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What changes have Ohio State AD Ross Bjork helped make for home basketball games?
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- What changes have Ohio State AD Ross Bjork helped make for home basketball games?
Athletic director Ross Bjork hopes there will be a more engaging fan experience for those visiting the Jerome Schottenstein Center, starting with the Nov. 3 season opener for the men's basketball program. After the athletic department revealed numerous changes to home football games under the umbrella of "Tradition Evolved," similar tweaks are in store on the hardwood.
"The 'Tradition Evolved' mantra rolled out during football applies for all sports," Bjork said. "We're looking at the game script, when we play music, how we play music, the type of music that we play. The goal is the same: homecourt advantage. We want people to walk away saying, 'Man, I had fun and I'm going to come back.' "
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The court is new, now gray court with changeable midcourt logos. So is the way the arena is lit around it. Thanks to the LED lighting system installed a few years ago, Value City Arena will now utilize stage lighting that darkens the seating area and puts emphasis on the playing surface. At different times during a gameday, the Buckeyes will have the ability to make the lights flash, twinkle, or "chase" each other around the venue, according to Bjork.
Bjork said new Big Ten rules have allowed schools to utilize such effects starting this year.
"The arena bowl will be darker than it's been in the past," he said. "Between the lighting and the color of the court, I think the gray court will really pop. People will notice how we're utilizing the lighting system."
The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team huddles prior to the NCAA preseason exhibition game against the Ohio Bobcats at Value City Arena in Columbus on Oct. 26, 2025. Ohio State won 103-74.
The band is moving closer to the floor rather than its customary spot at the top of one of the sections behind the visitors' second-half basket. There will be a new DJ booth too, Bjork said. Both should benefit from a new, $2.5 million audio system.
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"The music will hopefully be a little more consistent in terms of the sound quality inside of the building," he said.
Next summer, Ohio State will install a new scoreboard expected to cost $5.2 million .
Fans at select men's and women's basketball games will also receive the scarlet "THE Towel" as given out at the first football game of the season. In studying how to try and create a better home atmosphere, Bjork said Ohio State utilized focus groups and also hired Shine Entertainment as a consulting firm to examine all aspects of the gameday experience. Shine has worked with the Columbus Crew as well as NBA and NHL teams.
Sales of both student and season ticket packages are both "trending a little up" from where they were last year, Bjork said. Student ticket packages include all home games while school is in session, a recent change, and there are plans to better sync up the chants of the cheerleaders and the Buckeye Nuthouse student section.
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"I think the students lead a big part of this," he said. "We just need a percentage of them to show up, and if we have a consistent student turnout it brings energy. You want people walking away saying, 'Man, I impacted the game. That was so much fun. I can't wait to come back and bring somebody with me.' We want to try to build a bigger fanbase for basketball. We've done it before and we want to have consistent homecourt advantage."
The Buckeyes averaged 11,578 fans in their 17 home games last season, an increase from the average of 10,938 in 2023-24, which was the lowest in arena history. Ohio State has not had a home sellout since a 75-69 loss to Michigan on March 6, 2022.
"We know it's a big arena," Bjork said. "Can we fill it every game? That's challenging. But can we get 14-15,000 a game? That makes a difference if we can get in that range for a homecourt advantage."
More: Transfer center Christoph Tilly viewed as integral part in new-look Ohio State offense
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Winning helps, too. Ohio State has missed out on the last three NCAA Tournaments but enters the second year of the Jake Diebler era as a team projected to be safely inside the field come March . After the Buckeyes beat Ohio University 103-74 in an Oct. 26 exhibition game , Bjork said he's encouraged by what he's seeing from this year's team.
"If you just saw Sunday, you saw a lot of ball movement," he said. "We saw a fast pace. We saw them pushing the ball, high energy, high entertaining basketball. I think there's a lot of skill on the court that people are going to gravitate towards. I think people want good, fundamental basketball but they also want to be entertained. That one example, we saw what this team is capable of and how they're going to continue to mesh and jell."
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's why Ohio State basketball games should look, sound different
