Ohio State has long been one of the most prolific schools in all of college sports, with standout football and basketball programs over the past decade. But they haven’t officially been “The” prolific school, until now.
An announcement on Tuesday regarding the university will likely change how Ohio State brands itself moving forward and what kind of name it’s allowed to put on officially licensed items.
The school has successfully received a trademark for the word “The,” which is used when the university refers to itself as “The Ohio State Buckeyes.” The phrase “THE Ohio State University” is commonly used by alumni but was not an official name, until now.
The U.S Patent and Trademark Office approved Ohio State’s application on Tuesday, finally granting them the patent after trying to trademark the word since 2019.
This trademark will allow Ohio State to use the word on merchandise moving forward, which has many around college sports torn on how they feel about the situation.
Some feel that the university being labeled “The” Ohio State Buckeyes is a good thing, and are happy to see a trademark on the word.
I approve this message.
THE Ohio State 😁 https://t.co/rOybKHZrVy— Brandon Pope TV (@BpopeTV) June 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/vandanaiscool/status/1539665338044121088
Ohio State students everywhere: pic.twitter.com/kTv5FDGfbU
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 22, 2022
What's that? Your alma mater is just AN Ohio state university? Sorry, can't relate.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) June 22, 2022
Welcome to THE Ohio State https://t.co/hwXEZjUCHq
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) June 22, 2022
However, others feel that this level of commitment to a simple word is a bit unnecessary.
I still can't belive THE Ohio State University expended (wasted?) any resources on this…. https://t.co/pXzzkgs5yi
— Jeff Selingo (@jselingo) June 22, 2022
An Ohio State university https://t.co/09fZWlZunq
— Jay Arnold (@CoachJayArnold) June 22, 2022
gonna call them AN Ohio State University out of pure spite https://t.co/V2hZ83hOJI
— Jorge Ribas (@jribas) June 22, 2022
This seems like a lot of work just to add one general word to the beginning of their name, but Ohio State fans appear to like it, so I suppose that’s all that matters.
It should certainly be interesting for “The” Ohio State Buckeyes this upcoming football season to see if it affects how the media refers to the school following the ruling.
