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POLAND -- For well over a century, Ohio State and Michigan have been a part of one of the fiercest and most consequential rivalries in college football history with The Game.
On Sunday and Monday, the Youngstown area served as a neutral ground of sorts for a new iteration of the historic rivalry, as more than 40 legends from both programs participated in the first-ever Big Game Rivalry Shootout charity golf outing to raise money for two charities that benefit former OSU and UM athletes.
"It's been about five years in various ideas and eight months of extreme planning," said Ed Muransky, a former Cardinal Mooney and Michigan offensive tackle and owner of The Lake Club. "You think Ohio State and Michigan, but we are one recruiting visit away from being at the other school. So you have a lot of these guys, although they played for another school, know each other, were in all-star games together or played in the pros with or against each other, so it's very gratifying to come together."
The outing began Sunday evening with a draft party, where each former player was assigned to one of the 30 foursomes, then dinner and a silent auction of various sports memorabilia and exclusive experiences.
After breakfast and a meet and greet on Monday morning, the program legends and foursomes were off on the course for a shotgun start, as Team Scarlet and Gray ended up beating out Team Maize and Blue for the honor to hoist the Big Game Rivalry Shootout trophy.
"It's fun because Ohio State wouldn't be Ohio State without Michigan and Michigan wouldn't be Michigan without Ohio State," said Lt. Gov. and former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. "The best thing is, its two great schools getting together, thinking about their own, trying to make a difference. There's nothing like the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. So Ed doing this is special, and with all these people showing up, nowhere else in the country do you see something like this."
The funds raised by the event will be split evenly to go towards supporting Beyond the Goal Line and F.A.M., or Football Alumni of Michigan. Both organizations provide financial and educational assistance, health and wellness support and live-after-football resources to former athletes from each program. The final tally of money raised was not available by print deadline.
"There's two great causes, Beyond the Goal Line from an Ohio State standpoint, and [Football Alumni of Michigan] on the Michigan side that are there to help our brothers and sisters that have graduated from Michigan and played sports that need some help," Muransky said. "There's a lot of mental illness, a lot of physical ailments, and some people don't have insurance or the wherewithal to figure it out. So, to be able to give back to that and bring everyone together, it's a win-win situation."
Buckeye and Wolverine legends from just about every generation over the last 50 years made their way to the Youngstown area to be a part of the festivities.
For Ohio State, the roster included Heisman Trophy winners like Archie Griffin and Troy Smith, as well as northeast Ohio natives like Mike Doss, Beanie Wells and Cardale Jones.
"It's great to have a golf outing like this," Griffin said. "Thank goodness we're not out here trying to hit each other on a football field, or we'd get a lot of people hurt. But doing it in golf is a lot of fun. I think for a lot of us, after the game's been over for us, we started playing the game of golf. And it's just one good way to stay together and talk, have fun and just have a great time. I'm loving this."
Meanwhile, Michigan's roster consisted of Super Bowl champions like Amani Toomer, Brian Griese and Brandon Graham, former Cleveland Brown Donovan Peoples-Jones and outgoing Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, among others.
"It's always cool to see them outside of their helmet, not when they're trying to take your head off," Smith said with a grin. "I believe we have the greatest rivalry in college football. Just the nostalgic portion of being around everybody, I'm a fan of some of these guys, and I shouldn't be at times. So when you see them in real life and you get a chance to run shoulders and elbows with them, it's pretty cool."
Former players with local ties could also be found on both rosters, including Muransky, Tressel, Cardinal Mooney alum and former Youngstown State coach Bo Pelini (OSU), Warren native and Warren G. Harding alum Mario Manningham (UM), Austintown Fitch alum Mike Trgovac and current YSU football staff member Mike Tomczak (OSU).
"It's just jokes forever. The camaraderie that the older guys have before us, it's just something that's needed," Manningham said. "It's a friendly competition. Even out here, it's friendly competition. ... I had to represent the best school in the nation, my school, Michigan. It means a lot for them to have me out here."
Going forward, Muransky said they're hoping to make the Big Game Shootout an annual occurrence.
Next year's outing has already been scheduled for June 6-7, 2027 at The Lake Club. The earlier date will allow head coaches Ryan Day and Kyle Whittingham, current players from both schools and current NFL pros to be a part of the event.
"They've already voiced their want to be a part of this," Muransky said. "They understood why we had to do this in August [this year]. But from my standpoint, it's year one. Our goal is to raise some money today and make sure everyone goes home and tells everybody what a good time they had."