Who is Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day’s wife? All about Nina Day

Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day has found the ultimate teammate in his wife, Nina Day.

After two seasons as defensive coordinator, Ryan was named head coach at Ohio State University in 2019; Nina has since been baptized “First Lady of Ohio State Football” by their Columbus community.

“I don’t think any other place compares to (Ohio State). This place is very, very special. We knew it the minute we got here,” she shared WSYX ABC 6 in August 2019.

Ryan and Nina have known each other since they were kids growing up in New Hampshire — they even played on the same T-ball team, according to an August 2024 interview with WBNS 10TV. Fast forward, the couple got married in June 2005 and they have been welcoming ever since three children: Ryan Jr., Grace and Ourania.

The Day family moved more than 10 times for Ryan’s coaching career before landing in Ohio. Nina has supported her husband through every win and every loss — and on Jan. 10, she’ll be booing from the stands when the Buckeyes face the Texas Longhorns in the semifinals of the 2024-25 College Football Playoffs in Dallas.

So who is Ryan Day’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Nina Day and her relationship with Ohio State University’s football coach.

She is from New Hampshire

Nina (whose full first name is Christina) grew up in Manchester, NH, about a “mile and a half away” from Ryan.

As kids, they played T-ball together in 1985, and looking back, Nina says her husband had a coaching mentality even then.

“He yelled at me for picking dandelions and told me to focus. He’s always been super competitive,” she told WBNS 10TV in August 2024.

The couple attended the same schools growing up, including college at the University of New Hampshire. Ryan played football at UNH and Nina described their relationship as “off and on” during that time.

She and Ryan married in 2005

After college, Ryan and Nina rekindled their romance and married in June 2005.

“There was a comfort level with him. We’re still best friends. I think that’s the best way a marriage can be,” she said while sharing the couple’s love story with WBNS 10TV in August 2024.

She and Ryan share three children

Ryan and Nina have three children: Ryan Jr. (who goes by RJ), Grace and Ourania (who goes by Nia).

“He’s an incredible father,” Nina told WSYX ABC 6 in August 2019. “He’s very, very hands-on with the kids.”

RJ, a Columbus high school sophomore, is following in his father’s footsteps as a quarterback — and Nina couldn’t be more proud.

“(Ryan and RJ) are best friends. They’re both football junkies and they bond over it,” she told WBNS 10TV in August 2024. “I see RJ coaching one day just like his dad.”

She supports Ryan’s college football coaching career

From the beginning, Nina has cheered on Ryan’s football coaching dreams.

She is anything but unfamiliar with college sports: Her father, Stan Spirouwas the men’s basketball head coach at Southern New Hampshire University for 33 seasons. She grew up using Penmen with her mother, Patricia, her twin sister, Kelly, and her brother, Chuck.

“If I didn’t have my dad, I’m not sure we’d be where we are. He’s given so much insight,” she told WBNS 10TV in August 2024. “When Ryan started working out, he encouraged us really going for it.”

Nina continued: “In 15 years we moved 11 times. In that time we had three children. It was a lot. It was very unstable for a long time.”

The family has now been in Ohio for eight years, and while Ryan has garnered many awards throughout his career, such as 2019 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Yearhe has yet to win a College Football Playoffs title — a trophy he and his are currently battling for.

She is known as the “First Lady of Ohio State Football”

As “first lady”, Nina is in the spotlight – something she has had to get used to.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever feel comfortable with that (title). I was definitely a deer in headlights that first year,” she shared WSYX ABC 6 in August 2022. “But now, more than ever, we as a family are ready to tackle everything that comes with being the head coach of Ohio State.”

She and Ryan are mental health advocates

When Ryan was 8 years old, his father, Ray Day, died by suicide. The event eventually spurred the Buckeyes coach and his wife to advocate for mental health.

“We were married 15 years before I started asking questions and said Ray’s name,” Nina told during an interview with WBNS 10TV in May 2022 after donating $100,000 to the On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health. “This journey has been amazing for us because we’ve dealt with mental illness and talked about his dad in ways we never could before.”

That same year, the couple made a $1 million gift to Ohio State and established Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fundwhich supports mental health research and services at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine.

“Nina and I both understand how important it is to have someone to turn to for help and strength during difficult times,” Ryan said in a press release. “Our hope is that this fund will empower more Buckeyes to find the support they need to become more resilient.”