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Buckeyes legend Archie Griffin will dot the 'i' at opener against Akron

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•07/25/24•

SpencerHolbrook

Archie Griffin by Long Photography-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State running back Archie Griffin runs against USC in the 1975 Rose Bowl. (Long Photography-USA TODAY Sports)

COLUMBUS — Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in college football history, is adding another honor to his lengthy resume: he’s going to dot the ‘i.’

Yes, the Buckeyes legend, former president of the Ohio State Alumni Association and long-time supporter of ‘The Best Damn Band in the Land’ will have the honor of becoming a non-band member to dot the ‘i.’ He’ll take the field at Ohio Stadium at halftime of the Buckeyes’ opener against Akron on Aug. 31.

In a university-released statement, the athletic department said Griffin dotting the ‘i’ is because he’s ‘being recognized for his service to the university and for his longtime support of its Marching Band.’

“The opportunity, in Ohio Stadium, to dot the “i” is a very special honor,” Griffin said in a statement released by the athletic department. “I know that Woody was proud to have had that opportunity, and I am following in his footsteps and am extremely proud of this opportunity.”

Griffin joins an illustrious list of non-band members to ‘dot the i.’ He’ll become just the seventh to do so. The list will be:

Comedian Bob Hope (1978)
Former Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes (1983)
Golf legend and Ohio State alum Jack Nicklaus (2006)
Senator John Glenn and wife Annie (2009)
Marching Band director emeritus Jon R. Woods (2011)
Former Buckeyes coach Earle Bruce (2016)
Two-time Heisman Trophy winner and former Buckeyes tailback Archie Griffin (2024)

More from the Ohio State athletic department release:

The recognition, considered the greatest the band can extend to a nonmember, is being presented by the “i-dotters” — the senior sousaphone members of the Ohio State Marching Band. The students visited Griffin at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center early in July to surprise him with the invitation.

Ohio State athletic department release

2024 Ohio State Football Schedule

Aug. 31 – Akron (3:30, CBS)
Sept. 7 – Western Michigan (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network)
Sept. 14 – Idle
Sept. 21 – Marshall
Sept. 28 – at Michigan State
Oct. 5 – Iowa
Oct. 12 – at Oregon
Oct. 19 – Idle
Oct. 26 – Nebraska (Noon OR 3:30 p.m., TV TBD)
Nov. 2 – at Penn State
Nov. 9 – Purdue
Nov. 16 – at Northwestern (Noon OR 3:30 p.m., TV TBD)
Nov. 23 – Indiana
Nov. 30 – Michigan (Noon, FOX)

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