In a change from Ohio State's last home game for which only essential staff were in attendance, players' families will be allowed to attend Saturday's game against Michigan if it happens, an OSU spokesperson confirmed Sunday.
Player families were allowed to attend Ohio State's first two games of the season, but after COVID-19 cases spiked in Franklin County and across the nation, no fans were allowed to attend Ohio State's third home game of the year against Indiana. As was the case for the first two home games against Nebraska and Rutgers, Ohio State players will be able to have up to four family members in the Shoe for the final home game of the year, but families will be spaced out further apart than they were for the first two home games.
The return of family members to Ohio Stadium will allow Ohio State's seniors and others playing their final games as Buckeyes to have their families in attendance for their final home game, provided Michigan is able to make the trip to Columbus this weekend or Ohio State hosts a different opponent in the Shoe.
Ohio State's Senior Day festivities will be scaled back from previous years, as parents won't be able to be on the field for pregame ceremonies, but athletic director Gene Smith said on his podcast last week that Ohio State will try to make Senior Day as special as it can be given the circumstances.
“We’re gonna recognize our seniors virtually,” Smith said. “Big Ten Network and Fox are gonna do some things for our seniors, and not just for our team, but for all the teams in the league where they’re trying to do some senior tributes through BTN throughout the week. And then we’ll do some things in the game. Pregame, of course, on the video board. But we’ll be doing things throughout the game to recognize our seniors virtually. So we’re blessed to have an unbelievable creative team and video crew, so they’re gonna put some things together.”
Per Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch, Michigan players will also be able to have family members attend the game, but coaches' families – who were allowed to attend the first two games – will not be allowed to attend Saturday's game.
Ohio State will not have fans at any other on-campus sporting events, including basketball and hockey games, until at least January.
