With the significant resistance voiced last week about moving the date of "The Game," I believe there is an unexpected consequence that hasn't been discussed.
In my opinion, the OSU alumni and fan reaction to this subject is definitely the strongest since the Ohio State Faculty Council voted not to play in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 1961 season. The faculty council vote of 28-25 was taken the Tuesday after OSU had beaten UM 50-20 to win the 1961 outright Big Ten title. Without getting into all the details, Ohio State suffered two very big unexpected consequences following this decision:
1. Alumni gifts and contributions significantly declined over the next few years. Alumni strongly felt betrayed by this action. They felt disrespected, and I've always felt this was one way alumni could show the "academics on campus" how passionately they felt about this decision. Hit them in the pocketbook!
2. Recruiting for Coach Hayes was adversely impacted. Many fine Ohio high school players were convinced by other schools not to go to Ohio State because of the way the Faculty Council viewed the football program. It was 1968, seven years later, before Ohio State again won a Big Ten title. There were even rumors of Hayes losing his job after a 4-5 record in 1966.
Would the same happen today if "The Game" was played earlier in the season? I'm not sure how much impact it would have on recruiting, but I feel confident the decline in alumni giving would be even greater than in 1961. Gifts and contributions from alumni are mostly based on emotion, not logic, and the emotions stirred by this subject will definitely lead to a reduced level of giving.
