Ohio State Brutus statue to be replaced in time for Michigan Week
Nov 26, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio State business will have its storefront icon on full display for Michigan Week after a lend from a helping hand.
Kroger announced it is loaning its Brutus statue to the College Traditions bookstore after a person severely damaged the statue, which has been a staple attraction since 2008.
Why Columbus is handing out home security cameras
According to Columbus police, the Brutus statue on West Lane Avenue was vandalized at around 3:15 a.m. Sunday. The suspect recorded himself destroying the fiberglass statue, dragging it in the middle of the street, kicking it and throwing it against the neighboring Woody Hayes statue.
The vandalism comes during Michigan Week, the team’s last home game and regular season game of the 2024 campaign.
The Brutus the Buckeye statue that was vandalized sometime overnight on Nov. 23 at College Traditions on West Lane Avenue in Columbus near the Ohio State University campus. (COLLEGE TRADITIONS)The shoes of the Brutus the Buckeye statue that was vandalized sometime overnight on Nov. 23 at College Traditions on West Lane Avenue in Columbus near the Ohio State University campus. (COLLEGE TRADITIONS)Kroger is loaning its Brutus statue to College Traditions for Michigan Week (Courtesy/Kroger)Brutus Buckeye was knocked over in front of College Traditions, Lane Avenue, by a skidding car on January 23, 2022.Brutus Buckeye took his familiar spot outside of College Traditions, Lane Avenue on April 7, 2022, after restoration by Eclipse Corp, Gahanna.
The shop acquired Brutus in 2008 as part of Brutus on Parade, an initiative by the university to raise money for the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library — known now as the Thompson Library. It was damaged in January 2022 after it was struck struck by a skidding car.
Kroger will deliver the replacement statue Tuesday at 1 p.m.