Several members of Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning and paid tribute to four late members of that team in the process.
In a segment during Saturday morning’s GameDay broadcast from Ohio State’s campus, former Ohio State defensive backs Mike Doss and Will Allen, running back Maurice Clarett and head coach Jim Tressel unveiled a sculpture that pays tribute to four members of the 2002 national title team – offensive tackles Ivan Douglas and Shane Olivea and defensive ends Will Smith and Mike Kudla – who have passed away.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 2002 @OhioStateFB national championship team pic.twitter.com/nMnkl5v0Lr
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 3, 2022
On a weekend that the 2002 Buckeyes are being celebrated for the 20th anniversary of their national championship, Doss told Eleven Warriors he and his teammates felt it was important to make sure the members of that team who could not be there are not forgotten.
“It means a lot to us that we symbolically represent our entire team,” Doss said. “We want to make sure that their voices are still heard. But in the sense of our collective group paying it forward, our hearts, our passion, our togetherness is that we will never forget those guys. They meant something to us and had an impact on our team.”
The sculpture, which was designed by Los Angeles-based artist Michael Kalish, is now set to be auctioned on ood, a collectibles marketplace. A portion of all proceeds from the sculpture, as well as T-shirts, hoodies and a desk-sized version of the sculpture that will also be sold on ood, will be donated to two mental health charities supported by current Ohio State coach Ryan Day: the On Our Sleeves fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.
Saturday’s GameDay appearance was part of a weekend-long celebration for the 2002 national championship team, which began Friday night with the 2002 Champs Reunion, an event hosted by Eleven Warriors at Land-Grant Brewing Company. More than 50 members of the 2002 team were in attendance for the event, which featured a panel discussion with Tressel, former Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio and six star players from the 2002 team: Doss, quarterback Craig Krenzel, running back Maurice Clarett, defensive end Kenny Peterson, linebacker Matt Wilhelm and punter Andy Groom.
Pretty packed house @LandGrantBeer for the @11W Ohio State 2002 national champions reunion. Jim Tressel, Mark Dantonio, Mike Doss, Maurice Clarett, Craig Krenzel and more participating in a chalk talk. pic.twitter.com/9z2fFvDC6E
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) September 2, 2022
Mike Doss and Branden Joe lead the crowd at @LandGrantBeer in Carmen Ohio to close things out at the 2002 OSU national championship reunion: pic.twitter.com/0TKqZvuVD8
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) September 3, 2022
Members of the 2002 Ohio State national championship team pose for a photo with Jim Tressel after @11W 2002 20-year national champions reunion @LandGrantBeer pic.twitter.com/hg4BkWbBfb
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) September 3, 2022
Doss, who helped organize Friday night’s event, said a portion of proceeds from the reunion would also be donated to The Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund, while proceeds will also go toward an endowment in honor of the 2002 national championship team that Doss said he hopes will ultimately help build a new football facility for Ohio State.
The 2002 national champions will also be honored during Saturday night’s game against Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium, where members of that team will be recognized on the field at the end of the first quarter.
