The Ohio State marching band music begins the moment customers open their car doors. Life-size statues of the mascot Brutus Buckeye and legendary coach Woody Hayes anchor the front entrance. A sweeping 15-by-70-foot mural depicting Ohio State landmarks spans the side of the building.
For Buckeye fans, stepping into College Traditions is far more than a pit-stop for gear on the way to the game. It’s an immersive encounter spanning every category, chock full of scarlet-and-gray finds that have won generations of crowd support.
“I want our customers to feel like a kid at Disney World,” says owner Kelly Dawes, who has devoted nearly four decades to shaping what is now the largest locally owned Ohio State retailer in Columbus. “We’re not just a Buckeye store. We’re a Buckeye experience.”
Dawes seeks out a mix of staples and unexpected gifts for customers.
One wall of the store neatly displays a wide variety of OSU tees for the fans in scarlet, gray and white.
Photos: Robb McCormick
“For apparel, we differentiate with varying fabrics, embellishments in tackle twill, and we’re aware of what everyone else is doing so we can work with vendors for different designs, graphics and detail,” says Dawes.
Meanwhile, Dawes fields a turnstile of sales calls from “anyone with an Ohio State licensing agreement,” she says. The longstanding College Traditions outpost has earned a national reputation with vendors for its high-traffic sales.
Longevity and location are business drivers. “You can see the stadium from our front door and we’re just a block away,” Dawes says.
Everything OSU
College Traditions started in 1984 with Dawes’ business partner, Nancy Muldoon, who envisioned a main-drag Lane Avenue shop solely dedicated to Buckeye pride. Muldoon and her husband, Sam, purchased the former Stadium Garage next to Dawes’ father’s bar, The Varsity Club. They transformed the 1,900-square-foot auto shop into a fan-focused store that has evolved into a Buckeye mecca.
Dawes officially joined in 1988 after working in restaurant operations and retail management. In 1997, she proposed an expansion to modernize the shop and increase its inventory potential. The renovation added more than 2,300 square feet with a completely upgraded exterior.
“Once we did that facelift, that’s when we truly started to see growth,” Dawes relates.
The extra space sets the stage for what has become an expansive 2,000-plus-SKU selection that draws Buckeye fans year-round to a lively environment that’s a pre-game, after-party and everything in-between destination for locals, visitors, ticketholders and students. Beyond this core customer base is a constant stream of people attending camps or conferences.
What’s inside is a blend of nostalgia, team spirit and pure fun. Shelves are packed floor to ceiling with Ohio State merchandise.
There’s a section for everyone at College Traditions — one area has fan gear for toddlers and infants.
Apparel spans newborn sizes through 5X, with silhouettes that appeal to students, parents, alumni — and pets. In fact, items for the four-footed constituency represent a growing category. Home decor includes blankets, pillows, kitchen textiles, wall art and lawn and garden accessories.
Dawes will consider any touchdown trinket or Buckeye statement piece. “What I love so much about this place is how people come in here and they are true Buckeye fans,” Dawes says. “They want stuff for their house, and we have everything you can display inside and out.”
Also on the top of customers’ lists: headwear.
This top-selling category extends beyond ballcaps. The store offers visors, bucket hats, a Gatsby hat, cowboy hats, hard hats and a stuffed Buckeye nut hat that was popular 20 years ago and is gaining traction today, Dawes reports. The plush hat is by Mascot Factory and a unique find for fans.
Meanwhile, two walls and a shelving bay are devoted to Ohio State holiday ornaments from vendors including Old World Christmas, CDI, Neil Enterprises, Sutter’s Mill and Ox Bay.
A major draw is the store’s Nike account, which Dawes says is “the biggest thing going for us.” Nike is the on-field company for Ohio State, so College Traditions has access to stocking its field and coaches’ items, along with jerseys, coaches’ jackets, and team-issue T-shirts.
Competition exists just two doors down and Dawes embraces it. “Competition makes you better,” she says. She regularly checks competitors’ assortments, stays tuned to vendor distribution and collaborates on exclusive designs, graphics and embellishment techniques to ensure College Traditions stays distinct.
O-H, the sales
A typical weekday team includes Dawes, a manager, a full-time staff member and two or three part-time student associates. Football Saturdays are a different operation entirely. The store brings in about 20 employees, including longtime team members who return just for the season. Register count increases from three to as many as eight, with mobile checkout stations set up outdoors for passing fans.
Game-day prep starts days in advance. Dawes evaluates weather forecasts, reviews warehouse inventory and uses rolling carts to pre-load merchandise for rapid restocking. A tent outside helps capture impulse buys — gloves, ponchos, seat cushions or sunglasses for fans heading to the stadium.
“There’s an art to what we do,” she says. “If there’s a line, we move people quickly.”
Football is the store’s biggest revenue driver, followed by the holidays, graduation season, Parents Weekend and summer orientations. The team adapts quickly, adding sport-specific shirts as camp seasons shift the customer base.
Dawes’ merchandising hallmark is her reliance on face-outs.
“I want people to immediately see the product,” she says. The store’s “THE T-Shirt Shop,” a nod to Ohio State’s identity as The Ohio State University, carries 35 to 40 folded designs displayed with precision. Customers regularly comment on the store’s tidiness and layout, which Dawes views as essential to the experience.
A loyal community
From giving to staffing to serving customers, every aspect of College Traditions is personal.
The retailer supports the Stefanie Spielman Breast Cancer Foundation, an effort inspired by former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman’s late wife. The store keeps donation boxes up year-round and hosts a register campaign every October.
Meanwhile, College Traditions continues as a family tradition. Dawes’ sister handles warehouse operations, and her three children grew up working the registers from the time they were tall enough to reach them.
Today, they still show up for major events, holiday surges and championship “hot market” periods when the store can run 70-hour weeks.
“It’s so much deeper than Ohio State clothing,” she says. “Customers tell us about their Buckeye basements and we walk out to look at their decorated cars. This is what they love and we get to be a part of it.”
She credits her partner, Muldoon — now 86 and still involved — with the idea that started everything. “This was her dream,” Dawes says. “I thank Nancy. I love my job. This is where I want to be.”
