Ohio State students and faculty may not want to head home too early for Memorial Day weekend. Today, OUAB’s Ramp Jam kicks off and brings BMX and skateboarding action to OSU.

Ramp Jam will run 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. in Buckeye Lot 3 behind the Schottenstein Center. There will be four showcases throughout the day featuring BMX rider Jamie Bestwick, skateboarder Pierre-Luc Gagnon, along with skateboarders Sandro Dias, Danny Mayer, Jimmy Walker, Elliot Sloan and BMX rider John Parker.

“The main goal was to bring something to campus that has never been brought here before,” said Shari Lee, special events chairman of OUAB. “I think this is a pretty unique event that not many people get to experience, and it also has a really high appeal and excitement level.”

The first shows will start at 12:30 p.m. and will last about 20 minutes.

Ramp Jam costs about $65,000 and is funded by the student activity fee, Lee said.

The funds go toward performance fees for the athletes and the band, the set-up fees required for the ramp and food vendors, promotional materials, safety and security needs and other miscellaneous costs, Lee said.

OUAB receives 52 percent of the $25 Student Activity fee — $13.

“With that $13, we have been able to plan 47 events this quarter, resulting in a cost of just under 28 cents per event,” Lee said. “For this specific event we will be utilizing around 1.6 percent of the allocated funds for the quarter.”

The construction all over campus, particularly on the South Oval, prompted OUAB to combine Ramp Jam with the third annual CarnOval.

“OUAB had been planning to do Ramp Jam for about six months,” Lee said. “CarnOval, because of all the construction on campus, was having a really hard time finding a location, and they were actually going to have to cancel it.”

Lee said she believed the collaboration with CarnOval could help Ramp Jam.

“I think (CarnOval) will bring a lot of people in because it’s become kind of a staple on campus over the last couple of years,” Lee said.

Athletes will sign autographs during 50-minute breaks between performances. Donora, an indie-rock band, along with Cincinnati’s DJ Bandcamp also will perform music at the event.

“I think it’s a really unique event, so it’s hard to capture the essence and enthusiasm of the event and that’s why we decided to do a video,” Lee said. “I think all in all the reaction has been good.”

Ramp Jam is open to students with a valid Buck ID.