March Madness is swiftly approaching! It is the time of year when OSU athletics is escalating to the championship level. We know that both basketball teams (men’s and women’s) are striving to participate in the annual mayhem that is the NCAA tournament. Athletes that are participating in other sports, like swimming and wrestling, are refining their skills and fine-tuning their bodies to qualify for their sport’s respective championships. It’s quickly becoming “tournament time” for Gymnastics and Ice Hockey and many more sports at The Ohio State University. If you have interest in finding entertainment and the pursuit of success you can find it nearly year-round at your former university. It’s a way to bring back many memories or just enjoy the sight of a young college athlete trying to better themselves every day. It’s also a chance to take in a sport you may never have experienced before. I hope you’ll get down to the university, check out a sport and cheer on these hard working athletes – just like many did while you were at the university putting forth your effort.

Your OSU Varsity “O” Men’s Alumni Association Board is also staying involved and improving at many levels. We attend many of the events, games and functions that are offered both by the Alumni Association as well as the Varsity “O.” We recently rolled out our Plaque Project in which you can order a personalized, framed plaque highlighting the Varsity “O” logo and a name plate detailing your name, year and sport(s). We hope you’ve taken the opportunity to order yours. All of the proceeds go to the scholarship fund. We recently approved moving forward with the Varsity “O” Letter Jacket Award Ceremony. We’ve done this in order to enhance the experience for the new first-time Letterwinner’s in which we will actually award the letter jacket in a ceremonial format with the coaches involved. We are currently implementing the ability to transact online (including membership renewal). You’ll see more coming on that soon.

More importantly, right now, the board will be heading into the annual ritual of determining who will get inducted in the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame. And, although it is a dedicated set of committee members and university officials who determine the inductees, it is you, our VO Alumni members, who determine the nominees brought to the table for consideration. Only members of the Varsity “O” can nominate these individuals. So, we hope you’ll participate by sending in the names of those you feel should be in the Hall of Fame.

Lastly, the membership renewal process has, once again, come and gone. As we continue to rapidly grow from year-to-year I would like to thank you for your involvement, input and membership in this extraordinary group. Your Varsity “O” Alumni Association continues to be Athletes Helping Athletes(SM). We have endowed three men’s scholarships to-date and are hopeful of announcing a fourth very soon. We provide post graduate scholarship and GPA-oriented awards each year to deserving OSU athletes and teams. None of this would be possible without your ongoing membership, involvement and participation in our various events. We will continue to strive to make this the best Letterwinner’s association in the country – period. We cherish your input and hope to hear how you think this organization can continue to improve. Good luck to the athletes and thank you to the members!

Best Regards and Go Bucks!!

Marc M. Froebel
President, OSU Varsity “O” Men’s Alumni Association