INDIANAPOLIS — In his stylish checkered suit jacket and red tie, a cleanly cropped hairline and perfectly trimmed beard, Ryan Day strides across Lucas Oil Stadium and through Big Ten media days Tuesday like a CEO occupying the halls of a Fortune 500 company.
In many ways, he is CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Ohio State Football, Inc.
Last year, Ohio State produced the country’s largest athletic budget, $275 million, much of it from football-generated revenue. And soon the school, like all others, will be permitted to distribute that wealth directly to players.
In fact, the university is rich enough that its donor-led collective and brand affiliates disbursed to Buckeyes football players “around $20 million” this past year, said Ross Bjork, the Ohio State athletic director.