Dominik Stecuła is an assistant professor of communication and political science at The Ohio State University.
The Ohio State home opener against Ball State wasn't much of a contest. More than 101,120 people still showed up to the game, making The Shoe the population of Ohio's seventh-largest city.
Many thousands more watched at tailgates, bars, and in homes with friends and family.
Among all those people, quite a few would have a hard time agreeing on much of anything politically, but the Buckeye identity was bringing us all together for a shared ritual.
Public universities have become a subject of considerable partisan conflict, and Ohio is hardly an exception.
Does football make people less polarized?
In August 2025, I helped field a representative survey of 300 Ohio adults covering many issues, including university governance.
Support for eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices stood at 11% among Democrats, yet was popular with a strong majority of Republicans (65%). But the partisan divide was almost entirely absent when we asked respondents how they felt about Ohio State.
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About 70% of both...