Ohio State head coach Ryan Day walks onto the field before the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin Dec. 7. Ohio State won 34-21. Credit: Cori Wade | Assistant Photo Editor
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day will be contracted through 2026 to lead the football program pending Board of Trustees approval, according to a university release Tuesday.
Day’s salary was $4.5 million in 2019, and he is set to earn $5.4 million 2020, followed by $6.5 million in 2021 and $7.6 million in 2022, according to the release. His salaries for the 2023-26 seasons are still to be determined by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and approved by the Board.
The Board’s Talent, Compensation and Governance Committee will vote to approve the contract extension Wednesday, followed by a full Board vote Thursday.
Day took over at the helm for the Buckeyes following former head coach Urban Meyer’s retirement at the end of the 2018 season. In his first full year as head coach in 2019, Day led Ohio State to a 13-1 record, capping an undefeated regular season with a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth.
Following the first 10-0 conference campaign in Big Ten history, Day took home Big Ten Coach of the Year honors — the first Ohio State coach to do so since Earle Bruce in 1979.
Prior to his time as head coach with the Buckeyes, Day spent two seasons as co-offensive coordinator in 2017 and ’18 and stepped up as interim head coach when Meyer was suspended for three games in the latter year. Day went 3-0 in the interim position.
