History of Ohio State University
The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1862 under the name of Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The school was originally situated within a farming community located on the northern edge of Columbus, and was intended to matriculate students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 18, 1873. In 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year. In 1900, in light of its expanded focus, the college permanently changed its name to the now-familiar "The Ohio State University". Ohio State began accepting graduate students in the 1880s, with the university awarding its first master's and doctoral degrees in 1886 and 1890 respectively. 1891 saw the founding of Ohio State's law school. Presently, the university has reached the ranking of becoming a "Public Ivy", as well as receiving high rankings and awards from many institutions, including "U.S. News", Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Ohio State University
Ohio State is one of six universities (the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, Stanford University, UCLA, and the University of California at Berkeley being the others) to have won national championships in all three major men's sports (baseball, men's basketball, and football). Ohio State is also one of only two universities to appear in the national championship games in both football and men's basketball in the same calendar year (the other university is the University of Florida.) Ohio State has also won national championships in wrestling, men's volleyball, men's swimming & diving, men's outdoor track & field, men's golf, men's gymnastics, men's fencing, women's rowing, co-ed fencing, and multiple synchronized swimming championships. The Ohio State equestrian team has won eight Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships. Since the inception of the Athletic Director's Cup, Ohio State has finished in the top 25 each year, including top 6 finishes in three of the last five years. During the 2005–2006 school year Ohio State became the first Big Ten team to win conference championships in Football, Men's Basketball, and Women's Basketball. Ohio State repeated the feat during the 2006–2007 school year, winning solo championships in all three sports. In 2007, Sports Illustrated nicknamed Ohio State's athletic program as being "The Program" due to the unsurpassed facilities, an unparalleled number of men's and women's sports teams, their success, and the financial support of an impressive fan base.