COLUMBUS, Ohio — The music could begin quietly.
A familiar Dolly Parton melody could drift through Ohio Stadium before kickoff, thousands of phones could rise above the heads of Buckeye fans, and for a few minutes, the noise that normally defines a Saturday inside the Horseshoe could give way to something much more personal: remembrance.
That is the possibility hanging over Ohio State as the Buckeyes prepare for another season at Ohio Stadium, just days after Parton died at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
Parton’s death has triggered tributes across the country and an especially strong response in Ohio, where her philanthropic work through the Imagination Library touched the lives of children and families across the state. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered American and Ohio flags at public buildings and grounds to be flown at half-staff through Sept. 1 in honor of Parton’s life and legacy.
For Ohio State, the timing creates an opportunity for something larger than a traditional pregame ceremony.
The Buckeyes have already announced an extensive slate of 2026 home-game themes, ranging from the celebration of former coach Jim Tressel’s induction into the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor to Alumni Band & Spirit Day, a Helmet Stripe Game, Hall of Fame Weekend, Homecoming, Military Appreciation and the annual rivalry meeting with Michigan.
The university’s published game-theme announcement does not currently list a Dolly Parton tribute, meaning any reports of a formal Parton ceremony should be treated cautiously until Ohio State makes such an announcement.
But the idea of honoring Parton at the Horseshoe carries unusual weight.
Parton’s connection to Ohio extends beyond music. Through the Imagination Library, the literacy initiative she founded in 1995, children in Ohio have received millions of free books. Her broader program has distributed more than 300 million books worldwide, making her philanthropic legacy every bit as significant as her recording career.
That matters because Ohio Stadium has never been merely a football venue.
It is one of college football’s great stages, a place where the boundaries between athletics, university tradition and the broader Ohio community frequently disappear.
On a typical game day, the Horseshoe is defined by marching-band precision, the roar of more than 100,000 fans, the pregame entrance and the relentless anticipation surrounding Ohio State football. But the stadium has also become a venue for recognizing people whose influence reaches far beyond the field.
A tribute to Parton would fit naturally into that tradition.
And if Ohio State ultimately chooses to incorporate one of her songs into the pregame or halftime experience, the emotional response could be unlike anything produced by a standard game-day promotion.
Imagine the stadium lights dimming.
Then the opening notes.
Then thousands of Buckeye fans holding their phones in the air.
In an era when college football has become increasingly driven by television windows, transfer-portal movement, NIL valuations and playoff positioning, a moment like that would offer something the sport occasionally forgets it possesses: the ability to bring an enormous audience together for reasons that have nothing to do with winning or losing.
Parton’s death has already produced that kind of response elsewhere.
The Grand Ole Opry announced that its Saturday night show would be dedicated to her life and legacy, while artists around the country have incorporated her music into performances honoring her.
Ohio’s response has been similarly significant.
DeWine’s decision to lower flags was not simply a recognition of a famous entertainer. It reflected Parton’s unusual relationship with the state through her children’s literacy initiative and the millions of books delivered to Ohio children.
For Ohio State, that connection provides a natural bridge between the football program and the community it represents.
The timing also adds another layer.
The Buckeyes are entering a season with enormous expectations. Ohio State’s 2026 home opener against Ball State is scheduled for Sept. 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET, with the program already planning to honor Tressel by placing him in the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor. The opener also includes Alumni Band & Spirit Day and an unusual early-season Senior Day recognition.
The football program is therefore already building the season around moments that extend beyond the scoreboard.
A Parton tribute would add another.
On the field, Ohio State enters the season with a roster constructed for another run at the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes’ official game-center listing identifies quarterback Julian Sayin, running back Bo Jackson and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith among the team’s statistical leaders entering the season, with 3,610 passing yards for Sayin, 1,090 rushing yards for Jackson and 1,243 receiving yards for Smith listed as their respective previous totals.
Those numbers illustrate the football reality surrounding the ceremony.
Ohio State’s primary objective remains football.
The Buckeyes are not entering the season simply to create memorable Saturdays. They are entering it to compete for championships in a Big Ten that has become one of the deepest conferences in the sport.
The schedule offers little margin for complacency.
After Ball State, Ohio State travels to Texas before returning home to face Kent State and Illinois. The Buckeyes later travel to Indiana and USC before hosting Oregon on Nov. 7 and Michigan on Nov. 28.
Those games will determine the season’s real narrative.
But college football has always understood that the most enduring memories aren’t necessarily touchdowns.
Sometimes they are moments.
The playing of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at West Virginia. The singing of “Sweet Caroline” in Fenway Park. The lighting of stadiums during memorials. The spontaneous celebrations that turn thousands of strangers into one crowd.
Parton’s music possesses that same communal quality.
Songs such as “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You” have crossed generations and genres, becoming part of the cultural fabric well beyond country music. Reuters reported that Parton sold more than 100 million records during a career spanning nearly six decades and won 11 Grammy Awards.
Her appeal was also rooted in something more difficult to quantify: accessibility.
Parton could fill arenas and still feel familiar. She became one of the most recognizable figures in American entertainment while maintaining a public identity built around humor, generosity and humility.
That is precisely why a tribute at Ohio Stadium could resonate.
For Ohio State fans, it would not simply be about a famous singer.
It would be about an Ohio connection.
It would be about children receiving books.
It would be about a state recognizing someone whose influence extended far beyond the stage.
And it would be about the Buckeye community stopping for a moment before the football begins.
There is also something fitting about the possibility of thousands of fans using cellphone lights rather than a massive production.
Parton’s legacy was built on connecting with people one at a time.
One song.
One book.
One family.
One act of generosity.
A stadium full of lights would reverse that equation, turning millions of individual gestures into one collective image.
The Buckeyes have spent decades mastering the art of spectacle. The marching band, the scarlet-and-gray uniforms, the team entrance and the roar of the Horseshoe are among college football’s most recognizable traditions.
But the most powerful tribute may require none of that.
It may simply require the lights to go down.
The music to begin.
And Ohio State’s enormous football community to remember.
For now, Ohio State’s officially announced 2026 home-game themes do not include a Dolly Parton tribute, so the specifics of any such ceremony remain unconfirmed.
But after Parton’s death, the question is no longer whether Ohio will remember her.
It already has.
The question is whether, on one of the biggest stages in American college football, Buckeye Nation will get the opportunity to do it together.
If that moment comes, the scoreboard can wait.
For a few minutes, the Horseshoe could belong to Dolly.