Ohio State fans know all the traditions that come with a university rich with history. Maybe one of the best known and most loved traditions is after beating Michigan on the football field, each player and coach receive a gold piece of jewelry molded to look like football pants with the score of that year’s game.
It’s something we hear past and present players talk about yearly. Each generation likes to gloat about how many pairs they have, representing the number of wins the Buckeye teams had while they were members of that team. Some players have as many as five pairs of gold pants and each one is cherished.
Never to miss an opportunity to help motivate his team, Chris Holtman began dreaming of a way that he could give his players something meaningful after beating TTUN. After talking with the football program, the Buckeye basketball team came up with the gold jersey.
If Ohio State men's basketball sweeps Michigan during their season series, players now receive gold jerseys, a commemoration similar to football's longheld tradition of gold pants. More from @AdamJardy:🔒https://t.co/wWeAA5dqxw
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) February 19, 2021
It’s easy to determine how the football team earns gold pants – beat Michigan in the season finale each year. But how would the basketball team go about earning a gold jersey? They may play the Wolverines two or three times in a season.
Holtman made it simple as well. No matter how many times the Buckeyes face the Maize and Blue in a season, OSU goes undefeated (subscription may be required) against that team up north.
Talk about a little extra motivation. It’s probably enough to beat your No. 1 rival but to get a piece of gold commemorating a series sweep? Icing on the cake.
.@ChrisHoltmann means business. Now the reward for sweeping Michigan in any given season. @OhioStateHoops photo courtesy: OSU pic.twitter.com/DmdCKzGOkd
— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) February 18, 2021
The Buckeye basketball team earned their first-ever gold jersey when they swept Michigan in the 2020 season. Coach Holtman gave the players their hardware at a team Christmas party earlier in the year.
This is what makes college athletics so much fun. OSU will take a step towards a second jersey when they face the Wolverines on Sunday in Value City Arena.
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