Excellence Awards 2025 – Ohio State Buckeyes
The 2025 Excellence Awards to celebrate our people and our successes will take place on Thursday, May 15, doors open and lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. The program starts at noon. These awards recognize exemplary staff members in the below categories from across the Athletics Department, Business Advancement and SASSO.
Eligibility Guidelines:
- Any staff member from the Athletics Department, Business Advancement or SASSO can nominate another staff member.
- To win an award, the staff member must be a full-time employee with one year service by the date of the event (except of the Rookie of the Year Award).
- To win an award, the employee's overall rating on their most recent performance evaluation must be “meets expectations” or above.
- A staff member cannot win the exact same award in a 5-year period
INTEGRITY AWARD
The person, who through individual accountability, promotes and progresses the standards and values of Ohio State.
FINALISTS
Tom Bugno
Julie Cross
Kim Dally-Badgeley
Tyler Eatman
Carly Grimshaw
Erin Ralston
Isaiah Tucker
Ashley Turner
EDUCATION AWARD
The person who demonstrates an appreciation and application for the lifelong learning through quality academic, competitive leadership and/or social experiences.
FINALISTS
Dave Bakalik
Daniel Cencer
Adam Cope
Kim Dally-Badgeley
Stephanie Etter
Sasha Grubich
Kate Reymann
Caroline Riewe
PEOPLE AWARD
The person who focuses on providing an excellent experience to all including student-athletes, students, staff and guests.
FINALISTS
Sydney Badgeley
Seth Faulkner
Emilia Frizzi
Dylan Gary
Caleb Hoch
Brice Schroeder
Ashley Turner
Braxton White
RESPECT AWARD
The person who promotes collaboration and inclusiveness while treating all people with respect.
FINALISTS
Emilia Frizzi
Adam Molyet
Brice Schroeder
Katie Sherman
Nathan Sims
Braxton White
INNOVATION AWARD
The person who utilizes innovative ideas to create and deliver impact.
FINALISTS
Chuck Altizer
Caleb Hoch
Kathleen Jones
Luke Nesselroad
Mike Odrumsky
Caroline Riewe
Braxton White
COMMUNITY AWARD
The person who is committed to paying forward by supporting people and/or causes across campus or in the community.
FINALISTS
Evan Derr
Tyler Eatman
Diah Gassett
Kevin Gilson
Joe Pipia
Molly Richard
Brooke Shields
Alexa Webb
EXCELLENCE AWARD
The person who is committed to representing our values and consistently serves as an exemplar for their peers.
FINALISTS
Tyler Carpenter
Julie Cross
Tyler Eatman
Emilia Frizzi
Kate Nushart
Brent Packer
Brice Schroeder
Nathan Sims
EUGENE D. SMITH AWARD
The person who puts the Buckeye Student-Athlete Experience first and foremost, exceeding job duties as assigned.FINALISTS
Taylor Brown
Seth Faulkner
Kevin Lennon
Kirsten von Zychlin
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
The new hire who demonstrates university values, department values and extraordinary service in their field.
To qualify, this person was hired after May 10, 2024.
FINALISTS
Brian Armelli
Harison Bhanoo
Jack Burroughs
Everett Shorey
Emaly Vatne
TEAM AWARD
The team/unit that went above and beyond throughout the past year to help the department, campus, or community.
HIGHER PURPOSE AWARD
