I attended the 40th anniversary of the Scholar-Athlete Recognition Dinner last night. Wow. What a statement about Ohio State’s commitment to academics. In total, 462 Scholar-Athletes were recognized - a record number.

Kellen Harkness (diving) and Saskia Mueller (field hockey) walked away with the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is awarded annually to the top senior male and female Scholar-Athletes. The award comes with a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship.

A few things are worth noting about the event:

  • the number of Scholar-Athletes recognized was staggering. No one should have any doubt about Ohio State’s academic excellence.
  • the Scholar-Athletes are much more involved in outside activities and charities compared to when I was in school. The demands on their time keep increasing. I really don’t know how they fit everything in.
  • the number of International students receiving awards was impressive. This says a great deal about Ohio State’s ability to attract the top talent from around the world.
  • there’s always a freshman who wears shorts to a jacket-and-tie banquet.

If you’re an Ohio State fan, you can really take pride in the accomplishments of our Scholar-Athletes.

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