Archie Griffin to serve as Ohio State Homecoming Parade grand marshal
Event is part of 50th anniversary celebration of Heisman Trophy win
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The Ohio State University |
Archie Griffin will serve as grand marshal of The Ohio State University Homecoming Parade on Friday, Oct. 25. The parade will step off at 6 p.m. in Ohio Stadium’s west parking lot and end at the Ohio Union at 7 p.m.
The free event will be held in advance of the Buckeyes football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The Homecoming Parade is one of the university’s biggest and longest-running traditions. Griffin’s role as grand marshal is part of Ohio State’s celebration of the legendary Buckeye this season on the 50th anniversary of his first Heisman Trophy.
With his storied career, Griffin is one of the most well-known and respected representatives of Ohio State, said Annie Maxwell, program coordinator for the Ohio Union Activities Board.
“We are so happy to have Archie Griffin as the grand marshal for this year’s Homecoming Parade,” she said. “He truly embodies what it means to be a Buckeye for life, and we are excited to celebrate all he has done for the campus community.”
In 1974, Griffin won the Heisman Trophy and was recognized as the nation’s most outstanding college football player. He repeated the feat in 1975 – the only player in history to do so.
Griffin, from Columbus and Eastmoor High School, was only a junior when he won his first Heisman. Yet he was called at the time by legendary coach Woody Hayes “the greatest football player I have ever coached.”
Beyond his accomplishments on the field, Griffin has remained committed to Ohio State and the central Ohio community. He worked for the university’s Department of Athletics from 1985 to 2004, serving as assistant director of athletics for external affairs and associate director of athletics for Olympic sports.
In 2002, Griffin established the Archie Griffin Scholarship Fund to aid undergraduates in Olympic sports. He served as president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association from 2004 to 2015. In 2015, he delivered the spring commencement address to a class that included Adam Griffin, one of his three sons.
The 2024 Homecoming Parade will feature student organization banners, floats, Ohio State colleges and departments, and community organizations. Students, alumni and Ohio State family and friends are invited to attend.
The 50th anniversary celebration also included the unveiling of a statue honoring Griffin at the Rose Bowl and a replica at Ohio Stadium. He also dotted the “i” with the Ohio State Marching Band in its “Script Ohio” performance at halftime of the Buckeyes’ Aug. 31 season opener against Akron, and Griffin will meet with Ohio State faculty and staff this month to thank them for their efforts moving students onto campus at the start of the academic year.
