Football: Day to receive 2-year extension, will serve as head coach through at least 2028 season

Head coach Ryan Day stands on the field, looking over the Buckeye offense, during the Ohio State Spring Game Saturday. Ohio State Scarlet team won 34-26. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor

Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day will receive a two-year contract extension if approved by the University Board of Trustees Thursday, the athletic department announced in a release Wednesday.

The extension will set Day at the helm of the Buckeyes through at least the 2028 season, according to the release. Day will receive an annual base salary of $2 million, with an increase in his total compensation from $7.6 million to $9.5 million.

Day’s proposed extension is on the agenda for the Board’s Talent, Compensation and Governance Committee meeting Wednesday, which will be followed by a vote from the full Board of Trustees Thursday, according to the release.

Since arriving at Ohio State in 2017, Day has ascended from co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to head coach, largely guiding the Buckeyes’ offense that has averaged over 41 points per game in that span.

Day officially became head coach Jan. 2, 2019, after two seasons under former head coach Urban Meyer. Day helped lead the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff berth in his first season, becoming the first Ohio State coach to earn the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year in 40 years.

Day received a three-year extension in Feb. 2020 after his first season as head coach.

Ohio State and Day returned to the CFP and played in the national championship against No. 1 Alabama during the 2020 season. After suffering his first conference loss as head coach at then-No. 5 Michigan Nov. 27, 2021, Day and the Buckeyes earned a trip to the Rose Bowl where they defeated No. 11 Utah 48-45 last season.

Speculation swirled since the end of the regular season about the prospects of Day taking a head coaching position in the NFL, such as when the Chicago Bears opened their search for a new skipper before hiring Matt Eberflus Jan. 27. Day reaffirmed his passion for Ohio State during a press conference Dec. 15, 2021.

“There’s nothing to that. There’s no truth to it,” Day said. “I love Ohio State, and I love being the head coach at Ohio State.”