Ohio State To Keep all 36 Sports, Scholarships Amid NCAA Changes

Ohio State pledges to retain all 36 Division I sports and scholarships, reaffirming support for student-athletes amid financial challenges reshaping college athletics.

Aug 30, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and athletic director Ross Bjork attend the unveiling of a statue for former Buckeyes running back Archie Griffin outside Ohio Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ohio State Buckeyes have made an ambitious commitment: they will retain all 36 of their sports programs and maintain scholarships for all of them, even as collegiate athletics undergo dramatic financial changes.

This decision, led by President Ted Carter and Athletic Director Ross Bjork, reaffirms Ohio State’s dedication to supporting a broad spectrum of sports and student-athletes. "When I hired (athletic director) Ross Bjork, he and I decided right away that we would retain all 36 Division I sports programs,” Carter said. “It's important. We have over 1,000 student athletes. It's important for our Olympic sports that we do this. Not many other schools are going to be able to do this. And we will remain financially self-sufficient. That's no small order, because we're going to be sharing a fair bit of our revenue with our student-athletes. And finally, we're going to retain scholarships for all 36 Division I sports."

This pledge comes at a critical juncture for Ohio State and all NCAA institutions, as the financial landscape of collegiate sports faces unprecedented challenges. Recent legal shifts, most notably the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, have introduced revenue-sharing obligations and allowed direct compensation to athletes. While these changes mark a step forward in athlete rights and equitable compensation, they pose complex financial hurdles for universities. Schools are now tasked with establishing athlete payrolls, potentially reaching up to $22 million annually, while maintaining funding for non-revenue sports. For many institutions, this dual obligation has led to difficult decisions, with some programs opting to eliminate or downsize sports to balance their budgets.

Despite these challenges, Ohio State’s decision to retain all its sports programs and scholarships is a bold commitment. The financial realities for non-revenue Olympic sports are particularly strained. In the United States, collegiate athletics is the primary training and development pipeline for Olympic talent, unlike many leading nations. Approximately $5 billion is spent annually on NCAA Olympic sports, but these programs often operate at a financial loss and rely on revenue generated by high-profile sports like football and basketball. With new financial pressures from NIL and revenue-sharing reforms, many schools have had to reconsider their support for these sports, and several have already downsized or eliminated programs.

President Carter’s remarks emphasize that this decision is not merely about retaining programs but ensuring that student-athletes across all sports have access to a supportive environment that prioritizes their athletic and academic development. “We want to be a voice in making sure that in the shared revenue, NIL, transfer portal world... that we retain our student-athletes as student-athletes,” Carter said.

Ohio State’s decision comes as a welcome affirmation of support for student-athletes at a time when many programs nationwide are facing cuts. While maintaining 36 sports and scholarships presents financial challenges, Ohio State’s commitment reflects a forward-thinking vision for collegiate sports that balances the demands of a new economic reality with a steadfast dedication to opportunity and excellence for every athlete who wears the Buckeye uniform.