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Photo by Danny Brodson (right) next to Jane Flynn Oldenburg wearing the T-shirt Tracy Hedrick mentions in the story. Courtesy of Danny Brodson
Buckeye fanatic Danny Brodson, in his fourth year in business, doesn’t want to admit how much of his wardrobe comes from Ohio State’s athletic offerings.
From trapper hats to Nike windbreakers, Brodson’s estimated gifts make up 60 percent of his entire wardrobe and 95 percent of the T-shirts he wears.
Brodson still remembers his first football game. That was just the beginning of his time in Ohio State fandom — a journey that started with Brodson checking Ohio State’s social media accounts for giveaways for the week and resulted in several TV cameras and the love of free Buckeye merchandise.
“I started following Instagram accounts like Block O and all the sports I wanted to go to,” Brodson said. “I used to go to these games, and it was a great time that kept me going.”
Those are the highlights of senior associate athletic director and chief marketing officer Tracy Hedrick Brodson’s four years at Ohio State. In fact, when people ask what Hedrick does for a living, she likes to say that it’s part of her job to acquire memory.
Hedrick attended Otterbein University long before becoming chief marketing officer. While working at Otterbein’s student radio station, studying speech communication and broadcasting, she and her friends began putting on shows for local bands.
It was her introduction to “work of note,” and since her time at Otterbein, Hedrick has worked at Live Nation and, prior to her current role, was most recently senior director of sales and promotions at Ohio State Athletics.
“For a freshman at Ohio State to come to their first football game and sit with Block O or the student body, that’s a first, and it’s amazing to be part of a group of people who host events that have such an impact on people. He will,” Hedrick said.
From promoting sports activities on social media to partnering with Coca-Cola and Nike, Hedrick and her team are responsible for making every in-game experience memorable with special gifts and increasing attendance at each event.
“With content, there’s so much more, it’s how to repurpose it, and make sure everyone is seeing content,” Hedrick said. You have different groups of people who are experiencing the brand. You have students, alumni, and the Buckeye Nation as a whole. It has evolved with the times by the very popular Tik Tok. [Instagram] Reels, so everything is constantly evolving, especially with technology and social media.
When it comes to gifts, Hedrick chooses students in the marketing department to take the most popular item on campus. One of Hedrick’s favorite gifts is a T-shirt with Oldenburg’s picture of women’s volleyball head coach Jane Flynn after Oldenburg’s 50th career win. After marking that milestone on October 1, 2022 at Indiana, Oldenburg is seen next to a Formula 1 car bearing the number “50”.
The t-shirt was shown to Oldenburg the week before for the Oct. 15, 2022, giveaway at Rutgers, and Oldenburg said he was surprised by the reveal.
“What’s going on?” “I remember standing there in shock,” Oldenburg said. Why is my face on this shirt, with a race car on it? I’m so confused, and everyone dies laughing and having a good time with it. I don’t know if I have an answer.”
The team liked the jersey, wearing it in warmups before the Rutgers game last fall and before the April 8 game against Louisville in a spring exhibition. In addition, Oldenburg said her daughter and Buckeye fans often dress the same way for the former USA National Team member and USA Volleyball Girls’ Youth National Team coach.
Brodsen said he got a picture of him wearing the bad shirt after the game with Oldenburg.
“I love JFO. Jane Flynn Oldenburg is one of my idols. She’s so talented,” Broadson said. ‘
Brodson proudly assumed the title of “flagship” in university circles. When he started attending hockey games after fall break his freshman year, Brodson was hooked on going to games on Friday and Saturday nights. That’s where he got his Ohio flag script, which appears on TV at events from football to women’s volleyball.
“It’s a great way to stand out in the crowd and ESPN loves to pick it up and all the photographers love it,” Brodson said. “I go to all the sporting events, I bring my same script to different countries and different places to take pictures with the Ohio flag, so it’s a great time thanks to Ohio State athletics and the free flag they gave me,” he said.
As Brodson is set to graduate in May, he has too many stories to count. In Hedrick’s work, she is often credited with Brodson’s sensibilities — a part of the job she describes as “incredibly rewarding.”
“I talk to people who have been to concerts or sporting events, and they hear where I work, and they tell me about their experiences,” Hedrick said. “That’s cool. It’s unsolicited and I love it. I love hearing about people’s experiences and I may have been there many times, but I don’t know them. I could be standing on a completely different side of the arena or the stadium, but it’s making those connections. “
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