Why does Ohio State have stickers on football helmets? Explaining Buckeyes tradition

Monday night's College Football Playoff championship game features an all-time uniform matchup between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State.

The Irish are expected to rock their home blue jersey and gold pants combination as the home team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are going with their white road uniforms with gray sleeves, a first for Ohio State since its CFP 2022 semifinal matchup against Georgia.

Both team's uniforms also one feature two of the more iconic, clean and classic helmets there are in college football, with Ohio State's classic silver sticker-adorned helmets clashing with Notre Dame's iconic golden lids.

Those stickers are markers of achievement throughout the season for Ohio State players, and by the end of the year, many players' helmets are plastered with buckeye leaves.

Here's what you need to know about the stickers on Ohio State's helmets heading into Monday's CFP championship game:

REQUIRED READING: Ohio State, Notre Dame play in CFP national title game. College Football Fix discusses

What is on the sticker on Ohio State's helmets?

As noted by The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State's helmets include stickers that have a buckeye leaf on them. Buckeye leaves are grown on buckeyes trees, which is the official tree of the state of Ohio.

Why do Ohio State players have stickers on helmets? History explained

You guessed it: Tradition.

It's a tradition within the Buckeyes program that dates back to the 1967 season, and one that was created by Ohio State trainer Ernie Biggs. In a 2022 feature article, ESPN's Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg noted the first Buckeye to receive a sticker was Jim Nein. The former Buckeye was rewarded with a sticker after he returned a interception for a 45-yard touchdown in Ohio State's 30-0 blowout win over Oregon.

There also seems to be motivational component to these stickers for players, perhaps a thought of Biggs when he started the tradition as a whole.

"You see a guy with a ton of stickers on his helmet, and you know he’s a dude," Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka told ESPN in 2022. "The more stickers you have on your helmet, the more respected you are, and the more feared you are by an opponent."

How big are the stickers on Ohio State's helmets?

As noted by ESPN, each sticker is 1.25 inches. One helmet, which has 181.3 square inches of free space per Riddell, can fit up to 47 stickers on each side.

If a helmet becomes full in a season, there becomes a running tally for notation purposes.

The first time a Buckeye player receives a sticker, a member of Ohio State's equipment team places the sticker at the bottom of the helmet, left of the middle stripe. From there additional stickers are added in a pyramid formation, with importance on the stems of the leaf pointed down and slanted slightly forward to match the shape of the helmet.

Do any other college football programs have decal stickers on their helmet?

While Ohio State is known for its helmet stickers, the Buckeyes aren't the only team in college football that uses a helmet decal reward system.

In fact, there are 13 total Division I FBS programs that use a helmet decal reward system per ESPN.

How does an Ohio State player get a sticker his helmet?

In short, it depends on the current Buckeyes coach.

But generally speaking, Ohio State players can earn a sticker(s) for reaching an individual achievement(s) or if the Buckeyes themselves reach a unit or team achievement. This is different than how "That Team Up North" does their helmet decal reward system, which is more team-based.

"They are stickers and each one means the player did something really good to help the Buckeyes win!" former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said on X (formerly Twitter) in 2019 in a reply to a Buckeyes fan.

But since Ryan Day took over for Meyer in 2018, the way a player receives a sticker is slightly different. As noted in the aforementioned ESPN piece, players receive one sticker for each touchdown they account for. Quarterbacks earn a sticker if they meet a certain completion percentage that is agreed upon going into a game.

There are also ways players can receive stickers from a team success standpoint, but only if Ohio State meets certain benchmarks. Those benchmarks and sticker equivalence are as followed:

• One sticker for each win

• Two stickers for each Big Ten win

• Three stickers for each win over Michigan in "The Game"

Do Ohio State players keep stickers on helmet each season?

No. As noted in that Columbus Dispatch piece, each member of the Buckeyes roster, regardless of their year of eligibility, receive a new helmet each season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio State helmet stickers, explained: What is on Buckeyes sticker