Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Buckeyes players set for Big Ten Football Media Days on July 29 in Chicago

Big Ten Football Media Days, the annual preseason centerpiece in Chicago that serves as both a weekly news hook and a ceremonial start to fall camp, is set to run for three days, July 28-30. The event returns to the Hilton Chicago and will be covered live by the Big Ten Network. Within that schedule, Ohio State’s head coach, Ryan Day, and the group of Buckeyes student-athletes representing the program will appear on Wednesday, July 29, according to coverage of the podium order and Ohio State’s official release on its representatives.

For the conference, the format is consistent: each of the 18 Big Ten institutions brings its head coach and three student-athletes to the podium during the three days. Big Ten announced the full list of student-athletes scheduled to attend, framing the event as a continued stage for the league’s top returning standouts and for coaches leading their programs into the next season.

Ohio State’s media day participation is slotted for day two on July 29, with Day appearing third in the day’s order after Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald and Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck. That means Ohio State is positioned in the middle of the conference’s Wednesday lineup, rather than at the opening or closing slot for the day, as the individual breakout interviews follow the main podium appearances.

The Buckeyes will be represented by three student-athletes selected to accompany Day. Ohio State’s athletics department named quarterback Julian Sayin, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, and safety Jaylen McClain as the players who will participate on the Ohio State media day slate. Their presence reflects the program’s standard media-days approach, pairing a head coach with a quarterback, a primary perimeter target, and a defensive back.

While media days can sometimes feel like a routine, the timing matters because it lands just before most teams open fall camp. For coaches and players, it is the first sustained forum of the season to address preparation themes, discuss what returning roles and offseason work are intended to accomplish, and preview the team’s goals through the summer-to-fall transition.

The Big Ten football schedule stakes are always part of the backdrop. The league season ultimately culminates in the Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game in Indianapolis on December 5, and media days are the first public step in the chain of offseason milestones that leads toward that title game.

What to watch next is the order-based rhythm of the three-day conference calendar: each school’s podium session and subsequent breakout interviews will generate the first full round of coach-and-player storylines across the league. For Ohio State, July 29 will be the focal point, with Day and the three named student-athletes forming the core of the Buckeyes’ initial public message for the 2026 season.