And the field will still be green.
There are some tweaks, including replacing the black outer stroke of the midfield Block ‘O’ with gray.
One end zone will still say, “OHIO STATE,” and the other will still say, “BUCKEYES,” but the outer boundaries of the field will be gray instead of white.
Credit: Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images
Credit: Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images
The new design also includes buckeye leaves at the 35-yard lines and a black, white and scarlet stripe pattern in the center of the end lines.
Ohio State moved back to artificial turf at Ohio Stadium in 2007 after experiencing issues with the natural grass field that had a gray Block ‘O’ in the center and “OHIO STATE” and “BUCKEYES” in gray in the end zones but no color background.
The school solicited fan suggestions for the new turf design last year and says it received more than 1,300.
Ultimately, none of the fan designs were chosen, but the school said a majority (59 percent) had the Block ‘O’ at midfield and a plurality (46 percent) maintained the scarlet end zones that faded in recent years under the current configuration.
The new field will be installed in June and July, so fans’ first view will be the Sept. 3 season-opening game against Notre Dame.
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