Buckeyes Part of USOPC Made Here Campaigns
7/24/2019 10:47:26 AM | General
RELATED INFO: Olympians Made Here | Paralympians Made Here | USOPC Release | Ohio State Olympians
COLUMBUS, Ohio – With a distinguished history of ties to the Olympic Games, the Ohio State Department of Athletics is proud to participate in the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) Olympians Made Here and Paralympians Made Here campaigns. The campaigns, which launched Wednesday in honor of the one-year countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, are the most recent initiatives taken by the USOPC’s Collegiate Advisory Council to enhance collaboration between colleges, universities and conferences, the USOPC and its member National Governing Bodies.
Ohio State is proud to be at the forefront of not only collegiate athletics, but on a global scale at the Olympic Games, with almost 150 former student-athlete Olympians and nearly 40 Olympic coaches.
“I am pleased and honored to be a part of the USOPC’s collegiate advisory council and the ‘made here’ programs,” Ohio State director of athletics Gene Smith said. “Ohio State has a rich history of Olympians and Olympic coaches and we want this history to continue to grow with future Olympians and coaches who have worn the Scarlet and Gray. This collaboration with the USOPC is very important to current and future Buckeyes who have Olympic dreams.”
Following the launch on July 24, the campaigns will manifest on participating college campuses in four phases throughout the 2019-20 academic year – including honoring collegiate historical contributions to Team USA in the fall of 2019; tracking the Olympic and Paralympic qualification and team selection process in the spring of 2020; celebrating athletes’ inspiring performances during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer; and concluding with recognition of student-athletes’ Olympic and Paralympic achievements in the fall of 2020.
About the USOPC CAC
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Collegiate Advisory Council was formed in October 2017 and is chaired by USOPC board member Kevin White (Duke University). The 10-member council is charged with increasing collaboration with NCAA member institutions and conferences to elevate national engagement and support of Olympic and Paralympic sport opportunities on campus. The council is comprised of:
• Sandy Barbour, Pennsylvania State University director of athletics
• Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 Conference commissioner
• Greg Byrne, University of Alabama athletics director
• Bubba Cunningham, University of North Carolina director of athletics
• Bernard Muir, Stanford University athletic director
• Rob Mullens, University of Oregon athletic director
• Chris Plonsky, University of Texas executive senior associate athletics director/chief of staff
• Gene Smith, The Ohio State University senior vice president and director of athletics
• Scott Stricklin, University of Florida athletic director
• Kevin White, Duke University vice president and director of athletics
