Jerry Emig is in his 33rd year in the sports information/athletic communications profession, his 23rd year at Ohio State and his 15th as the core media relations contact for the Ohio State football program.
A tremendous mentor and leader for the Buckeyes, Emig will officially retire from OSU at the end of February 2026. Since taking over football communications in 2011, Emig led communications for two national championships (2014, 2024), five Big Ten Championships and seven College Football Playoff berths.
His work experience includes positions with three universities (Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Temple University and Ohio State), a local public relations firm and two state commissions (the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and the Ohio Board of Regents).
Emig began his SID career at Southern Illinois-Carbondale for three years after his 1983 graduation from Murray State University and two years as a graduate assistant at Ohio State while pursuing his master’s degree. He then spent six years at Temple University (1989-95) before returning to Ohio State in 1995 for a four-and-a-half year stint.
Emig then worked for the public relations firm and two state organizations for seven years and returned to Ohio State in 2007.
At OSU, Emig took over SID responsibilities for the football program in 2011 and worked the 400th football game of his career at the 2025 Big Ten Championship. Emig has fostered the Ohio State football beat into one of the largest in the country, issuing 300-400 credentials per football game (with reaches to 500 for some of the most prominent games). The Ohio State football sports information staff received a Super 11 Award from the Football Writers Association of America in 2017 for SID excellence.
In 2023, Emig earned OSU’s Higher Purpose' Award, the most prestigious award offered by the Ohio State athletics department and selected by the OSU Athletics senior staff.
Among his career highlights: media relations responsibilities for Ohio State’s run to the first College Football Playoff national championship in 2014, a repeat run and CFP championship in 2025, 19 total CFP and/or bowl games, 16 Ohio State vs. Michigan football games, seven Big Ten football championship games, five Rose Bowls (all Ohio State wins!), five Sugar Bowls, two BCS national championship games, four Fiesta Bowls and one Orange Bowl. He has also worked dozens of NCAA and conference tournament games, travelled with basketball teams to Japan and South Africa and attended hundreds of collegiate sporting events.