COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University has been on the search for a new athletic director after Gene Smith announced he would retire this summer. And just 16 days after OSU’s newest president took office, the school officially announced Ross Bjork as the next AD for the Buckeyes, the 9th in Ohio State Athletic history.
What You Need To Know
- Ross Bjork will be the 9th Athletic Director in Ohio State history
- The 51-year-old has over 30 years of collegiate athletics experience
- Currently, Bjork is the AD at Texas A&M and before that was in the same position at Ole Miss
- Bjork plans to be on campus more starting in March so he can spend as much time learning from current AD Gene Smith before he retires
Ohio State Athletics faced a crucial year, making significant changes in response to new teams joining the Big Ten and the expansion of College Football Playoffs, as well as the impact of NIL on sports. It was vital for the university to make the right decision for one of the largest openings in college athletics.
“It’s going to take some imagination, it’s going to take somebody that has the ability to show people what right looks like,” Ohio State’s president Ted Carter Jr. said. “And I believe Ross is that man that’ll be able to do that.”
Carter, who just started the job on January 1st said while the decision may have seemed rushed, the search committee had been on the hunt since last summer, and final interviews were conducted as soon as Carter joined OSU. Bjork looks forward to taking the next step in athletics and NIL to continue the tradition of excellence at Ohio State.
“Today’s leaders, today’s coaches, we have to get the culture right first,” Bjork said. “That’s going to still matter. Team culture, team chemistry, and then there has to be a structure around NIL.”
And a lot of OSU fans are wondering how this hire could impact Ryan Day’s future. Bjork made sure to show his commitment to the head coach.
“The best thing that I can do is lock arms with him, figure out are there any barriers, figure out key decisions,” Bjork said. “He’s the coach, he’s the strategist, he has to build the roster, and it’s my job to say what are the infrastructure pieces, what are the culture pieces that I can help you with and then let him go to work.”
Day mentioned the excitement of having been in the environment before and having a great experience. “And looking forward to spending more time and learn more about his experiences and how that can translate to Ohio State,” Day said.
Bjork is still employed by Texas A&M and won’t officially take over Gene Smith’s position until July 1. But he did say he plans to be on campus more starting March 1 so he can take all he can learn from Gene Smith before he retires.