COLUMBUS – There is no way to predict what the score will be at halftime of the annual rivalry football between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines but at the midpoint of the blood-donation battle between the two universities, the Maize and Blue is redder than the Scarlet and Gray.
According to the most recent leaderboard posted by Versiti, which is coordinating the effort on the OSU campus, 1,067 pints of blood have been credited to the Michigan drive while Ohio State’s effort has only collected 752. Michigan won the good-natured contest last year.
The goal for each school is 2,000 pints by the final day of the competition on Nov. 27 so the company and the Buckeye Blood Club are encouraging students and the community to turn out for a “midway point” Sunday to try to regain the lead.
Organizers are hoping for 100 donations during the Halftime Blood Battle blood drive is Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Blackwell Conference Center, 2110 Tuttle Park Place, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pizza and refreshments will also be available for donors along with free parking in the St. John Arena lot and the North French Field House lots.
There will be more than two dozen Blood Battle drives around the OSU campus that are open to the public during the rest of November.
This is the 38th year for the “blood battle” between the two athletic rivals.