The Ohio State University entity of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in 1883. The Ohio State University entity of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) originally began as a subgroup of the King’s Daughters and was organized in 1889, then became part of the YWCA in 1901. The two groups usually operated together, but sometimes had their own goals, activities, and leadership. They were sometimes referred to together as YM-YWCA or the Campus Y. In 1969, the groups broke with the national YMCA/YWCA organizations and reorganized as Students Incorporated. Neither group is active as of 2018.

The YM-YWCA sought to support students’ spiritual and social development, foster appreciation of people of different backgrounds, encourage understanding of current affairs, and put Christian values into action through community involvement and service. To accomplish these purposes, YM-YWCA had many committees and discussion groups dedicated to topics such as religion, with a focus on Christianity; social, economic, and political issues on a global and local scale; social activities; and management of the group. They also initiated many programs such as the White Christmas yearly concert and fund drive, freshman camps and mixers, Student Employment Service, and the Student Load Fund.