Gold pants and gold ... singlets? Which Ohio State teams treat Michigan as a trophy game?
A short time after his hiring as Ohio State's wrestling coach, Tom Ryan had an opportunity to visit Ohio Stadium. There he got to see the OSU vs. Michigan football rivalry up close. "The Game" was a big one, the No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting between the undefeated Buckeyes and undefeated Wolverines in 2006, which Ohio State won 42-39.
Inspired in part by what he saw that day, Ryan decided he wanted to expand on the football team's tradition of awarding a set of "gold pants" for every victory against the Wolverines.
Now Ohio State wrestling issues a "gold singlet" pendant for each win against its rival from Ann Arbor.
"I basically follow the lead of football," Ryan told The Dispatch.
Ryan's program is just one of a handful of Ohio State teams that have specific trophies to commemorate wins in the Michigan rivalry. Here's a look at each:
Football: Gold Pants
The "gold pants" tradition has been a staple of Ohio State football for 90 years.
Every time an Ohio State team beats Michigan, players are given a gold charm replica of football pants. According to Ohio State, this tradition started from a quote from first-year head coach Francis Schmidt regarding his approach to "The Game."
“They put their pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else," Schmidt said before leading OSU to four straight wins against the Wolverines from 1934-37, each by shutout.
The charms are engraved with each player's initials, the date of the victory and the score.
Ohio State has not earned a set of "gold pants" since its 56-27 win against Michigan in 2019. The Wolverines have won three straight against the Buckeyes, their longest streak since 1995-97.
Men's Basketball: Gold Jerseys
Ohio State men's basketball decided in 2017 to emulate OSU football with a Michigan game trophy, but didn't get to hand out its first set of "gold jerseys" until 2020.
Each Ohio State men's basketball player is awarded a "gold jersey" if OSU has a perfect season against the Wolverines on the hardwood, including meetings in the Big Ten Tournament.
In 2019-20, the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in both Columbus and Ann Arbor.
“We have great respect for all of our opponents and in particular this one, given the history among the schools,” former Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said in 2021. “I learned here pretty early from (former football coach Urban Meyer) that the best way to respect the rivalry is to get your team ready to play in that moment and in those games.”
Since the 2019-20 season, Ohio State has posted a 2-4 record against Michigan, including a 73-65 loss to the Wolverines Jan. 15 in Ann Arbor.
Men's Lacrosse: Golden Buckeyes
If there's a coach who understands the rivalry as well as Urban Meyer (7-0 against the Wolverines), it might be Ohio State men's lacrosse coach Nick Myers (11-4), who began a "golden Buckeyes" tradition as soon as Michigan was elevated to Division I in 2012.
For each win against the Wolverines, men lacrosse players receive a "golden Buckeye" that displays the score and the date of the win on the back. Myers keeps his in his office.
Ohio State won each of the first seven matchups between 2012-18. However, the Buckeyes have not secured a win against the Wolverines since their 16-10 win in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on April 30, 2022.
Ohio State's next meeting with Michigan comes April 20th.
Wrestling: Gold Singlets
Ryan started his Michigan match tradition 10 years ago.
Beginning in 2014-15, Ohio State wrestling started giving athletes "gold singlets" for each Michigan dual meet win, which shows the score and date of the match win on one side and the individual wrestler's initials on the other.
Ohio State won four of its eight meetings against Michigan after the tradition was introduced, and the Buckeyes have beaten the Wolverines in each of the past two seasons, including OSU's 20-19 dual-meet win against Michigan on Jan. 26 in Columbus.
Softball: Gold Home Plate
Ohio State softball coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly introduced the "gold home plate" to the Buckeyes in 2017. The charm is given to each member of the team after a series win against Michigan.
Under Schoenly, who has been the Ohio State softball coach since 2013, the Buckeyes have secured a series win against Michigan only once – in 2023. Schoenly's teams lost 13 straight games to the Wolverines before securing its first win on April 9, 2017.
Overall, Schoenly has led Ohio State to seven wins against Michigan in 32 games. But Ohio State has secured at least one victory against the Wolverines in each of the past six seasons.
Ohio State will try for its second straight series win against Michigan May 3-5.
How has Ohio State done against Michigan in 2023-24?
Ohio State has faced Michigan 17 times head-to-head during the 2023-24 school year in 13 sports. The rivalry is incredibly tight, 8-8-1. Here are the results...
Field hockey: Ohio State 5, Michigan 1; Sept. 15, Columbus
Men’s soccer: Ohio State 0, Michigan 0; Oct. 6, Columbus
Men’s hockey: Michigan 7, Ohio State 1; Oct. 20, Ann Arbor
Men’s hockey: Ohio State 2, Michigan 2 (OSU shootout win); Oct.21, Ann Arbor
Women’s soccer: Ohio State 4, Michigan 1; Oct. 22, Columbus
Women’s volleyball: Michigan 3, Ohio State 1; Oct. 29, Ann Arbor
Football: Michigan 30, Ohio State 24; Nov. 25, Ann Arbor
Women’s basketball: Michigan 69, Ohio State 60; Dec. 30, Ann Arbor
Men’s basketball: Michigan 73, Ohio State 65; Jan. 16, Ann Arbor
Women’s swim and dive: Ohio State 184, Michigan 116; Jan. 20, Columbus
Men’s swim and dive: Ohio State 151.5, Michigan 148.5; Jan. 21, Ann Arbor
Women’s gymnastics: Michigan 197.4, Ohio State 197.025; Jan. 21, Columbus
Wrestling: Ohio State 20, Michigan 19; Jan. 26, Columbus
Men’s hockey: Michigan 4, Ohio State 2; Feb. 2, Columbus
Men’s hockey: Michigan 4, Ohio State 1; Feb. 3, Columbus
Synchronized swimming: Ohio State win vs. Michigan; Feb. 11, Ann Arbor
Women’s basketball: Ohio State 67, Michigan 51; Feb. 28, Columbus
Ohio State vs. Michigan schedule
Here's the rest of the Michigan vs. Ohio State head-to-head matchups for the rest of the 2023-24 school year:
Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Michigan: 4 p.m., March 3
Ohio State women’s lacrosse at Michigan: 6 p.m., March 7
Ohio State men’s gymnastics vs. Michigan: 2 p.m., March 9
Ohio State women’s tennis vs. Michigan: 6 p.m., March 15
Ohio State men's tennis at Michigan: 3 p.m., March 17
Ohio State men’s tennis vs. Michigan: 12 p.m., April 14
Ohio State baseball at Michigan: 2 p.m., April 19
Ohio State baseball at Michigan: 4 p.m., April 20
Ohio State men’s lacrosse vs. Michigan: 7 p.m., April 20
Ohio State baseball at Michigan: 1 p.m., April 21
Ohio State softball at Michigan: 6 p.m., May 3
Ohio State softball at Michigan: 2 p.m., May 4
Ohio State softball at Michigan: 1 p.m., May 5
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State teams that treat Michigan as a trophy game
