BUCKEYES 101

After reading several articles and publications regarding Wayne Woodrow “Woody Hayes, the question that stands out is, just exactly how far ahead of his time as Ohio State’s head football coach was he? Each coach has left behind a legacy, each different, but as Coach Hayes would say you can only “Pay it forward”, giving each coach after him a foundation to build on.

To the players who played under him, he wasn’t just a coach, but also a father figure, a leader, a warden of sorts, and a man paving the way for the rest of their then young lives.

John Hicks a well known former Ohio State offensive lineman, who played under Woody Hayes recently said that , “Coach (Woody) Hayes always told them that when TV takes over college athletics, that would be the end of college athletics because it’s (run by) money. ”

How exactly did Coach Hayes have enough knowledge to even make a statement that bold? Did he even know that eventually he would be correct?

Today’s college football, which is exploited by air play, ratings, and money is almost exactly what Coach Hayes was said it would be 30 some years ago before the world of television took over.

The sport of college football now has more exposure than it ever has had, and is still a growing industry. An industry that makes broadcast schedules that pit the biggest matchups against each other to get ratings which in turn generates revenue.

Each of the BCS conferences have their own television network (ie: the Big Ten Network), and some schools even have their own network (the Long Horn Network).

The Big Ten conference announced it’s plans to add another in conference game to the schedule in the coming years, there is evidence to show that this decision was also based on money as well. Stating facts such as, it costs less for in conference teams to travel within the conference and play within the conference, than to have a smaller out of conference school come in and play.

The moral of the story proves that the legendary head football coach Wayne “Woody” Hayes was clearly ahead of his time intellectually. Hayes is well known for the quotes he would make to his players, but the one that would prove to be inevitable, would be the would he made about television taking over the game.

Another quote from former coach Hayes that will live on in the hearts of all Buckeye faithful is, When asked why he went for two despite a 36-point lead against Michigan, Hayes quipped, “Because I couldn’t go for three.” If that statement doesn’t get your blood boiling, some would say you aren’t a true Buckeye fan.

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Tags: Big Ten Network, Buckeyes, Coach Hayes, NCAA, Ohio State, Woody

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