2024 non-conference opponents owe a total of $4 million

Ohio State is spending a total of $4.05 million in payments for its non-conference football schedule this year, according to documents reviewed by The Dispatch.

The Buckeyes’ first of three non-conference games will be Saturday against Akron, followed by games against Western Michigan on Sept. 7 and Marshall on Sept. 21. All of those games will be at Ohio Stadium.

The bulk of the money will go to the Broncos ($1.85 million) and Thundering Herd ($1.6 million), each receiving seven figures for their trips to Columbus next month.

Ohio State was supposed to pay Western Michigan $1.8 million under the terms of the scheduling agreement the schools first signed in 2021, but it was amended last year, resulting in a $500,000 increase.

The guarantee total represents the most the Buckeyes have paid for a nonconference series since 2021.

Three years ago, they paid a total of $6.4 million to three non-conference opponents, including $3.5 million to Oregon, which was previously a member of the Pac-12 before joining the Big Ten this summer.

The hefty fee to the Ducks was negotiated after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of a game the previous year. The Buckeyes were scheduled to travel to Autzen Stadium for the start of a home-and-home series.

Ohio State paid its non-conference opponents $2.6 million last year and $3.6 million in 2022.

More: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman and Adam Jardy

Ohio State will pay Akron $600,000 for Saturday’s season opener. The Zips replaced Southern Mississippi as the Buckeyes’ nonconference opponent late last year. The payment to Akron is about a third of what Ohio State would have owed the Golden Eagles had the game been played as scheduled in 2020.

The trade saved OSU a small amount of money. Instead of paying $1.9 million to Southern Miss, it will pay $1.55 million. That amount includes the payment to Akron and $950,000 in damages to the Golden Eagles following the cancellation, according to an amendment finalized last November.

An Ohio State spokesperson said last week that the opponent change was the result of the school’s desire to play an in-state opponent this season. With the exception of the pandemic-shortened season in 2020 that eliminated nonconference games, the Buckeyes have hosted another Ohio school every year since 2019.

USA TODAY Sports Writer Steve Berkowitz contributed to this report.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or send him an email at [email protected].

Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts