Dayton, OH
Buckeye pride has been lacking a bit this football season, but help is on the way in the form of coach Urban Meyer.
That's good news for state retailers as well as restaurant and sports bar owners in Ohio as the football program looks to get back to its winning ways and ramp up enthusiasm under its new coach.
Meyer won a pair of national titles at Florida before taking a season off to spend more time with his family. Family time is over for Meyer and Ohio businesses hope its back to winning time for the Buckeyes.
According to a report by the Dayton Business Journal, retailers are expecting to see a jump is sales of Ohio State gear after a slow fall.
"I think it will improve right away," Kevin Kuntz, manager of the Dayton Mall Cardboard Heroes store told the Dayton Business Journal.
The story reported that Kuntz already has Meyer merchandise ordered and that he expects sales to pick up.
Sarah Dobson, manager of the Dayton Mall Hibbett Sports, said in the report that she expects sales of Buckeyes merchandise to pick up by this weekend as people look for holiday gifts.
"The only time we sell it now is when it's on sale," Dobson said.
The sale of OSU merchandise represents about 40 percent of total sales at both Cardboard Heroes and Hibbett Sports, local store managers said in the report.
Meyer replaces interim coach Luke Fickell as head of the Buckeyes football program.
Ric Moody, a Broker/Auctioneer for Dayton Commercial Realty LLC who heads up fundraising for Ohio State in the Greater Dayton area, told the DBJ that Meyer's ties to the state and the school are a big plus.
"Of all the available coaches, including the ones that currently are coaching somewhere else, this is the best fit for the program," said Moody, who sits on several committees for the school including the Presidents Club Executive Committee.
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