Before they found themselves at the heart of the world of college football, Ryan Day and his wife, NinaThey were just two kids playing soccer in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Day, 45, is now the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Nina, whom he married in June 2005, recently reflected on their time together as an adult in the Northeast.
In an August 2024 interview with Columbus WBNS 10 TVNina said she and Ryan grew up in Manchester “about a mile and a half from each other.” They went to the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and college, with both Ryan and Nina attending the University of New Hampshire, where Ryan was a quarterback on the football team.
“There was a note that we saved — I think I was in seventh grade — that I wrote and said I was going to marry Ryan,” Nina said. “We've always been best friends.”
Nina even pulled out a photo from 1985 when they were on the same youth soccer team. “This is Ryan, this is my twin sister Kelly, and this is me,” she said, pointing to the trio.
Before Ryan was named head coach at Ohio State in 2018, his coaching career took him and his growing family — he and Nina are parents to a son. RJ And girls beauty and Nya – all over the country, from collegiate stops at schools like Boston College and Temple, to coaching jobs in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
“In 15 years, we moved 11 times,” Nina told WBNS. “At the time, we had three kids. So, it was a lot. From the year we got married until we got to Ohio, we moved every year or every two years. It was very unstable for a long time.”
For a full timeline of Ryan and Nina's relationship, keep reading.
2005
Ryan and Nina were married while he was working as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida.
“We dated on and off, and after we graduated college, we just got back together and the rest is history,” Nina told WBNS.
“There was always a comfort level with him,” she added. We are still best friends. I think this is the best way to get married. “You're with your best friend every day.”
2009
The couple welcomed their first child, son Ryan Jr. (for short, RJ), during Ryan's tenure as wide receivers coach at Boston College.
Nina admitted that being a coach's son wasn't always easy for her son growing up.
Harry Howe/Getty Images Ohio State quarterback Will Howard sealed his team's big win at the Rose Bowl with a kiss. After Howard, 23, and the Buckeyes dominated the Oregon Ducks 41-21 on Wednesday, January 1, the quarterback made his way over to his girlfriend, Lauren Laker, for a kiss. Howard turned his new rose (…)
“From first grade to fifth grade, he started one school in one state and finished at another school in another state,” she told WBNS. “He's been to seven different elementary schools.”
“But it made it much more flexible,” she added.
RJ is busy following in his father's footsteps as a quarterback at DeSales High School in Columbus, Ohio.
2011
Ryan and Nina welcomed their first daughter, Grace, while Day was still working at Boston College.
2014
The couple welcomed their third child, daughter Nia, after Day returned to Boston College as the school's offensive coordinator after one season as offensive coordinator at Temple University.
2020
Ryan lived separately from Nina and his three children for three months during the coronavirus-impacted college football season to reduce the risk of infection.
“It wasn't easy,” Nina said. Columbus Dispatch In January 2021. “For most of my life, I could plan things and look forward to the next week or the next three or four games. This year we've literally lived hour by hour. I mean, every hour something comes up, and I hold my breath every time I see my husband's name on my phone.” Because I'm thinking: “Oh my God, now what?”
Courtesy of Courtesy of Mady Barnes/Instagram/Instagram University of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and his girlfriend Mady Barnes have survived one of the toughest tests in a relationship: going to rival colleges. Barnes, 21, is currently a student at the University of Oklahoma while her boyfriend Ewers, 21, is one of the college's most famous faces (…)
Nina candidly admitted that it was very difficult having her husband at home after the Big Ten halted the start of its season in the wake of the pandemic.
“Those were very difficult weeks,” Nina said. “Even though he came home on the first day of school for the first time ever, and even though he could set up the kids' football and soccer games on the weekends and pick them up from school, it was a huge void. It was very difficult to be there.” Close to Ryan those weeks.
2023
Before the start of his fifth full season as Ohio State's head coach, Ryan shared a photo Via Instagram of his family returning home from vacation along with a photo from the same location, four years ago.
“Time flies,” Ryan wrote. “First photo: Winter 2019 before season 1 as HC. Second photo: Today on our way back to Columbus. Season 5 is coming! Stronger than ever. GO BUCKS!!
2025
Nina and Grace were photographed celebrating with Ryan on the field after Ohio State's win over the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
