Jack Nicklaus Drive

   COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved today the naming of Jack Nicklaus Drive-home of the Jack Nicklaus Museum. Named in honor of the legendary golfer, Nicklaus Drive runs parallel to Olentangy River Road, connecting the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to Borror Drive and the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

The Nicklaus Museum, now under construction and scheduled to open in 2001, will preserve and present the history of Jack Nicklaus for current and future generations. For Nicklaus fans and other sports enthusiasts, the 24,000-square-foot facility will chronicle Jack's innumerable successes, accomplishments, and contributions to the game of golf.

"In our eyes and in those of most others, Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer ever to play the game," said Ohio State President William E. Kirwan. "We are most honored that Ohio State will play a role in this lasting tribute to one of our greatest alumni."

Through powerful interactive exhibits and media presentations, the museum will bring to life those dramatic decades when Jack Nicklaus set the standards by which golfers are measured. It will feature a display of an unparalleled collection of artifacts and memorabilia from Jack's life and career; a History of Golf Gallery, presenting the evolution of the game from the 1400s to the present; and exhibits detailing the history of Ohio State's men's and women's golf programs, as well as its outstanding turf management program.

Nicklaus led the Ohio State men's golf team to Big Ten titles in 1960 and 1961 and won the NCAA individual title in 1961. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Ohio State in 1972 and was inducted into the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977.

Longtime advocates for Ohio State, Jack and his wife, Barbara Bash Nicklaus (B.S., 1961, education) have supported programs across campus, including the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute; the Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair Fund in National Security Studies; the Joseph M. Ryan, M.D., Chair Fund in Cardiovascular Medicine; the Younkin Success Center; the Robert K. Barton Memorial Fund, established by Nicklaus to provide scholarships for law students with an active interest in golf; and the L. Charles Nicklaus Golf Scholarship Fund, created in memory of Jack's father.

"This is truly a meaningful and humbling gesture by The Ohio State University," Nicklaus said. "It was significant enough to my family and to me to have the Jack Nicklaus Museum on the Ohio State campus. Now, to have a road bearing my name is a special honor."

Contacts for additional information:

* Gerald Goodson, executive director, Jack Nicklaus Museum, (614) 792-2353.

* John Meyer, assistant vice president and director, University Developments, (614) 688-3250.

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(LO)