Ohio State AD Ross Bjork expects that the university’s athletic department will “be the first to record an annual operating budget of” $500M in the coming years, according to Joey Kaufman of the Columbus DISPATCH. 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.” Since stepping into his role 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 $300M in operating revenue for the first time during FY2025, according to its annual financial report to the NCAA. The department’s total of $336.1M marked a significant spike from its previous high of $279.5M in FY2023 (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 6/25).
TEMPORARY MOVE-OUT: In Cleveland, Stefan Krajisnik noted OSU will have to move out of its football facility during the construction of upgrades, which is part of the projected $125M budget. The Buckeyes will “utilize the nearby Fawcett Center while also putting temporary structures in place.” While a plan is in place, the Buckeyes are “still working to get proper funding for their project.” Select donors have “committed to helping fund the renovation, but Ohio State hasn’t reached its threshold yet.” Bjork said that getting the project out to the public is “an important next step” as the Buckeyes are about 18 months away from breaking ground (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/25).
WHAT DO THE FANS THINK? In Columbus, Adam Jardy noted the OSU athletic department is also “collecting data from fans about the future of the Schottenstein Center,” the university’s arena with a capacity of 18,809 when arranged for a student section. It is the largest arena in the Big Ten and has the ninth-largest capacity in the nation, and is also utilized for campus events and hosting concerts. Bjork: “Can you ever shrink it down to where it’s more intimate (for basketball)? Probably not. The building is the building. It serves a great purpose outside of basketball, so we have to maintain that piece of it while also making sure that if we do some construction, what does that mean?” Bjork said that the survey was primarily designed to “see if the university can find a way to add experiential or different premium seating options to fans.” Last season, Ohio State averaged 11,252 fans per home game, the second-lowest single-season average since the arena opened for the 1998-99 season. OSU “topped 12,000 fans” in five of its 17 home games in 2025-26 (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 6/25).
