Ohio State Club Football members join arms in the signing of “Carmen Ohio” after a dominating win over the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday. Credit: Courtesy of Colin Kovinchick | Ohio State Club Football Photographer
On a warm September evening, more than 40 football players in both scarlet and white took to the practice field to run through different plays.
Each member of both the offense and defense worked differently, but together, under the looming shadow of The Shoe, home of the defending NCAA national champion Buckeyes.
The team just outside the famed stadium, however, has never played in a Bowl game. In fact, most of them have never played NCAA football. These are all Ohio State Buckeyes, but they represent the school’s club football team under the NCFA, the National Club Football Association.
The team spends three days and six and a half hours a week in practice and watches film for three hours each week. For some, it might be hard to understand why players and coaches choose to put in so much work to play a club sport.
Head coach James Grega Jr. said he believes it’s pure passion.
“None of our coaches are paid to do it,” he explained. “All of our players have to pay to play, and they wouldn’t do it if they didn’t love it.”
The NCFA is made up of 14 teams, most of them hailing from the Midwest. Just like their NCAA team, Ohio State’s club team is unanimously ranked number one and is the reigning national champion.
Last season, the team finished with a record of 9-1, including postseason games, defeating Clayton State 20-13 in the league championship on Dec. 7.
They’ll play seven regular-season games this season, most of them being conference games. Once they reach their conference quota, they can schedule games outside their conference, with the ability to even play against NCAA Division III junior varsity teams. They haven’t done that, yet.
“We would love to play a DIII varsity one day,” Grega said.
The team is off to a strong start. They’ve played two games so far this season and are 2-0, with a 40-3 victory over George Mason on Sept. 20 and a 45-7 win over Michigan State on the 28th.
Their third game against Denison University was scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 5, but due to injuries to Denison players, the Buckeyes have won by forfeit.
The league allows each team a maximum of 50 players, and although Ohio State usually reaches that quota, Grega said he is determined to grow outreach.
“The biggest thing is to just continue to build our roster numbers,” he said. “We’ve probably got guys from 5-10 different states and a couple of international students on our roster.”
The team’s ability to recruit players, especially as a small, underappreciated organization in the shadow of the country’s top college football team, is a testament to its success. Players from many different places have found Ohio State’s club football team.
For example, QB and co-captain Niko Pappas was a Division III transfer from Baldwin Wallace University.
“I came across the old QB’s Instagram account, and it looked really cool,” recalled Pappas. “Like, ‘Oh my gosh, club… What is this?’ I came out here, and it was not what I thought it was. It was way more competitive, which excited me.”
Pappas emphasized that this is nothing like high school football – it’s comparable in terms of competition to Division III. A difficulty looms in that, although it’s similar in competition, club sports don’t receive the same recognition and support as teams do at the NCAA level.
“Academics come first to me,” linebacker and club President Tyler Beckman stated in reference to balancing commitments. “I take care of all my academics. But when it’s football time, it’s football time.”
As president of the club football team, Beckman has committed to doing what’s best for the team, while taking care of his other responsibilities at the same time.
“I’m working, I’m doing school, I’m doing club, and it’s a lot,” he admitted, “but you’ve got to make do with what time you have.”
They will also freely offer up which NFL player they’d choose to give the team a pep talk.
“Mine would be Ray Lewis,” said Beckman, referring to the Hall of Fame defensive linebacker who played for the Baltimore Ravens from 1996 to 2012. “Being a defensive guy, you know, he just fires dudes up.”
Pappas went with Chad Ochocinco, the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who spent 10 years with the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring with the New England Patriots in 2011. “He’s got good ball knowledge, but he’s also hilarious,” Pappas explained. “I’d love to talk to that guy.”
