Ranking the 10 most iconic college football traditions
By Phil Poling
No. 5: Ohio State, Dotting the I
Even if you’re not a fan of football, you’re likely familiar with the Ohio State Marching Band performing Script Ohio. It’s a simple four-letter word, all the letters connecting rather easily, but it’s become a staple of Buckeye games. Here’s how it happens.
“The band first forms a triple-Block O formation, then slowly unwinds to form the famous letters while playing Robert Planquette’s ‘Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse.’ The drum major leads the outside O into a peel-off movement around the curves of the script, with every musician in continual motion.”
Dotting the “i” is an honor typically reserved for fourth- or fifth-year sousaphone players, but exceptions have been made for big Buckeye influencers, including Bob Hope (1978), Woody Hayes (1983), golfer Jack Nicklaus (2006), and retiring Marching Band director Jon R. Woods (2011).
The dotting didn’t always include a bow to the crowd. It was born out of the “dotter” arriving three or four measures too early and improvising. It’s since become just another part of the show.