The payout for a non-Power 5 team to come to Ohio Stadium for a non-conference football game is increasing.
Ohio State will pay $1.95 million to Connecticut for its non-conference game against the Huskies at the Shoe on Oct. 28, 2025, and will pay $1.9 million to Ball State after it hosts the Cardinals at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 5, 2026, according to contracts for each game, which were obtained by Eleven Warriors on Friday.
Those payouts are an increase from its non-conference games against Group of 5 opponents scheduled for 2020-23, a span in which Ohio State is set to pay $1.8 million to six different opponents.
| Date | Opponent | Total Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 5, 2020 | Bowling Green | $1,200,000 |
| Sept. 19, 2020 | Buffalo | $1,800,000 |
| Sept. 18, 2021 | Tulsa | $1,100,000 |
| Sept. 25, 2021 | Akron | $1,800,000 |
| Sept. 10, 2022 | Arkansas State | $1,800,000 |
| Sept. 17, 2022 | Toledo | $1,800,000 |
| Sept. 9, 2023 | San Jose State | $1,800,000 |
| Sept. 16, 2023 | Western Kentucky | $1,800,000 |
| Oct. 28, 2025 | Connecticut | $1,950,000 |
| Sept. 5, 2026 | Ball State | $1,900,000 |
Ohio State also has non-conference games scheduled against Oregon (2020-21), Notre Dame (2022-23), Washington (2024-25), Texas (2025-26) and Georgia (2030-31), but those are all home-and-home series for which Ohio State will not make payouts to the other school.
In addition to the cash payouts, UConn will also receive an allotment of 3,000 tickets while Ball State will receive 3,500. Each school would Ohio State $1 million if it backs out of the scheduled game, while Ohio State would be required to pay the difference between the scheduled payout and the amount the visiting team receives for a replacement game if it backs out of either game.
