A primetime clash for first place on ESPN has made tomorrow night’s game against Temple one of Ohio’s most anticipated games in recent memory, but before the Bobcats can hit the field to take on the Owls, they must first hit the books.
Each of Ohio’s two remaining home games will take place on a weeknight, meaning each game will be preceded by a full day of class.
“We go to all of our classes throughout the day,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “The only classes that are missed are ones when we’re getting ready to play the game in the evening.”
Solich said his staff has always mandated that players attend class on game day during his tenure at Ohio, but the Mid-American Conference recently made a rule directing all teams to do the same.
In his first season as a starter, quarterback Tyler Tettleton is learning how to juggle reading textbooks while thinking about reading opposing defenses.
Despite the hectic schedule, Tettleton said class is a good way to pass the time leading to a game.
“It actually might be nice to be doing something during the day instead of laying around in the hotel waiting for the game,” he said. “I’m kind of glad we’re going to class and getting our minds off the game a little bit.”
While Tettleton is experiencing the primetime, nationally televised pressure for the first time, senior receiver Riley Dunlop is more accustomed to the midweek setup.
“We’re used to it. We’ve done this for the past four years, ever since I’ve been here,” Dunlop said. “Toward the end of the season we have weekday games to get on ESPN. Coach Solich does a good job of getting things prepared and not letting things distract us.”
Solich said some coaches prefer midweek games to be played on the road so the players do not have to attend class at all that day and can focus solely on the game at hand.
When players are forced to miss class, the team does its best to accommodate both the professor and player.
“We send emails to the professors, and students are expected to talk to their professor about it,” said Jason Kelly, associate athletic director for NCAA Eligibility & Student-Athlete Success. “The university really supports athletics. We never have problems with that.”
Though football can cause players to miss class, academics can cause players to miss football. Some players leave practice early every day to make their 6 p.m. classes.
“We’ve had students miss practice two or three days a week because of class,” Kelly said. “They’re students first, and our coaches understand that.”
Although players know when they will have weeknight games before they schedule, Kelly said it is nearly impossible to coordinate around that.
“The way the schedule worked out this year, we play a Tuesday night game, a Wednesday night game (and) a Thursday night game,” he said. “They work extremely hard in the classroom and extremely hard at practice. Their time is so limited anyway that it’s really hard to take that into account.”
ro137807@ohiou.edu
