Ryan Day, Ohio State agree to new seven-year contract

COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day just finished winning the program’s first national championship in a decade. Now he’s being rewarded for that incredible four-game run through the College Football Playoff with a contract extension.

Ohio State is extending Day’s contract by three years, giving him a new seven-year deal that will keep Day with the Buckeyes through the 2031 season. The terms of the contract, according to an Ohio State spokesperson, will need to be approved by the Ohio State Board of Trustees.

Under the new contract, Day will make $12.5 million annually, a raise of $2.2 million per year. Day was hired by former athletic director Gene Smith, and his contract is being extended by first-year athletic director Ross Bjork.

“Ohio State Football has long been defined by excellence and, under Ryan Day’s leadership, that tradition has not only continued, but thrived,” Bjork said in a release from the athletic department. “As a leader, mentor and coach, Ryan has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the success and well-being of our players, both on and off the field. His leadership has maintained our position of national prominence each year and winning the 2024 national championship validated his program’s culture of excellence, integrity, and perseverance.

“Ryan has not only kept Buckeye football as the preeminent program, but he also guides young men into leaders, instilling values that extend far beyond the game. Stability at the head coaching position is crucial in today’s evolving college football landscape, and this new contract guarantees continued momentum in recruiting, player development, and overall program success. It is a great pleasure to work side by side with Ryan and we know that his vision and leadership will continue to bring championship success and pride to our program for years to come.” 

With an overall record of 70-10 since taking over the program in 2019, Day has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in college football.

He has two Big Ten title victories (2019, 2020) along with the following wins in bowl games: the 2020 Sugar Bowl, the 2021 Rose Bowl, the 2024 Rose Bowl, the 2024 Cotton Bowl and the 2024 national championship game. Day also coached the Buckeyes to the 2020 national championship game, although they lost to Alabama.

He is 46-5 in Big Ten play since becoming the head coach, the only losses coming once to Oregon and four times to rival Michigan — a losing streak Day needs to get back to the winning side of.

“I want to thank President Ted Carter, Director of Athletics Ross Bjork and the Board of Trustees for the confidence and trust they have in me to oversee this program,” Day said in a release from the athletic department. “My family and I are incredibly grateful to be a part of the Ohio State community, this football program and Buckeye Nation.

“I want to thank my assistant coaches and the entire staff for the tireless effort they put in to keep Ohio State positioned as one of the elite programs in the country … on and off the field.”

With the national title victory, Day joined Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney as the only active head coaches with a national championship. Day has one, while Smart and Swinney both have two.

Day won his first national championship in Year Six, the same number of years it took Smart to win his first national championship. Smart is viewed as the best coach in the sport, but the only thing that separates he and Day now — officially — is a missed field goal from the 2022 Peach Bowl semifinal that sent Georgia to the national title game.

Day is the fifth Ohio State coach to win a national title, joining Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.

“From the start of this thing, we’ve been knocking on the door, and I think about the ’19 team and the ’20 team and the ’21 team, the ’22 team, you keep going through these seasons, and we weren’t that far off,” Day said after the national championship game win. “But you’ve got to find a way to break through and make it to where we are right now. I think in today’s day and age, there’s just so much that goes with wins and losses and social media and people have to write articles and there’s a lot of things that are said that, yeah, certainly have an effect on you and your family.

“But when you sign up for this job, that’s what you sign up for. You’ve got to be strong enough to withstand those storms, to come out the backend. Now it’s an even better story. Nothing is guaranteed, but I always in the back of my mind felt that the people of Ohio and all of Buckeye Nation, after going through difficult times and seeing a team and a bunch of coaches go through difficult times, to achieve their goal, it would mean even more, and I hope they’re all proud of what we’ve done.”

Day and the Buckeyes capped off this season with CFP wins over No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Notre Dame to complete the hardest run to a national championship in the history of the sport. His team won all four of those games by double digits and only trailed for six minutes of the entire four-game stretch. Along with those wins, Day also had two top-five wins this past regular season, those coming at Penn State and at home against Indiana.

Ohio State has recruited at an elite level in every recruiting cycle under Day. The Buckeyes have landed near or in the top five of every recruiting team ranking since his arrival. He’ll be expected to compete for more national titles after collecting his first this past year, beginning next season.

That’s what Ohio State is paying him to do, and that’s why his contract is being extended. After officially proving himself capable of leading the program to the mountaintop of the sport, Day has landed a contract extension.