COLUMBUS, Ohio — On any given Saturday, the nearly 105,000-seat home stadium of the Ohio State football team shakes and sways as the team, more often than not, roars to victory in a weekly manifestation of the university’s grip on the psyche of the state.
With alumni that include the governor, a United States senator, the state treasurer, several members of congress and leaders from business, industry, the legislature and the arts, Ohio State has long been an indomitable civic force.
Yet as its nearly 60,000 students arrive on campus for a new semester — and football season — scandals tied to the university’s sports program have forced many at the university to question its culture of sports above all, as well as the men who lead it.