The biggest battles Ohio State athletics is facing right now

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 11: The FOX Big Noon Kickoff desk prior to a college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Illinois Fighting Illini on October 11, 2025 at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

WrestleMania 42 takes places this weekend in Las Vegas. While I contend that Ohio Stadium should host WrestleMania at some point, I’m not holding my breath waiting for it to happen.

Just the thought of the biggest wrestling event of the year taking place in one of the most iconic stadiums in the country brings me goosebumps. Even though Ohio Stadium would have more than enough seats for a WrestleMania show, there’s no way Ohio State would let WWE take over the venue for the amount of time needed to set up, especially since it normally takes place so close to the annual spring game.

Instead of watching some of the best professional wrestlers in the world square off, we’ll have to settle for some different battles that Ohio State is facing. There are some fights that are against actual conference opponents, others are being fought beyond the regular season, then there are disagreements with higher ups whose uniforms are suits and ties.

Being the biggest athletic department in the country means the Buckeyes have even more areas they have to beware of attacks coming from. Today we are going to dive into some of those fights like it is a WrestleMania card. Some of these fights are new, while others have been going on for years.

If we’re being honest, there are enough to turn this into a two-night card, but we’ll try and keep it contained to just one.

Buckeye Nation v. Big Noon Saturday

When Ohio State and the Big Ten had a television contract with ESPN, there was no problem putting the Buckeyes on in prime time. ESPN knew the type of numbers Ohio State drew and what better way to maximize television ratings than by regularly airing their games on Saturday nights. There is nothing quite like a night game at Ohio Stadium.

Unfortunately the partnership between the Big Ten and ESPN ended, leaving FOX as the main television partner of the conference. Instead of following ESPN’s tested formula, FOX decided to make Big Noon Saturday the highlight of their package, leading to the Buckeyes playing a lot of games that have started at noon.

The noon time slot is terrible, since it can lead to many sleepy starts in games. Crowds aren’t quite the same as what you’ll see at 3:30 p.m. or night game starts. I understand the Michigan game is going to start at noon every year and I’m fine with that.

What I have a problem with is so many other big games being played at noon. There was no reason last year’s opener against Texas should have been played at noon, but apparently FOX is intent on making their product as unpalatable as possible.

As if the noon starts weren’t bad enough, for some reason FOX decided to add Dave Portnoy to their pregame show. You know the execs did this just to get a rise out of Ohio State fans. If we’re being honest, it’s similar to why Buckeye fans didn’t like ESPN, since they thought the network had it out for Ohio State and their fans.

In reality, they were just trying to get a rise out of Buckeye fans since they knew it would result in more eyeballs and clicks. I have no problem including Portnoy to Big Noon Kickoff because he’s a Michigan fan. My problem is that he is a terrible human being.

This battle is one Buckeye Nation isn’t going to win because the conference doesn’t care about what fans think when it comes to television rights, all they care about is how much money they are going to make.

Ohio State football v. Their next Big Ten title

The last time Ohio State won a Big Ten title in football came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

In the five seasons since then the Buckeyes have appeared in the Big Ten Championship Game just one time, when the lost 13-10 to Indiana in early December. Aside from the Hoosiers, Michigan won the conference title three times, followed by Oregon in 2024.

With the expanded College Football Playoff is a Big Ten title really that important? The 2024 Ohio State team doesn’t think so since they went on win a national championship. Even though winning your conference isn’t quite as important as it used to be, it still would be nice to be in the game and have a shot to call yourself the best team in the conference.

The task of bringing home another Big Ten title isn’t going to get any easier this year. The Buckeyes not only have road games at Iowa, Indiana, and USC, they also host Oregon and Michigan. Making the College Football Playoff will likely be tough enough for Ohio State, winning the conference championship would be an added bonus.

Ohio State women’s basketball v. Making the Sweet Sixteen

Ohio State’s women’s basketball team has won at least 26 games in each of the last three seasons. Do you know how many wins they have beyond the first round of the NCAA Tournament during that span? Zero wins.

Despite hosting the first two rounds of the tournament in each of the last three seasons, the Buckeyes have been unable to use the home court to their advantage, losing in the second round in three straight seasons.

Have the Buckeyes hit a wall under head coach Kevin McGuff? Ohio State showed they can make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament in 2023 when they made it to the Elite Eight, but that felt like an exception and not the norm.

For some reason it has been rare for the Buckeyes to make it to the second weekend of the tournament. Either McGuff is going to have to alter how he approaches the NCAA Tournament or the athletic department is going to have to make a tough decision to inject some new life into the women’s basketball program.

Ohio State women’s hockey v. Wisconsin

When it comes to intrigue, a women’s hockey battle between Ohio State and Wisconsin could headline WrestleMania. The two programs have met in each of the last four NCAA title games, with Wisconsin winning three of those meetings.

Each of those four championship game battles have been decided by just a goal. It’s very rare that a team makes a championship game four straight years, let alone having to play the same opponent in each of those four seasons.

Adding to what has become an annual fight in the NCAA Championship Game, these two squads square off four times during the regular season, and have a shot to meet in the WCHA Tournament. During the 2025-26 season, Wisconsin lost just three games, with two of those setbacks coming against Ohio State.

One of those Buckeye wins came in the regular season, while the other was in the WCHA Final Faceoff.

Ohio State and Wisconsin in women’s hockey is the best rivalry that nobody really talks about. Every game between the two teams is a toss-up, which makes it so fun to watch. Other teams may threaten the Buckeyes and Badgers but in the end they have shown they are the class of women’s college hockey.

Ohio State men’s basketball v. Jake Diebler

If you asked Buckeye Nation, Jake Diebler’s bags would already have been packed and his house would already be on the market.

The decision to hire Diebler as permanent head coach of the Buckeyes after he was named the interim head coach following the firing of Chris Holtmann was puzzling, especially since Dusty May and John Calipari both showed interest in the Ohio State job.

May just led Michigan to a national championship, which makes choosing Diebler even more infuriating.

Did Ohio State pick Diebler since his brother shot three-pointers well? Was Diebler named head coach since he was the cheaper option and the athletic department didn’t want to sink a bunch of money into basketball?

There’s no reason Ohio State shouldn’t be more of a power in college basketball with all of the resources they have at their disposal. Right now it doesn’t feel like they are being serious about basketball.

The upcoming season feels like a make-or-break season for Diebler. If the Buckeyes don’t make some sort of run in the NCAA Tournament, it’s obvious Diebler doesn’t have the juice to lead a program like Ohio State to success. If the 2026-27 season ends up being a dud, those in charge of the athletic department will have to take a drastic measure or risk the program plunging further into mediocrity.