Ohio State's intercollegiate sports teams are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree, the Buckeye), and participate in the NCAA's Division I-A in all sports and the
Big Ten Conference in most sports. (The men's hockey program competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and its women's hockey program competes
in the Western Collegiate
Hockey Association.) The school colors are Scarlet and Grey.The Buckeye football team, which plays at Ohio Stadium (a.k.a. the Horseshoe), won the 2002 college football national championship at the
2003 Fiesta Bowl. It was the fifth
national championship for the football team, which also topped the nation in 1942, 1954, 1957, and 1968.The Buckeye football team also boasts 5 Heisman trophy winners
including the only two time winner: Les Horvath (1944), Vic Janowicz (1950), Howard Cassady (1955), Archie Griffin (1974 & 1975), and Eddie George (1995).Ohio State is known for its intense athletic rivalry (particularly in football) with the University of Michigan.One particular Buckeye fan, Orlas King, became well known among Ohio State football fans. Affectionately called "Neutron Man"
and known as an unofficial Buckeye mascot, Orlas King dressed in team colors and
danced wildly in the stands to the song "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer
Sisters at home games since the mid-1970s. The Buckeyes created a special scoreboard graphic for Neutron Man, and even
invited him to dance on the field with the OSU marching band. King passed away in October, 2004 at the age of 62. He had a
history of heart problems and had recently lost weight as a result of gastric bypass surgery.
The Makio is Ohio State's annual/yearbook.
The Makio ran into financial problems during the early 1970s, and the
organization went bankrupt and stopped publication during the late 1970s. The book was revived from 1985 to 1994, and has been
revived again since 2000.OSU's "Buckeye Bullet" electric car broke the world record for the fastest speed by an electric vehicle on October 3, 2004 with a speed of 271.737 mph (437.3 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The vehicle also holds the
US record for fastest electric vehicle with a speed of 314.958 mph (506.9 km/h), and peak timed mile speed of 321.834 mph (517.9
km/h). The vehicle was designed, built and managed by a team of engineering students at the university's "Center for Automotive
Research-Intelligent Transportation" (CAR-IT).OSU operates a public television station, WOSU 34. Two public radio stations, WOSU-AM (NPR) and WOSU-FM in Columbus, both with
the call letters WOSU. In 2003, the television station began broadcasting in HDTV format. There is also an internet only, student-run radio station and a student run cable
channel, Buckeye TV. The school newspaper is called
The Lantern.In 1926, the student body overwhelmingly elected Maudine Ormsby
Homecoming Queen. That Maudine Ormsby was not a student at the Ohio State University was a bigger problem then the fact she was a
cow, literally, a dairy cow. Still, she took her throne at the homecoming football game that year, however she passed on the
homecoming dance.The school is often referred to as Ohio State University. The proper name, when used as a noun, is
The Ohio State
University.