Ryan Day
Jamie Schwaberow/Getty ImagesOhio State University football coach Ryan Day and his family went through that after Bucky brutal loss to michigan.
“We had security at our house,” Ryan’s son, RJ dayshared with Athletic in an interview published on Tuesday, January 21. “School was really bad. I didn’t really leave the house much until after the Tennessee game (three weeks later). It was tough, but you have to persevere in these tough times because eventually things will turn around again.”
In November 2024 Ohio State lost to archrival Michigan for the fourth straight time. Ryan, 45, — who also shares daughters Grace and Nia with the wife Nina Day — and his family received threats that led to around-the-clock police protection.
Two days ago, however, Ohio State redeemed itself when it won the National Title after defeating Notre Dame in the College Football National Championship.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images Following Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, head coach Marcus Freeman was blunt in his assessment of what went wrong. “You always make mistakes, but those disastrous mistakes when you’re playing a really, really good football team cost you points,” Freeman, 39, (…)
“I learned lessons in the last month that I will use (for) the rest of my life,” RJ explained. “I learned so much about people’s integrity and getting up and going to work every day.”
Ryan Day with his family.
Courtesy of Ryan Day/InstagramWhile Ryan’s father-in-law, Stan Spirouhad his own experience dealing with upset fans — he’s a former basketball coach at the University of New Hampshire — he couldn’t believe what he witnessed after Ohio State lost to Michigan.
Through it all, he praised Ryan’s wife, Nina, for staying strong for the family.
“She knows the ups and downs, but she’s never been through what they’ve had to go through in the last month and a half,” he explained. “Of course I had my share of setbacks, but for a while it got personal (for the days). This had a huge impact on the immediate family and the children.
RJ, who is a sophomore in high school, also praised his mom, calling her “amazing.”
Moments after winning the National Championship, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his star players were forced to walk to the postgame press conference after their golf cart crashed into a wall. The incident at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday, January 20, which was shortly preceded by Ohio State’s victory over Notre (…)
“She moved nine or 10 times on her own while my dad would already be working in that other state,” he shared. “We call it the family rock.”
As Ohio State fans continue to celebrate a big win, Nina hopes her kids take a valuable lesson from the heartbreaking loss that occurred less than two months ago.
“No matter what happens, we still have each other,” she said. “We just stuck together. The most important thing is to learn to fail, but you have to get up. That’s the biggest thing they’ve learned through this whole thing: Everybody fails, but you’ve got to get back up and keep swinging.”
