Selling Stadium Naming Rights Would Be A Mistake For Ohio State

New Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork reportedly has not totally ruled out future stadium naming rights sale according to one Sports Illustrated writer.

Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Fans fill Ohio Stadium prior to the Penn State football game Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. / Doral Chenoweth / USA TODAY NETWORK

College football is a sport built on traditions. Not just the historical success of past teams for each program, but the traditions of legendary venues being filled with thousands of cheering fans on Saturdays. The home of the Ohio State Buckeyes is one of the most recognized stadiums in college football to this day. Ohio Stadium also known as "The Horseshoe" is a staple of college football.

Patrick Andres, staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, published an interesting story regarding the future of Ohio Stadium on Sunday. There is definitely a naming rights trend in professional sports, but it has not quite hit college athletics to the same degree at this point. That could potentially change in the near future and Ohio State might be subject to a major change eventually. Changing the name of the iconic stadium would be a massive mistake though.

Ross Bjork came to Ohio State to fill the Athletic Director role following the retirement of Gene Smith. July 1st was the official first day for the former Texas A&M AD and he has already turned some heads by not ruling out future stadium naming rights in an interview over the weekend.

On Saturday, Bjork had an interview with David Briggs of the Toledo Blade and Briggs asked the new AD if the school would ever consider selling the naming rights to Ohio Stadium.

Jan 17, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ross Bjork speaks during an introductory press conference for Ohio State University’s new athletic director at the Covelli Center. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

"Obviously, there's a lot of historic value in that and what that means. If you go back to how they raised the money to build the stadium, every county contributed, and they did not want to take away from state dollars or tuition dollars," stated Bjork. "If that ever has to get put on the table, it's the same conversation. At this point in time, you can never say never on anything."

Although Bjork was noncommittal on letting out a definitive "no" towards the idea, the talk about the historic value behind the name is likely a positive thing. Clearly Bjork has done his research and knows the backstory behind the stadium build in 1922. He also understands the importance of the history behind "The Horseshoe".

Andres made note of USC striking a deal with United Airlines for its playing field, yet many college football venues have steered clear of naming rights to this point. Perhaps that will change in the near future, but I find it hard to imagine Ohio State being a surprising trend-setter in this venture.

Ohio Stadium not being referred to as "The Horseshoe" probably won't go over well with most of the fanbase. As long as the Buckeyes play in the current stadium, the name should remain unchanged or else a significant part of history is lost. That would be a loss for all of college football and not just Ohio State.

Hopefully any changes like this can be held off for quite some time, but the new era of college athletics, where athletes will get compensated could potentially cause drastic changes such as this one down the road.