Ohio State nixed a home-and-home series against Washington, scheduled for 2024 and ’25, and will pay a $500,000 penalty for backing out.
The Buckeyes were to play at Washington on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Huskies visiting Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 13, 2025. The series had been agreed to in 20217.
No reason was given by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, but speculation centers on the potential of the Buckeyes having inbound UCLA and Southern Cal on the schedule beginning in 2024. The Buckeyes would have to make a West Coast trip in 2024, the same season as traveling to Washington.
The Bruins and Trojans are exiting the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
“I have the utmost respect for the University of Washington and for Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen,” Smith said in a statement released Wednesday, “and this was a very difficult call to make.”
Smith said Ohio State will add an eighth home games for 2024 season to offset the $500,000 to Washington, due by February 2025.
“We are very disappointed that our student-athletes, staff and Husky Nation won’t get to experience these two games with Ohio State,” Cohen said in a statement. “Everyone has had these dates circled for a number of years and we were looking forward to these opportunities to compete against the Buckeyes. We are in the process of finding new opponents for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and will provide an update as soon as we have one.”
The 2024 schedule will be finalized by the Big Ten in October.
–Field Level Media
