Ohio State is moving its annual Senior Day celebration from the team's traditional regular-season home finale to its season opener against Ball State on Sept. 5.
Head coach Ryan Day believes the change will provide one fewer distraction when Ohio State hosts Michigan on Nov. 28.
"We had long conversations about it, and the traditions at Ohio State here are significant and very, very strong and something that we all respect," Day said, per The Delaware Gazette's Dillon Davis.
He added, "But when we look at all the things that go on that weekend, the way things have changed, there are some things that we thought about. ... There's already enough distractions during that week, so this was just one more thing that we felt like we could move."
The Buckeyes haven't beaten the Wolverines at Ohio Stadium since 2018, though Ohio State snapped a four-game losing streak to its bitter rival with a win in Ann Arbor last season.
Ohio State considered recognizing its seniors ahead of other home games before landing on the season opener. Day and Co. approached the seniors about the idea, and they supported the change.
"We said, 'Well, why don't we just recognize all the seniors at the beginning of the year? Let them know we appreciate everything they've done and then kind of move on with the season,'" Day said.
Ohio State joins a growing list of teams - including Georgia and South Carolina - that have moved up their respective Senior Day celebrations to avoid a conflict with a home rivalry game.
