COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s lacrosse team will face off against Denver in Ohio Stadium April 19, Joe Breschi, Buckeye head coach, announced Monday. The lacrosse game precedes the Buckeye football team’s annual spring game, with the lacrosse game beginning at 11 a.m., followed by football at 1:30 p.m.
The lacrosse team looks to break national attendance records for Division I men’s lacrosse. The all-time record is 52,004, set at the NCAA championship semifinals May 26 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The regular-season attendance record also was set last year, when 20,180 watched a doubleheader with Johns Hopkins/Princeton and Virginia/Syracuse March 3, also at M&T Bank Stadium. The on-campus record is 19,850, set when Maryland hosted Johns Hopkins at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md., April 18, 1987.
The Ohio State 2007 football spring game drew 75,301 fans, surpassing the 63,000 that attended the event in 2006.
[URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=89206&SPID=10648&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1051911"]Gene Smith[/URL], director of athletics at Ohio State, said fans will have the opportunity to enjoy two Ohio State competitions without leaving their seats.
“We’re excited to have our lacrosse team get the opportunity to play in front of what should be a record crowd in Ohio Stadium,” Smith said. “It will give Buckeye fans the opportunity to cheer on two of our teams in the same stadium. It is a great chance for our student-athletes to play in an amazing setting, with tens of thousands cheering for the Scarlet and Gray.”
Breschi said his student-athletes will get an opportunity to play in the ’Shoe, something a select few Buckeyes can say.
“I want to thank
[URL="http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=89206&SPID=10648&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1051911"]Gene Smith[/URL] and Coach (Jim) Tressel for making this game happen for our student-athletes and program,” Breschi said. “It will be an amazing experience for these young men and the Ohio State lacrosse family to play in the Horseshoe this spring with more than 70,000 people cheering them on. This will be an event our guys will remember forever. I’m extremely grateful to Coach Tressel for his continued support of men’s lacrosse throughout the years.”
Jim Tressel, head coach of the football Buckeyes, said his team, along with what he hopes will be a record-setting crowd, will be on hand for the lacrosse game.
“April 19 will be a great day in Ohio Stadium,” Tressel said. “I’m hoping we’ll set a lacrosse single-game attendance record and have an all-time high for the Buckeye spring football game as well. Our team will be there watching part of the lacrosse game before taking the field for the annual Scarlet and Gray game.”
Tickets will be $5 and include both games, with children 6 and under admitted free. One dollar from every ticket is used to support the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) which is held at Ohio State each summer. Tickets will go on sale at a later date. They can be purchased before the game by calling the Ohio State athletics ticket office at 1 800 GO BUCKS or online at ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Tickets also will be available day-of-game at the stadium.
The Ohio State Marching Band will attend the lacrosse game and is expected to perform Script Ohio at halftime. TBDBITL will remain in the stadium for the football spring game.
The men’s lacrosse team kicks off its season against Navy at home Feb. 16. The team will host three other games in addition to Navy and Denver, facing Penn State March 8, Bellarmine April 2 and Air Force April 6.
