Ohio State
Merchandise Sales
Fiscal year Revenues*
2009-10 $7.72
2008-09 $7.5
2007-08 $9.4
2006-07 $9.5
2005-06 $5.65
2004-05 $4.66
2003-04 $4.7
2002-03 $5.15
2001-02 $2.44
2000-01 $2.17
*In millions
The Ohio State football team’s showdown with the University of Miami was still 24 hours away, but superfan John Chubb was already decked out from head to toe in OSU gear Friday afternoon.
Having gained a measure of fame as the Buck-I-Guy, the Columbus computer supply salesman was wearing a 10-gallon hat, a six-foot cape, gloves, sunglasses and a scarlet-painted mustache. Every piece of his outfit was white, save for the prominent OSU logos.
His passion for the Buckeyes, you might say, runs deep.
“Oh, dude, it runs deep in all of us,” he said. “We’re all that committed, but we may not all have the resources to do what everybody does.”
Plenty of Buckeye fans, though, are digging deep to purchase products with the OSU emblem on display. The school said it generated $7.7 million in merchandise revenue during the 2009-10 fiscal year, trailing only the University of Texas in that department.
The popularity of the football program has fueled significant growth. OSU, which has a $128-million athletics budget, improved merchandising revenues from $1.6 million in 1995-96 to $9.5 million 10 years after that, a decade during which the team won a national title and began its dominance in the Michigan rivalry.
And sales so far this year look promising, said Rick Van Brimmer, OSU’s director of merchandising. The Buckeyes ended a streak of three straight postseason losses with a Rose Bowl win last season and began 2010 ranked No. 2 in the nation.
“After a couple of slight downturn years where we saw a dip in sales, this looks like a bounce back year,” Van Brimmer said. “It seems like the pieces are in place to make that happen.”
College merchandising is big business, doing roughly $4 billion in sales last year, according to the Collegiate Licensing Co., which works with most schools nationally to place their brands on a nearly endless array of items.
Schools typically charge a 10-percent licensing fee. But OSU, which eliminates the middle man and works directly with suppliers, gets an 11-percent cut from every purchase. And that fee will go up to 12 percent next year.
Asked why OSU can charge so much, Van Brimmer said: “It’s the strength of our brand and the breadth of our offerings because of where our alumni are located. Our fan base is fairly national. It affords us to be on the top of the pile right now.”
OSU’s massive following and high rate of success are attractive to TV networks, too. The clash against Miami was broadcast nationally by ESPN, which consistently exceeds its average ratings for college football games whenever the Buckeyes are involved, network spokesman Michael Humes said.
When OSU faced Southern Cal last season, ESPN drew 10.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched game on the network since 1994.
“Fans tune in to watch Ohio State,” Humes said. “It’s a nationally recognized program with a lot of fans around the country. People tune in because they know it’s a quality program.”
In an effort to help those legions of fans feel connected to the school, OSU is constantly expanding its merchandise line. Personalized jerseys are one of its latest offerings, allowing Buckeye backers to have their names knitted above their favorite numbers, just like the real players.
Through special computer graphics, Buckeye partisans also can order pictures with their names spelled out by the famed OSU marching band.
While there may not be a big demand for 10-gallon hats and six-foot capes stamped with the OSU logo, fans have found they can express their devotion in a multitude of ways.
“We’re blessed the Buckeye nation really displays our colors and logos around the world,” OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith said. “And we want to make sure they can wear those colors and logos proudly.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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