecstatic to land him. Great prospect and a steal from the heart of the south.

buchtelgrad04 said:

I’m not sure of his chops, but in theory it’s a great hire.

An NFL scout monitoring the transfer portal? Good deal.

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I just created a thread for him and then saw this discussion.

I agree, this is a baller move. I presume that having anyone with an NFL background paying attention, full time nonetheless, to everyone else’s players who are ripe to be picked is better than nothing. Putting that on Pantoni would be too much.

Bagmen.

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Class: 2028
Position: OL
School: Prairie Village (KS) Shawnee East
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 280 lbs

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brodybuck21 said:

@Thump

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Bagmen

Hopefully, we get JDD and DGG. IMO, that would be GR8.

Columbus, OH GDP: $182B

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Entire state of Mississippi GDP: $127B

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The job market and economy of Columbus, Ohio is significantly larger, more diversified, and offers higher wages than the entire state economy of Mississippi.They'll be just fine after football.

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Absolute mic drop.

brodybuck21 said:

this really hits home for me (my older brother loooooong story)

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Same for me. But it’s my younger brother.

UCLA research suggests playing pro football can increase risk of developing ALS

The study looked at close to 20,000 professional football players who had participated in at least one game between 1960 and 2019. The data showed that professional football players were four times more likely than the general population to develop and die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a neurodegenerative disease.

Because the study covers 59 years, the researchers were also able to make an important connection between the length of a player’s football career and their risk of developing ALS. Specifically, the longer someone played football, the greater their likelihood of developing ALS became. Those players who developed ALS played more than 50% longer than those who did not.

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Draymond Green declines Warriors' option, becomes free agent​

Draymond Green is heading to free agency. The Warriors veteran has declined a $27.7 million player option for the 2026-27 season and will be a free agent tomorrow evening. Green has only played for the Warriors during his 14-year NBA career and has won four championships with the squad. The Warriors could bring Green back at a smaller average annual value and help make more moves possible.

The Warriors are said to be chasing both LeBron James in free agency and Anthony Davis on the trade market. Those moves would reunite LeBron and AD and pair them with Stephen Curry as Curry and James chase a fifth title.

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He looks like he could put a solid 35 lbs on that frame, dude is going to get big

Jaxbuck said:

You guys getting ready to knock off a jewelry place?

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We found Mr Pink

4 incoming Ohio State hockey players were selected in the 2026 NHL Draft​

Despite being drafted, all four players are expected to play for Ohio State in the fall.

Ben Wilmott - 92nd overall pick - Las Vegas Golden Knights​

Evan Jardine - 121st overall pick - Columbus Blue Jackets​

Tobias Tvrznik - 126th overall pick - Colorado Avalanche​

This season we saw Jakub Dobeš take over as the starting goaltender in Montreal, helping the Canadiens reach the Eastern Conference Finals before they were eventually eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Tobias Tvrznik hopes to find success in the NHL in the future after he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in the fourth round.

The Czechia product will have a few years before he reaches the NHL, as he won’t even turn 19 until the end of July. Before committing to Ohio State, Tvrznik appeared in 39 games for the Wenatchee Wild of the Western Hockey League, posting a 3.10 goals against average and .913 save percentage.

While the goals against average is a little high, Tvrznik’s save percentage is impressive. With a pretty crowded pipeline at goalie, Tvrznik can afford to spend some time in Columbus to develop.

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Will Tomko - 204th overall pick - Seattle Kraken​

1977 CBS NFL Today: Brent Musburger, Phyllis George, and Irv Cross

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Jaxbuck said:

magic underwear

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Soaking