In a week that was meant to celebrate Ohio State’s national title glory, it was Vice President JD Vance who ended up stealing some of the spotlight—both for his brainpower and a hilariously clumsy moment that went viral. Let’s rewind to the main event…

Ohio State topped Notre Dame 34–24 to secure the 2024 national championship, and this week, they were honored in a full-blown ceremony at the White House. Six charter buses, a police escort, and 200+ members of the Buckeyes’ crew—including head coach Ryan Day, captains Emeka Egbuka and TreVeyon Henderson, and QB Will Howard—made the D.C. trip. They took in the Lincoln Memorial, posed for photos, and had lunch overlooking the Capitol before heading to the South Lawn. But it wasn’t just about trophies and speeches—it turned into a sort of homecoming for the man just a heartbeat away from the presidency: JD Vance.

During the White House ceremony, President Donald Trump took a moment to give his VP a bit of an academic shoutout. And let’s just say, it caught some folks off guard. “He was such a good student, he didn’t stay there for four years. He got out in two years, No. 1 in his class. How do you do that?” Trump said, hyping up Vance’s rapid climb through the academic ranks at Ohio State.

Turns out, Trump wasn’t just blowing smoke. JD Vance’s stint at Ohio State was as real as it gets—and pretty remarkable. In his own words, as shared in Hillbilly Elegy, Vance enrolled at Ohio State in September 2007 and walked away with degrees in political science and philosophy by August 2009. Yes, just two years. And yes, summa cum laude. That means a GPA of 3.9 or higher on a 4.0 scale. He wasn’t technically alone at the top—sixteen other students shared the same distinction—but it’s still wildly impressive. Vance didn’t just check the boxes. He crushed them.

From there, he kept climbing. In 2010, Vance was accepted into Yale Law School, widely considered one of the toughest gates to get through in American education. At Yale, he found himself out of his comfort zone, surrounded by the children of judges, CEOs, and Ivy legacies. But Vance found his rhythm, thanks in part to mentorship from Professor Amy Chua (yes, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Amy Chua).

By 2013, he had his J.D., a diploma from Yale, and more opportunities than most could dream of. Corporate law? Silicon Valley? He had his pick.

But instead of cashing in, Vance doubled back to his roots and dropped Hillbilly Elegy in 2016. The memoir blew up—like, New York Times bestseller and Netflix-movie adaptation blew up. Suddenly, Vance was a cultural commentator, an author, and a voice for the Rust Belt.

After a brief but bumpy run in Silicon Valley venture capital—five years, two firms, and one Ohio-based start-up fund (Narya Capital)—he pivoted once again, this time toward politics. Ohio voters elected him to the U.S. Senate in 2022. And by January 2025, JD Vance was being sworn in as the Vice President of the United States.

That’s one good résumé for someone who once called Middletown, Ohio home. From two-year college whiz to Yale Law to the White House—yeah, the word mind-boggling kind of fits. But it turns out the biggest buzz wasn’t the win; it was Vance’s trophy fumble.

JD Vance’s oops moment at the White House

But not even summa cum laude or a Yale degree could help Vance out of what happened next. After Trump, Ryan Day, and Vance all gave their celebratory speeches, the vice president stepped forward to pose with the team’s national championship trophy. Seems simple enough, right?

Wrong.

Vance reached out to hold the trophy—but didn’t realize it was in two parts. As he lifted it, the top portion—shaped like a football—separated from the base. He fumbled both pieces. TreVeyon Henderson, standing behind him, managed to catch the top. But the base? That sucker hit the ground. Loudly.

The moment was instantly meme-worthy. Social media ran with it. A 35-pound national championship trophy, cracked at the base, all thanks to the vice president. Videos circulated showing Henderson and Vance awkwardly gripping two separate halves, trying to salvage the moment.

And in his classic style, the 40-year-old Vance addressed it head-on on X, posting the same self-deprecating line: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.” Honestly, it might’ve made the Buckeyes like him even more. Who doesn’t love a VP who can laugh at himself? 

Now that the ceremonies and oops moments are done, Ohio State has to regroup. Losing a quartet of NFL-bound stars in Howard, Egbuka, and their top two running backs leaves a massive void for Ohio State. Ryan Day will lean heavily on the transfer portal and the untapped potential of their younger players, demanding immediate impact from whoever steps into the Columbus spotlight. And let’s just hope next year’s White House trip doesn’t involve any more trophy trauma. But if it does? Maybe just let someone else hold it.