Tag: Gene Smith

Ohio State AD Gene Smith confirms Ohio State not looking to play outside Big Ten

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed that the program won’t pursue playing outside the Big Ten according to Lettermen Row.

When rumors and reports started to materialize that the Big Ten was on the doorstep with the grim reaper, waiting to kill the fall football season for 2020, things began to turn to some interesting hypotheticals. Namely, what if a team like Ohio State decided to thumb its nose at the Big Ten and go play in another conference for one season?

It’s an interesting point, and it would be pretty fun to see the Buckeyes play at venues like The Swamp in Gainesville, or at LSU, Bama — any number of places really.

However, if you had your hopes up on that becoming a real development after the news broke today of the official postponement of the fall season, athletic director Gene Smith pretty much squashed that idea according to a report from Lettermen Row.

He stopped by to talk to reporters and rather than digging the heels in and continuing to find another opportunity for the Buckeye players to play in another format, he toed the company line.

“Not leaving. That’s not realistic,” Smith told reporters outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “We’ve been a member of the Big Ten for a long time, we share the same values as our member institutions. We all know our history and tradition, I don’t need to give you that speech. We’re in the Big Ten, we’re not looking to play someone else outside of our conference, we have a contract that we are obligated to with our television partners, so that’s not happening. We’re mentally moving and shifting to the spring as an option.”

So, there you have it.

It was probably a pie-in-the-sky idea anyway, and one that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey more or less shot down anyway for some of the same reasons on the Dan Patrick show earlier Tuesday.

So if you were holding out hope of a Braveheart type of scorch the Earth fight to get the season off the ground still for the Ohio State football program this fall, it isn’t happening.

It’s time to settle in and move on.

 

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Ohio State releases statement on postponement of Big Ten 2020 fall football season

Ohio State has released a statement on the postponement of the Big Ten’s 2020 fall football schedule. We have it in its entirety here.

By now you probably know the news that the Big Ten college football season has been shelved, with an eye toward trying to play in the spring of 2021. Shortly after that, Ohio State released a statement confirming the move and providing feedback.

It’s now about moving forward and keeping the student-athletes healthy as things progress, coming up with a plan to try and get them back on the field, and, most importantly, working together across the 14 schools from top to bottom to use prudence, logic and data.

We are attaching the complete statement from Ohio State that includes quotes from President-elect Kristina M. Johnson and athletic director Gene Smith. It also includes medical protocols that will remain in place as life moves forward at the university.

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Next … Ohio State statement on postponement of the season

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Gene Smith confirms Ohio State will begin walk-through practices Friday, begin fall camp on August 7

While appearing on local radio, Ohio State AD Gene Smith confirmed the football team will start walk-throughs Friday and fall camp Aug. 7.

Things are on-schedule for Ohio State football, at least for now.

While appearing on local ESPN affiliate 97.1 The Fan on Wednesday, OSU athletic director Gene Smith confirmed that the program will begin walk-throughs on Friday, and if all goes well, will begin fall camp on Friday, August 7.

There were some questions on that timeline when the Buckeyes had to put a pause on voluntary workouts because of some positive COVID-19 tests through some of the first waves of testing, but since then, Ohio State has resumed workouts.

And as approved by the NCAA, the times for both walkthroughs and the beginning of fall camp are right on schedule and on-line as the earliest they can commence for OSU.

So, that should be some good news, albeit with a sense of cautious optimism still at best. Smith reiterated that there’s still a long way to go to determine what this fall will look like.

“I think everyone that works in the industry and everyone who’s paying attention understands that there are a lot of moving parts,” Smith said while appearing on The Fan. “We just need to be patient and allow our experts around this virus to continue to do their work and give us guidance so that we can make some leadership decisions.”

Smith did, however, indicate that the conference will do everything it can to have college football this season. He pointed to the flexibility of going to a conference-only schedule as a step in that direction.

“The flexibility that having September to schedule games or not provides us unbelievable opportunity,” Smith said. “The beauty of what we did, we felt, is that it gave us the ability to slide the schedule. If for some reason we can’t start on Sept. 5, we can slide it because we control the schedule. We’re still in the process of defining what the schedule will be, but it would give us the flexibility to slide. Hopefully, if we can’t play ‘x’ number of games, we can play ‘y’ number of games. We have young people whose futures are aligned with their opportunities to play this fall. We’ve got to make sure we don’t overreact and we give them a chance. I also think athletics can help galvanize our country and our communities in a storm or a crisis. I think if we’re fortunate enough to have sports, it will help us as we try and transition back to the new next.”

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Smith has a point, and one I have pondered and discussed with others. It seems like sports can reunite this country — and has during difficult times. It certainly helped the country heal after 9/11, and gives people something to rally around and be hopeful about.

We could use a little of that now as we all battle so-called hoaxes, mask-orders, shutdowns, and the debate of racial equality.

And while having full-fledged practices and workouts is somewhat concerning to Smith, he does appear to be a little more optimistic than when he got on a call with reporters last time. At that time, he painted a rather grim picture of where his mindset was, but has seen encouraging things with how things have been handled internally since.

“I don’t have a comfort level there yet, but I do relative to what we’ve done in the voluntary workout space, what we’re gonna start doing July 24th when we start walkthroughs, I feel really, really good.”

As we keep saying, we’ll have to just be patient on all of this and see how it all plays out. It seems to be an on-again, off-again college football love affair, but things are still heading in the right direction for now.

You can listen to the entire segment thanks to the Bishop and Laurinaitis Show below.

 

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Ohio State resumes voluntary workouts for football and other sports

Ohio State released a statement Monday confirming the resumption of on-campus voluntary workouts for football and other sports.

According to a release from the Ohio State athletic department, the university has resumed on-campus voluntary workouts for football and other sports as of today.

“Our Buckeyes are excited to be headed into a new school year and were disappointed last week when we had to temporarily suspend training,” athletic direct Gene Smith said in the statement. “These young people come from across the nation and the world to be part of our Ohio State family, and we do everything we can to create a safe, healthy environment so that they have a chance to study and compete. Our medical team will continue to evaluate, and we will share decisions as we move forward.”

On a go-forward basis, athletes will be tested routinely and training decisions will continue to be re-evaluated by medical staff to protect the health and safety of students. A strict set of protocols will also be in place requiring physical distancing, masks, hygiene and cleaning procedures.

The voluntary workouts were put on pause as a result of a round of testing done on July 7. The exact number of positives for COVID-19 were not made publicly known by the university, but Letterman Row has cited sources putting the number in the single digits.

The decision to reopen workouts on campus was a result of the latest round of testing completed on Monday. Teams with student-athletes on campus taking part in training activities are men’s and women’s basketball, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

 

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Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith on college football in the fall: “We might not play.”

Ohio State AD Gene Smith is very concerned that we might not have a college football season this fall amid the spike in COVID-19.

The optimism of having a college football season this fall is starting to wane, and so too is Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith’s. Just a short month ago, things looked promising. The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have leveled off, teams got back to voluntary workouts on campus, and the NCAA approved a six-week preseason plan that would put teams in position for an on-time start to the college football season.

Heck, some colleges were even discussing the possibility of having some fans in the stand to take in the games as long as social distancing and local protocols were followed. Gene Smith was warming up to that idea.

Now, things are headed in a different, less promising direction. Just over the last couple of days, the Ivy League made the decision to cancel fall sports. Ohio State suspended all voluntary workouts for fall athletes after COVID-19 testing results, then the Big Ten announced that fall sports would follow a conference only slate of games if they were able to be played.

It’s that last few words that put the whole college football season — and other fall sports — in jeopardy. In fact, when appearing on BTN, Smith made it known that there’s is a real possibility that this thing goes a step further and that the cancellation of fall sports is a real possibility.

“I can’t reiterate enough the fact that we might not play,” Smith said when being interviewed on BT. “We just might not. And I think that people need to understand that.”

There is more to the interview, but that’s the main takeaway. People need to start preparing for the real possibility that Ohio State and many other (if not all) programs have to shelve the college football season.

You can watch the rest of the interview below thanks to it being posted by BTN.

There’s still time to turn this thing around, but it’s clear at this point that the COVID-19 pandemic is headed in the wrong direction. And with health and well-being of student-athletes being the priority here, things are not looking good.

Let’s hope we can come together as a country and punch this ugly pandemic right in the teeth.

WATCH: Ohio State coaches say to wear a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Several Ohio State coaches shared a message of unity on the virtues of wearing a mask to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Yes, we know it is a polarizing topic, but the concept of wearing a mask to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is one that the Ohio State coaches are getting behind, and we’re right there with them.

Many have pointed to the exploitation of individual liberty and some reports that wearing a mask can actually cause more harm than good in some cases, but most of the science and research done on the COVID-19 pandemic and mask-wearing — like this one from Stanford — has pointed to it being an important tool that can curb the spread of the virus significantly.

So, the coaches of Ohio State seemed to all band together on Twitter to advertise the virtue of mask-wearing and to ask Buckeye Nation to embrace it so that we can all see OSU games this fall and winter. Helping your fellow Americans bond together to defeat the virus wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

First, was Athletic Director Gene Smith to lead the way.

Next, head basketball coach Chris Holtmann shared a similar message, all while showing he still has some athleticism.

Holtmann’s assistant coach Ryan Pedon also got into the act shortly thereafter.

So where is Ryan Day? Don’t worry. Although he didn’t share a video, he did retweet a graphic from Barstool OSU imploring fans to wear a mask.

 

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Ohio State’s Gene Smith named Big Ten’s best athletic director by Stadium

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith was named the Big Ten’s best athletic director by Stadium for his hires while in Columbus.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has been at Ohio State for what seems like an entire generation now. The reality is that he’s been in Columbus since March of 2005. That’s over fifteen years now at one of the premier athletic departments in the country. It goes without saying, Smith has not only seen a lot, but been a change agent himself at OSU.

He may have taken some hits here or there for his handling of some high profile things — some unwarranted and some likely not — but he’s seen some great times at the University. He didn’t hire Thad Matta, but the Buckeyes made two Final Four appearances under his watch. Smith did hire Urban Meyer and Ryan Day. He also brought in Chris Holtmann and helped improve multiple athletic facilities at Ohio State.

During his time, you could argue OSU had the best combination of basketball and football in the Big Ten, the two revenue sports that mean everything for an athletic department.

Mainly because of the hires he’s made, Stadium named Smith the Big Ten Conference’s best athletic director. To mark the occasion, Jeff Goodman interviewed Smith and broke the news. While doing so, he walked through Smith’s time and got his take on all the hires and monumental moments that’s occurred at Ohio State.

You can watch the entire interview by clicking on Watch Stadium’s Facebook video below.

https://www.facebook.com/watchstadium/videos/266824857889995/

Congrats to Smith, and let’s hope there’s more big moments, big wins, and spectacular memories as he continues his era at Ohio State. As an aside, Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez came in at a close second place, but who’s counting?

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Zach Harrison, Gene Smith two of eight Ohio State representatives on Big Ten’s Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition

Zach Harrison and Gene Smith are a part of 8 current Ohio State members that are a part of Big Ten’s Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition.

The Big ten announced the formation of an Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition just a couple of weeks ago. It followed that up with a reveal of members of that Coalition on Monday. It’s an extensive list, and one that includes eight current Buckeyes.

Included from Ohio State are football defensive end Zach Harrison as well as athletic director Gene Smith. The complete list of Buckeye notables on the Coalition include the following:

Donald Anthony Jr. – Fencing Head Coach
Karen Dennis – Director, Men’s & Women’s Track and Field, Cross Country
Zach Harrison – Defensive End, Football Team Student-Athlete
Jen Flynn Oldenburg – Volleyball Head Coach
Alexus Pyles – Women’s Track and Field Student-Athlete
Khadevis Robinson – Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Head Coach
Gene Smith – Director of Athletics
Tony White – Advisory Commission, Former Basketball Student-Athlete

Other notable members of the coalition from across the conference include Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard, Maryland head coaches Mike Locksley and Mark Turgeon, P.J. Fleck of Minnesota, Iowa basketball head coach Fran McCaffery, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Fred Hoiberg of Nebraska, Penn State’s James Franklin, the Chicago Bulls’ Doug Collins as a partner, and more.

“The events in our country and around the world during the past few months have strengthened my fundamental belief in our need to develop tangible and actionable efforts in a collective manner and provide viable solutions addressing the issues of hate and racism in our society,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren in a statement. “We have the distinct opportunity and responsibility through our Coalition to continually encourage, educate and empower our student-athletes as we embrace transparent and much-needed dialogue regarding meaningful issues that have impacted race relations for many years.”

As a part of the communication, the Big Ten also announced the formation of a 16 person Voter Registration Committee that “will be designed to inform and educate student-athletes on the importance of civic engagement and how to register to vote and submit a ballot, in person or absentee.”

The committee will provide monthly educational programs beginning in July through the general election in November.

“The Big Ten Conference Voter Registration Initiative is a natural extension of the conversation within the Coalition,” said Warren. “An election year provides the opportunity to educate our student-athletes in a non-partisan fashion regarding the importance of exercising their civic right to clearly understand the political process, register to vote, cast a vote during the upcoming election, and provide adequate support to combat voter suppression. We are at an inflection point in our country. Empowering our student-athletes by encouraging them to use their voices illustrates how we can collectively work together to build a better future.”

 

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Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith releases statement on “Black Lives Matter”

Ohio State AD Gene Smith released a statement Sunday in support of student-athletes’ support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Gene Smith has released a message in support of Ohio State student-athletes and their work and support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. We have it in its entirety below.

From Gene Smith:

“Racism has been declared a public health crisis; hate has no place in civil society.”

“Over the past decade, Buckeye student-athletes have proactively engaged in issues that have resulted in a shift in our departmental culture; issues that were manifest at the same time in the larger society and reflected in the actions of the student-athletes.”

“In recent years, several young men in the sport of football made the decision to publicly discuss their personal mental health challenges as a way to help demystify the larger societal conversation about mental health.”

“Concurrently, student-athletes in the sport of men’s hockey asked the department to support the NHL’s initiative entitled:  If you can play, you can play.  This effort advocated for support for student-athletes of all sexual orientations.”

“Student-athletes from many departmental teams have engaged in outreach efforts to support young people in underserved parts of the community.  This service has become embedded as part of the departmental culture and is often carried into the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and WNBA by Buckeyes in their professional sport careers.”

“All of this activity is initiated and lead by student-athletes.  When student-athletes and/or teams come to us with issues with which they want to engage, we provide them resources and support.”

“Now, our student-athletes have expressed a desire to engage in the Black Lives Matter movement that has grown from Minneapolis, across the nation, and around the world.”

“The department will continue to support our student-athletes as they participate in activities to eradicate hate and racism in our society.  Recently, student-athletes have been active on social media platforms denouncing racism, participating in attention and awareness videos promoting Black Lives Matter, holding peaceful demonstrations (Kneel for Nine) and participating in video calls with their teammates and others.”

“The Ohio State Department of Athletics supports the Black Lives Matter movement.  We will continue to support our student-athletes as they participate in driving positive change in America so that every person is respected regardless of the color of their skin.”

It’s great to see Ohio State, its players, staff, coaches, and administrators embrace racism and work to bring much-needed change. We commend them all on their work here at Buckeyes Wire as well.

 

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Ohio State president Michael Drake: “Our hope and intention is to safely have a football season.”

Ohio State president Michael Drake confirmed plans to have college football on campus, with some fans this fall.

It’s beginning to look more and more like we’ll have college football this fall. What that looks like in each city, state, and campus remains to be seen as things open up like patchwork, but the signs are looking good.

First, there was the news that Ohio State was ready to welcome football players to campus on June 8, then the NCAA D-1 Committee voted to allow voluntary on-campus workouts as of June 1. Then, Wednesday, Ohio State announced plans to have in-person learning on campus this fall.

You can now add one more signpost that says college football is likely to happen — at least at Ohio State.

While speaking at a Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, OSU president Michael Drake said that things are moving forward towards having college football on campus this fall.

“Regarding football, our hope and intention is to safely have a football season, with an audience spaced out in our stadium, but we haven’t made any final decisions,” Drake said.

This comes just a couple of weeks after athletic director Gene Smith said Ohio State is fortunate with its setup in regards to the stadium.

“Obviously, we’re fortunate 100,000 seats in the stadium,” Smith reiterated. “So, could we implement the current CDC guidelines, the state guidelines around physical distancing, mask requirements, and all those types of things in an outdoor environment and have obviously significantly less fans than what we are used to? I think it’s possible. I just feel like we have the talent, skill, and space capacity to provide an opportunity for a certain number of fans to have access to our particular stadium. Of course, that wouldn’t be true across the country because of capacity. But I think we can get there.”

Smith also said he is getting more comfortable with the idea of holding games without fans if need be. He had originally had a hard time envisioning allowing athletes on campus if it wasn’t safe enough to have students on campus.

That too may be a moot point, after Drake’s announcement for classes this autumn. Yet another nod to things getting back to closer to normal.

As the major sports become to come to the table with return-to-play plans, and with all of these comments and actions beginning to align, things are looking good for Ohio State to kick off its college football season on September 5 against Bowling Green.

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