“It was very difficult… There were a lot of tears. We shielded [our kids] from a lot of it because I didn’t want to scare them. I didn’t want them to stay up at night thinking anything bad was going to happen…” This was Ryan Day’s wife Nina’s statement a few days after Ohio State suffered an unfortunate defeat against their arch-rivals, Michigan. Trolls started coming on. The internet was filled with death threats to Ryan Day and his family. His son even faced some instances at his school, so much so that the family had to hire a private security firm. But Ryan Day responded not with a statement but with action.

After that defeat, Ohio State seemed like a ghost possessed, rolling over opponents and making their way to the natty final. They won the trophy, after all, and Ryan Day was a happy man. He didn’t care much about the threats and is making a legacy of his own amidst all the chaos that is college football. That legacy started with one of the most gruesome moments of his life. He has since opened up on the tragedy and how it gave him the motivation to win the natty.

Ryan Day was recently asked in a recent episode of ‘The Herd with Collin Cowherd’ about what motivated him to achieve the incredible feat. He seemed emotional hearing the question, paused for a moment, and said, “You know, I lost my father on January 20th when I was nine years old, and I saw when the schedule came out that the national championship game was on the same day that I lost my father, and so, you know, I just knew that he was with me that day, and that was the first guy that I thought of.” 

Ryan Day lost his father when he was just 9 years old. The tragedy has shaped him to be a better human being in all respects. The Natty being held on 20th Jan. surely would have given the required solace and motivation to the man to achieve his goals and seek glory. He would have surely felt his pops sitting in the stands, watching and cheering for his success.

Ryan Day has since focused on helping people who are struggling with mental health issues. He also said about it in another recent interview, “Mental health thing has always been important to me based on the way that I grew up and some of the things that I experienced growing up. So through Nationwide Children and OSU, I think Columbus is the leader in the country in the mental health space, and I think it’s good for the Buckeye Nation.” And with that note, he has done another deed that will even fill the hearts of rivals with respect for the man.

Ryan Day, the Buckeyes hero both on and off the field

Well, Ryan Day and his wife, Nina, had a while back started The Christina and Ryan Day Fund for Pediatric and Adolescent Mental Wellness foundation. The foundation specifically focuses on providing incentives and financial support in research involving mental health for teenagers and children. So, in the same spirit, the man has now donated $1 million to the foundation, which would be used for treatment and research at OSU’s Wexner College of Medicine. He provided his reasoning behind the donation.

“We have the best fan base in America, and so we want to make sure we’re giving back, and it’s also a great example for our players to see how important it is. Because nowadays NIL is involved, now guys have fans, and they have to travel across the country to these playoff games, and so we just want to make sure that they understand how much we appreciate them.”

The move came shortly after Ryan Day had signed a contract extension with Ohio State, which would make him the highest-paid coach in college football. The contract will run till the year 2032 and will see him earn a whopping $87.75 million through its course. That breaks down to a $2 million base salary with a total annual compensation of $12.5 million.