Welcome to the Skull Session.
Bruce Thornton, ladies and gentlemen:
You only get one life, you only get one decision of playing in college and Im glad Im a buckeye for life.
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) March 9, 2026
- Bruce Thornton after Saturday's win over Indiana. @OhioStateHoops | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/bsrIwsZklo
He's one of one!
Have a good Tuesday.
BACK TO WORK. Ohio State football is back.
Eeeeeek, it’s back!
OHIO STATE PRESIDENT JIM TRESSEL? Ohio State president Ted Carter resigned Monday after disclosing “an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.”
That could mean a million things. None of them are good. All of them lead to the same result: Ohio State is searching for its third president since 2021, following two-year stints by Kristina Johnson and Carter.
Who do Eleven Warriors readers want to provide stability to the position?
James Patrick Tressel.
The first comment on our article for Carter’s resignation came from 12th Warrior NHBuckeye, who — first and foremost — called Carter a “dumbass.” He then beckoned Ohio State’s board of trustees to “Get Jim Tressel on the horn ASAP.”
The second comment, via Undercoverbuck, stole some of NHBuckeye’s thunder — and (apologies to NHBuckeye) deservedly so.
“Sure, he’s an Ohio guy but only a President at an FCS school. Do we really think he’s ready for that big of a jump to prime-time D1? Ohio State isn’t where people get to learn on the job?” Undercoverbuck wrote sarcastically.
Well played, sir. Well played.
Ohio State president Ted Carter resigns after disclosing an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business. https://t.co/NqiijXBM0w
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 9, 2026
Tressel was a popular pick among Ohio State fans to become the school’s next president when Michael Drake retired in June 2020 and when Johnson, Drake’s successor, resigned in November 2022. However, Tressel was never reported as a legitimate candidate for the role.
Following a decorated college football coaching career, which included four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State and one national title at Ohio State, Tressel became the vice president of strategic engagement at Akron in 2012. Two years later, he became president at Youngstown State, a position he held until his retirement in 2023. Tressel, who turned 73 in December 2025, has spent the past year as Ohio’s lieutenant governor.
While Tressel has proven administrative skills — and, clearly, the widespread support of Buckeye fans — I wouldn’t consider him a candidate to be Ohio State’s president this time around, either. Ohio State has too many issues, both academic and athletic, that I’m not sure Tressel would want to dive headfirst into at his age.
But what do I know? I wouldn’t have predicted that the university would have two presidents in the timeframe it takes most students to earn a bachelor’s degree (though I hear a lot of people go to college for seven years). Anything can happen!
“WE’RE BUILDING SOMETHING.” Please do not excommunicate me for this take, but here’s something I’ve been thinking about since Saturday: Ohio State’s win over Indiana could rally the program like Matt Sylvester’s buzzer-beater against Illinois in 2005.
Stay with me now.
Sylvester’s buzzer-beater is an iconic Ohio State basketball moment, lifting the Buckeyes over top-ranked Illinois in the season finale at the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State, which missed the 2005 NCAA Tournament despite being 20-12 after the Big Ten Tournament, used the win as a launching pad toward remarkable success under Thad Matta.
Saturday’s win feels like it had the potential to do something similar. While I cannot guarantee a national runner-up, two Final Fours, three Elite Eights and five Sweet 16s under Jake Diebler, I am confident that, with Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament results pending, Diebler can capitalize on the program’s snowballing momentum.
Ohio State sold out the Schottenstein Center for the first time since a March 2022 matchup with Michigan. Almost all of the 18,801 in attendance — including alumni Dennis Hopson, Brad Sellers, Jim Jackson (who called the game for Fox Sports), Lawrence Funderburke, Scoonie Penn, Michael Redd, Greg Oden, J.J. Sullinger, Aaron Craft, and future Buckeye Anthony Thompson — were on their feet when Bruce Thornton broke the all-time scoring record. They also gave Thornton a standing ovation when he checked out near the end of the game.
Man, this moment is incredible. Bruce Thornton being all business while the crowd collectively loses its mind perfectly encapsulates the kind of humble, team-first player he's been his entire career. The all-time leading scorer and an all-time Buckeye.pic.twitter.com/DUiAISMwT9
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) March 7, 2026
Diebler said he felt the crowd’s energy the entire game, but in those moments, it reached a level “that impacts winning.”
“This was a culmination of a lot of hard work and fight and handling adversity well,” Diebler said after the game. “The response from Buckeye Nation was incredible. That’s what college basketball is all about at so many levels. There was so much that went into the moment today. A lot of people have played a major role in that, but we’re building something… This was a huge step for us.”
Thornton agrees.
“Tonight was what Ohio State basketball should be every night,” he said. “The standard. You see the alumni, the fans, tonight had a different feel to it, a different energy. The confidence we have as a team right now, we worked for that.”
If Sylvester’s buzzer-beater launched Ohio State into one of its golden eras, what could Thornton’s record-breaking moment do? That’s for Diebler and his players to decide — and for me to ponder. As I do, I like what I’m imagining: faith restored and hope rising in one of college basketball’s sleeping giants.
MASH MADNESS. No matter what happens in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State looks all but locked into the Big Dance for the first time in four years.
Andy Anders will break down the full picture in this week’s Buckeyetology, but as conference championship week begins, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Buckeyes as the No. 9 seed in the Greenville Regional. That would mean a Round of 64 matchup against No. 8 Georgia and, if they advance, a Round of 32 showdown with No. 1 Duke — though the Blue Devils would first have to survive UMBC, the program that delivered the most shocking NCAA Tournament upset ever by beating top-seeded Virginia 74-54 in 2018.
Whenever, wherever and whoever Ohio State faces in the tournament, you could watch the Buckeyes play at High Bank Distillery during the Mash Madness: Barrel Room Bash.
For $35 per day or $60 for both days, you’ll get wall-to-wall basketball, an all-you-can-eat game-day feast and access to one of the best atmospheres in Columbus to sweat out every buzzer-beater. We’re turning the barrel room into the ultimate hangout — massive screens, nonstop action from the first tip to the final buzzer and the kind of electric energy that only March can bring.
Come hungry and stay all day. High Bank is serving up a full spread of nachos, wings, hot dogs, salads and more — the comfort food you need to power through overtime thrillers and bracket chaos (drinks sold separately). Sip your way through the madness with craft cocktails, whiskey pours, buckets of beer and more available at the bar, and don’t miss the limited-release Mash Madness Cigar Cask Blend while you’re there.
We’ll also have raffle items and prizes throughout the event benefiting the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, so you can enjoy the games while supporting a great cause in the community. Bring your crew. Rep your team. Cheer loud!
SONG OF THE DAY. One Hour of the "March Madness Theme Song" - CBS Sports.
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