Ohio State will pay Colorado $1.4 million to come to Ohio Stadium and play on Sept. 24, 2011

Buffaloes coming to play Buckeyes in 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State will pay Colorado $1.4 million to come to Ohio Stadium next season and play the Buckeyes.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed on Tuesday that the Buffaloes will visit Columbus to meet the Buckeyes on Sept. 24, 2011.

It is not part of a home-and-home or multi-game contract.

“That’s just a single,” Smith said. “It worked out to be a good deal. Mike Bohn, the AD there, had an interest in coming this way, so we were able to lock that down.”

Ohio State usually pays between $400,000 and $750,000 for nonconference games with no return visit to the opponents’ stadium.

The Buckeyes are now set to play home games on Sept. 3 and 10 against in-state, Mid-American Conference members Akron and Toledo, respectively, before traveling to Miami for a nonconference showdown with the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes play at Ohio Stadium this season, on Sept. 11.

Colorado has been strapped for cash and could be facing a multimillion dollar exit fee if it wants to move from the Big 12 to the Pac-10 next season.

“Colorado has always recognized the significance of playing marquee opponents in the non-conference portion of our football schedule,” Bohn said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to what will be CU’s first trip to the ‘Horseshoe’ in 25 years.”

It will be the fifth meeting between the two schools and third in Columbus. Ohio State is 3-1 against Colorado.

The game fills an open date on the Buckeyes’ 2011 schedule before the Big Ten opener, against a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the new 12-team league.

The conference schedule has yet to be completed, pending divisional setup.

“We have not done anything (scheduling) with other years,” Smith said. “We’re waiting to see how the conference schedule shakes out. As soon as we know what’s going on in the conference, we’ll start working on future years.”