From the OSU Center for Aviation Studies, "Biplane takes off over the Ohio State airfield, where the Ohio Stadium was later built..." Appears to be a Curtiss JN-4.
https://aviation.osu.edu/about-us/history
In the early years of World War I, a fighter pilot had a life expectancy of several weeks. Insufficient pilot training was considered the main cause of these horrible odds. Ohio State joined the cause to vastly improve our military pilots' safety. But the mission a WWI pilot was still among the most dangerous in modern warfare.
The National Museum of the Air Force writes:
"As World War I continued throughout Europe, it quickly became apparent that there was a shortage of trained pilots in the United States. The War Department and the U.S. Army formed the Aviation Cadet Training Program, and commissioned six universities across the country to open aviation schools. The Ohio State University opened the School of Military Aeronautics in May 1917." The other schools were Texas, MIT, Cornell, California, and Illinois.
From the AO Pilots Association:
"The School of Military Aeronautics (SMA) opened May 21, 1917, when the first "squadron" or group of 16 cadets reported. As the story goes, the cadets built the aircraft* in the aeronautics building, located at on the southeast corner of West 19th Avenue and Neil Avenue. The planes would then be rolled down the hill to the field just east of the Olentangy River, where flight tests and training would ensue... [Fortunately] this arrangement was short-lived, with the opening of Ohio Stadium in 1922. Shortly thereafter, the University built a second airport on East Broad Street “near the country club,” while also using other local airports such as Sullivant Field on Neil Avenue."
http://jobs.aopa.org/c/copro.cfm?site_id=14742&co=865055
*Most likely, cadets disassembled and reassembled key components of an aircraft. Probably the Curtiss JN-4.
Above is the first squadron to complete the SMA program at Ohio State, 1917. Steely eyed crew, if there ever was one. (Appears to be a Curtiss JN-4 engine in background). After completing the SMA program, cadets went on to various airfields in the US for more intense flight training, and then on to Europe for assignment to specific aircraft (and further flight training), often British or French aircraft (such as the Sopworth Camel or the French Spad) as Europe was considerably more advanced than the U.S. in military aircraft at that time.
Cadet quarters were tight at Hayes Hall
After the end of WWI, the School of Military Aeronautics at OSU was phased out. But some of the instructors for the SMA stayed on as engineering faculty including Roland Henry Wasson and Ralph Wendle Dunkle. They built an early aeronautics program at OSU, respected nationally.
Curtiss JN-4's were the main aircraft used in U.S. pilot training during WWI - above is a formation of JN-4's flying out of Love Field, Texas.
McCook Field, Dayton during World War I. Curtiss JN-4 (Nickname for JN-4's was "Jenny"). Note the two mule-drawn road-graders smoothing the path in front of the JN-4.
More than 1200 pilots came through the Ohio State, School of Military Aeronautics during WWI. Most who flew in combat did not return home. These Elite Warriors of the Ohio State SMA leave an honored legacy for us all. May they never be forgotten.
