As Ohio State is the latest to attest, the cost of cupcakes and scheduling guaranteed wins is on the rise. Still.
Early Tuesday afternoon, UConn announced that it has scheduled a 2025 game against OSU. That non-conference matchup for the Buckeyes will be played Oct. 18 of that season. Of course, it will be played at The Horseshoe in Columbus.
It’s also a one-off game for both schools as Ohio State will not make a return trip to UConn.
That 2025 matchup will mark the first-ever between the universities in football.
The biggest part of the scheduling news, though, are the financial particulars. For making the trip west to OSU, UConn is guaranteed a whopping $1.95 million payday. According to the soon-to-be football independent, that nearly $2 million figure is payable on or before February 28, 2026.
It’s the largest guarantee Ohio State has ever paid for a football game. As recently as 2014, OSU paid just over $2 million for all three of its non-conference opponents. Combined.
With the UConn game, OSU has completed its 2025 non-conference. It had previously been announced that the Big Ten school will open that season against Texas (Aug. 30) before facing Washington two weeks later (Sept. 13). Both of those games will be played in Columbus.