Image
News and Announcements
Ohio University wins the GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge and GameDay Basketball Challenge
This story was updated on May 21 to include information on the Basktball Gameday competition.
Ohio University continues to set the standard for sustainability in collegiate athletics, earning national recognition in both football and basketball through the Campus Race to Zero Waste GameDay competitions.
2025 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge
Ohio University once again participated in the 2025 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge, being named the winner in the Stadium and Tailgating Diversion. This nationwide competition among colleges and universities aims to reduce and recycle the waste generated at home football games.
"The Office of Sustainability appreciates all of Campus Recycling and Zero Waste's efforts to achieve the University's Sustainability and Climate Action Plan waste management goals,” Sam Crowl, OHIO’s director of Sustainability, said. “Our collaborations with OHIO Athletics and the Voinovich School to involve students at events not only helps to educate the campus and community on sustainability issues but also results in important environmental victories such as diverting waste from the landfill. Hats off to our recycling staff, they are once again champions."
Campus participants of the Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge implement efforts to reduce the waste footprint of their home games and tailgating events through strategies including reduction of single-use plastics use, food waste recovery, use of reusable products, recycling, and more. To participate in the Challenge, campus participants choose one home football game to track and report on their recycling, food organics, and trash collected during the game.
For OHIO’s game against Miami, 700lbs of recycling was diverted and 135lbs of compost was diverted, preventing harmful materials like plastics and food waste from contaminating landfills, soil and waterways, helping to keep campus cleaner and safer for the community. In total, OHIO had a 70% diversion rate for the game.
“College athletics and their operational teams are uniquely positioned to engage and influence their fan base about environmental stewardship. Most GameDay Football Challenge schools have stadiums that have been pushing green initiatives for 10 or more years. Our GameDay winners advance the supply chain in their local and regional circular economies and now have a fan base that expects and wants green practices at every home GameDay. That’s progress,” said Stacy Wheeler, RecycleMania Inc. president.
Campus Race to Zero Waste GameDay Basketball Competition
In addition to its football success, Ohio University also earned top honors in the Campus Race to Zero Waste (CR2ZW) GameDay Basketball competition for its sustainability efforts during the Bobcats’ March 6 matchup against Miami University in the Convocation Center. The nationwide competition challenges universities to achieve the highest diversion rate at a basketball game through recycling, composting and waste reduction efforts.
During the game, OHIO achieved a 94.01% diversion rate, collecting 1,040 pounds of recycling and 43 pounds of compost while generating just 69 pounds of trash.
"ESPN has the attendance of the game listed as 10,740, so every person at the game, especially the ones who threw their waste in the correct bins, helped us tremendously to achieve this high diversion rate," said Dalton Niese, Recycling and Zero Waste Coordinator. "It means a lot to be able to achieve these competition wins, as we think it helps to push the OHIO brand as one that's very environmentally conscience and sustainability driven."
Ten student workers and four volunteers also helped the team clean up after the game, including sorting waste, to make this recognition achievable.
To learn more about Ohio University waste minimization efforts at: Office of Sustainability | Ohio University.
For more information on the Campus Race to Zero Waste, visit: https://campusracetozerowaste.org/participate/gameday-recycling-challenge/
About the Campus Race to Zero Waste
Campus Race to Zero Waste, formerly known as RecycleMania, is the nation’s premier waste reduction and recycling competition among colleges and universities, managed and governed by RecycleMania, Inc. Using equitable, just, and friendly competition, the Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge, a program of the Campus Race to Zero Waste, provides tools and opportunities that inspire, empower, and mobilize colleges and universities to benchmark and improve efforts to reduce and eliminate waste at home football games. Campus Race to Zero Waste has been helping campuses minimize waste and improve their recycling efforts since its launch in 2001. Learn more at www.CampusRacetoZeroWaste.org.
Published
February 9, 2026