Ohio State is starting the college football season with enormous expectations—and free Chipotle.
The Buckeyes, whom analysts widely consider to have one of the best rosters in college football, reached a deal with the fast food chain to give every OSU athlete, including walk-ons on all sports teams, one free entrée a week. Each athlete will receive a customized card that will grant them their free meal throughout the course of their athletic season for 15 weeks. About 1,000 athletes will score free food from the deal.
Additionally, the company is establishing a scholarship at the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences through its Chipotle Cultivate Foundation. The announcement comes two weeks after a high-profile executive shakeup in which Chipotle lost CEO Brian Niccol to Starbucks. (Chipotle COO Scott Boatwright is currently serving in the interim CEO role.)
While the company’s roots are in Colorado, in a release, the company said OSU is among the top five universities in terms of Chipotle consumption, making the Buckeyes a natural candidate for such a deal.
“With so many Buckeyes routinely visiting our High Street restaurant on campus and our strong connection to the Columbus community with a Restaurant Support Center in the Arena District, we wanted to pursue a partnership that would increase access to real food for all student athletes at OSU,” said Chris Brandt, Chipotle’s CMO and chief brand officer. “Typically, only a few star athletes secure NIL deals and brand partnerships, but we wanted to reward all Buckeyes with real ingredients to support their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence.”
