Tag: Gene Smith

Ohio State AD Gene Smith provides vote of confidence for Chris Holtmann

Ohio State AD Gene Smith provided a vote of confidence for much-maligned coach Chris Holtmann in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch.

Things have been awfully painful to watch this season if you’re an Ohio State basketball fan. The team started out on the right foot and looked like a young team that could figure things out, showing signs of possessing the talent and effort needed to make a run in the Big Ten.

But then January hit and the wheels fell off of the proverbial bus that’s now headed nowhere sunny. The defense hasn’t been a strong suit all year, and the offense that was once the most efficient in the country has sputtered and smoked in the halfcourt with a horrendous assist-to-turnover ratio and lack of ball and player movement.

Heck, the Buckeyes have been losing skid stoppers in the wrong way for teams like Minnesota and Wisconsin that have gotten positive results in Value City Arena after looking lost themselves. The latest was a 65-60 home loss to Wisconsin on Thursday night.

There’s not a lot of good to point to, and seven years into Chris Holtmann’s tenure, Ohio State has yet to win a Big Ten regular season or conference title, hasn’t advanced out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and has seen significant roster turnover almost every year.

It’s all led to a fanbase that is extremely disgruntled and indifferent as the season progresses. The “hot seat” comments, desires, and demands have gone from a whisper to a loud roar in Columbus.

But don’t tell Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith that. In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, the man in charge of OSU athletics threw his weight behind the job that Holtmann is doing.

“I’m confident in what Chris is doing,” Smith told the Dispatch. “Chris is our coach of the future. He’s doing an outstanding job.”

To date, Holtmann has steered Ohio State to at least 20 wins in each season and made the NCAA Tournament every year aside from 2020 when it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those two streaks are destined to come to an end with OSU sitting at 11-11 and 3-8 in the Big Ten, with just nine regular-season games remaining.

Smith pointed to the youth of this year’s team as a reason for the struggles and seems to be willing to wait things out with development and growth.

“These are young guys,” Smith said. “I really look forward to them continuing to grow and get better. There’s a lot of games left. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

It’s true that the core of the team is young, and there’s also help on the way. Holtmann and staff signed the No. 8 class in the country for 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and have another good one coming in that’s currently ranked as No. 6 in the country.

One way or another, with the layers of talent coming in and the expectations it will bring, there won’t be any excuses in the near future. Smith’s response will either be prophetic or will have to take on a different tone in another year or two.

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Two concerning videos regarding Ohio State and name, image and likeness

The issues could be fixed fairly easily but at some costs #GoBucks

The Buckeyes have one of the biggest athletic department budgets in the nation but it seems like there is a big disconnect between what [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] Athletic Director [autotag]Gene Smith[/autotag] wants to do regarding Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) with his program.

He has gone on record to say that the university will not give money to players, it has to be through collectives, like the one former national championship-winning quarterback [autotag]Cardale Jones[/autotag] has a hand in, THE Foundation.

As we saw during the early signing period, prospects all across the country were lured by upfront payments and schools like Oregon and Alabama reaped the benefits of 5-star prospects and transfers.

As I scoured the Twittersphere today, I came across two separate videos that go over Ohio State’s NIL strategy or lack thereof, and I outline my takes from each of them.

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Ohio State athletic director slams the door on additional Big Ten acquisitions of Pac-12 schools

Ohio State AD Gene Smith recorded a podcast with #USC AD Mike Bohn. Smith said of the Big Ten, ‘There were really only two schools which made sense for us: USC and UCLA.’

Will the Big Ten continue to expand by plucking Pac-12 schools? Don’t bet on it. How can we tell you this? Ohio State’s athletic director, the most powerful athletic director in the Big Ten, made a very specific and direct comment on a podcast with USC’s athletic director which cannot be interpreted any other way.

Ohio State AD Gene Smith is a major power broker in college sports. Moreover, he used to be a Pac-10 athletic director at Arizona State, so he definitely knows the landscape in the Pac-12 Conference beyond USC and UCLA. If anyone was in a position to know which schools added value to the Big Ten, it’s Smith. Moreover, if anyone was in a position to recommend Pac-12 schools other than USC and UCLA, it’s Smith. If he really wanted other schools from the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten, chances are it would happen.

If Smith is opposed to other Pac-12 schools joining, that’s a vote which represents a pretty firm brick wall, a barrier to any future Big Ten expansion by raiding the Pac-12.

Guess what Smith said on a recent podcast with USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn?

I guess that closes the door.

You can listen to the podcast at the link provided in the embedded tweet and video above.

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Around the Big Ten: Gene Smith weighs in on what’s next for Notre Dame football

Ohio State’s Gene Smith weighs in on Notre Dame and the Big Ten.

Gene Smith is in a unique position to weigh in on the future of Notre Dame football. The athletic director at Ohio State, Smith played and starred at Notre Dame, giving him a foothold in two unique camps.

And for the Big Ten, who is reportedly trying to get Notre Dame to join the conference, Smith sees value in his alma mater joining his current league.

In fact, Smith thinks that Notre Dame might need to join a conference in the best interest of their student-athletes.

With the addition of UCLA and USC late last week, the Big Ten is growing. It is adding two quality programs, both located in the second-largest media market in the country. The Big Ten, if it wasn’t beforehand, has now joined the SEC as a superpower in the college sports world.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to get my degree from there and compete there and I love my alma mater – except when they’re playing us. But I really have been so blessed to have gotten the education I got but they have to really look at the tradition and history that they’ve been able to develop as an independent and that’s important to Notre Dame and I understand that,” Smith said on the Big Ten Network this week.

“But today’s world they might need to consider what’s best for their student-athletes. I’ve always felt that they should be in a conference as we moved into this new world order, because it provides their football team, for example, an opportunity to chase a conference championship, as opposed to just the national championship. For them, I don’t think it is going to be wholly about money. I think they have to look at their independence value and their relationship with their television partner.

“But I think that in today’s age, our student-athletes need that opportunity to chase more than the national championship. That’s the benefit we’ve had thus far. And you can chase a division championship, chase a conference championship, and then ultimately the national championship.”

After playing at Notre Dame, Smith spent time as an assistant coach at Notre Dame before moving into college athletics administration.

The Buckeyes are Smith’s fourth stop as an athletic director. His first athletic director’s position came in 1985 at Eastern Michigan followed by stints at Iowa State and Arizona State.

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Notre Dame, due to their national following and their success in football and non-revenue sports, is the biggest prize remaining in the conference expansion landscape.

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Gene Smith recipient of David Williams II Leadership Award

Gene Smith continues to be one of the most instrumental and influential athletic directors in the country. #GoBucks

Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director at Ohio State University, Gene Smith, was honored with the David Williams II Leadership Award.

The award, handed out annually to the athletics director who personifies exemplary leadership, vision, service, and dedication in intercollegiate athletics, was presented by the Lead1 Association at its 2022 Collegiate Sports Summit, held in Dallas, Texas.

Many in the field were quick to recognize Smith after 18 years of service at Ohio State.

“Gene is completely and passionately focused on making a difference for young men and young women,” Sandy Barbour, recently retired athletics director at Penn State, said in a statement.

“We’ve been so fortunate to learn from Gene for so many years, to watch him do it with a servant’s heart, with humility, toughness, integrity and living his values every single day,” Pat Chun, director of athletics at Washington State University said. “Gene is a walking example of leadership, regardless if it’s college athletics, business or families. He understands the role of a leader and how his role can help people accomplish their goals.”

And for those that didn’t know, David Williams II was at Ohio State for 14 years, from 1986 to 2000, and was vice president for student and urban/community affairs when he left for Vanderbilt University and positions as vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, and athletics director. He passed away in 2019.

Smith was clearly humbled by the recognition and was quick to deflect praise to the award’s namesake.

“I feel so honored and privileged to have the opportunity to receive this award in David’s name,” Smith said. “He was a trailblazer. We’re both very different in where we came from, but we shared one passion and that was the student-athletes that all of us in this room serve.

“We cannot forget the ecosystem we serve: it’s those young people that we’re blessed to serve every day. We need to help them understand that they have a chance in our society to be leaders.”

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OSU AD: Let the playoff committee run FBS, not the NCAA

OSU AD pitches an idea for a change in the landscape of college football.

We are entering a new era of college athletics and more importantly a new era of college football. With the conversations surrounding College Football Playoffs and NIL deals, something has to change. Or more so that it is going to change.

In an interview with ESPN’s Heather Dinich, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith offered up an idea. Allow the College Football Playoffs committee to run the sport and not the NCAA. The latter just announced a separation from president Mark Emmert that will take place in 2023.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith on Tuesday proposed the 10 FBS conferences operate under the umbrella of the College Football Playoff with their own rules and structure while the NCAA continues to host championships for basketball and Olympic sports.

There has been a thought making the rounds for years that FBS and the Power Five should separate from the NCAA and run their football programs. Essentially the NCAA doesn’t hold much power over the sport and there is no reason to have NCAA be the governing body over football.

“We [can] create our own rules, create our own governance structure, have our own enforcement, we have our own requirements, whatever that might be,” Smith said.

While there are mixed reviews according to Smith, it would make the most sense for college football. This isn’t likely to happen now but with the shift in leadership with the NCAA, there might not be a better time to make the move.

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WATCH: Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith talks NIL, CFP model, college landscape

Here from Gene Smith on several of his thoughts on where things are in college athletics right now.

In case you missed it, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith was kind enough to appear before the media on Wednesday to simply be available and answer questions about where things are with Ohio State and the ever-changing college landscape in general.

Smith was honest, sincere, and open about where everything is in college athletics and how it impacts Ohio State and the rest of college athletics and didn’t shy away from any questions.

Smith was asked about name, image, and likeness, the College Football Playoff model, where things stand with Ryan Day’s contract, the alliance with the Pac-12 and ACC, and more.

If you missed any of his comments and answers to the questions that were posed, you can watch it all here thanks to the official Ohio State Buckeyes Twitter account.

It was honestly nice that Ohio State put this together. Gene Smith has always been one of the most available, honest, and forthcoming athletic directors in college athletics and OSU is lucky to have him despite what many critics might have said in the past.

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Gene Smith believes the ‘pause button should be hit’ on playoff expansion

Do you agree with Gene Smith here?

There’s been an awful lot happen with the game of college football and collegiate athletics in general over the past few months. From the advent of name, image, and likeness opportunities, to the ability to transfer one time without penalty, to the exploration of expanding the College Football Playoff.

But it’s the last point that seems to be in jeopardy with the latest news of college football blue-bloods Texas and Oklahoma looking to break up with the Big 12 and move on to the super sexy SEC. With all the uncertainty surrounding what kind of shifts and ripple effects we’ll see once that all happens, many are pumping the brakes on moving ahead at any kind of break-neck speed when it comes to CFP expansion.

In fact, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith is the latest. In speaking with Yahoo Sports, Smith said he believes everyone should be cautious about moving ahead with a preferred 12-team model for playoff expansion.

“I think the pause button should be hit,” Smith told Yahoo Sports. “We need to evaluate the landscape and what it’s going to look like. We still need to evaluate the 12-team playoff. We don’t need to rush into that when there’s legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.”

Smith has a point. How can you set up a model of inclusion in whatever new playoff model that comes about without knowing what the universe of teams and conferences will look like. Will the Big 12 even survive? Will Texas and Oklahoma going shopping for sweet tea and grits cause other conferences to want to expand to keep up with the groceries?

Nobody knows. What we do know is that things are going to look a lot different than it does today if and the playoff decides to actually become a playoff rather than an “and one.”

If you’ve read any of our stuff here on Buckeyes Wire, you know that we’ve always been for a modest expansion of the CFP, but at this point, I don’t know how you move forward until all the renovating dust settles over the college football version of “extreme makeover.”

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Ohio Stadium to be at full capacity this fall

And there it is! How excited does this get you?

Hear ye, hear ye. According to comments Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith made to the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio Stadium will be at 100 percent capacity this fall.

That’s right. The ‘Shoe will be packed again for the first time since the Buckeyes beat Penn State on November 23, 2019. when the Oregon Ducks come to town on September 11. That’s a long time — 658 days to be exact. Think about that for a minute.

It wasn’t necessarily an official statement the Ohio State Department of Athletics made, but rather captured in a conversation Smith had with WBNS 10 TV’s Dom Tiberi.

“Yeah, you know, we’re going all the way live,” Smith told Tiberi. “Tailgaiting — we don’t see any change in what we’ve had prior to COVID. Now, we’re hopeful that we don’t end up in a situation where we have a huge spike as a result of the Delta variant, but right now, we’re all the way live. We’re — full stadium, full tailgating, the whole nine yards.”

If you’ve followed other college programs in and around the country and within the Big Ten, this news is really somewhat expected, but you just never know until you get confirmation. And hearing the head of the athletic department on the banks of the Olentangy state that things are pretty much back to normal this fall is enough confirmation for me.

Party on, Buckeye fans. I’m going to go ahead and go out on a limb and say the game against Oregon might be one of the loudest the Horseshoe has ever played host to.

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Ohio Stadium to be at full capacity this fall

And there it is! How excited does this get you?

Hear ye, hear ye. According to comments Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith made to the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Ohio Stadium will be at 100 percent capacity this fall.

That’s right. The ‘Shoe will be packed again for the first time since the Buckeyes beat Penn State on November 23, 2019. when the Oregon Ducks come to town on September 11. That’s a long time — 658 days to be exact. Think about that for a minute.

It wasn’t necessarily an official statement the Ohio State Department of Athletics made, but rather captured in a conversation Smith had with WBNS 10 TV’s Dom Tiberi.

“Yeah, you know, we’re going all the way live,” Smith told Tiberi. “Tailgaiting — we don’t see any change in what we’ve had prior to COVID. Now, we’re hopeful that we don’t end up in a situation where we have a huge spike as a result of the Delta variant, but right now, we’re all the way live. We’re — full stadium, full tailgating, the whole nine yards.”

If you’ve followed other college programs in and around the country and within the Big Ten, this news is really somewhat expected, but you just never know until you get confirmation. And hearing the head of the athletic department on the banks of the Olentangy state that things are pretty much back to normal this fall is enough confirmation for me.

Party on, Buckeye fans. I’m going to go ahead and go out on a limb and say the game against Oregon might be one of the loudest the Horseshoe has ever played host to.

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