The Mirror Lake jump, a synonymous part of the annual Beat Michigan week, may not be long for the rivalry.
After two years of regulations in an attempt to both mitigate risk and rein in some of the risky behavior often surrounding students' superstitious annual plunge into the small, man made on-campus lake, in the wake of a medical emergency that culminated in the death of a young person at last night's jump, the university isn't holding back.
"In spite of significant efforts taken to make this event a safer one, this tragedy has occurred," Ohio State said in a statement. "We must come together and acknowledge that while this is a student-led tradition that has been passed down through the years, we cannot risk another tragedy. University leadership strongly agrees that we will work with our campus community to end this annual event."
Though the event, unregulated and not condoned by the school in any sense until 2013, has long since been a source of potential injuries and otherwise, there were no previously made public instances of last night's magnitude as best as we can tell. But once tragedy impacts one of the Ohio State communities very own, something like the jump rapidly approaches indefensible status.
"We are heartbroken over this horrible tragedy," Ohio State President Michael Drake said in a statement as well. "We have tentatively identified the young man as a student and are in the process of reaching out to his family. During this difficult time, counseling services will be made available throughout the holiday weekend for those who seek support."
We'll have more as the situation continues to evolve.