Tag: Gene Smith

Ohio State AD Gene Smith releases statement in wake of George Floyd tragedy

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith shared some thoughts on Twitter regarding the tragic death of George Floyd.

This country is tattered and torn. Ther’es the pandemic that the world is gripped with, and now racial tensions are again at a boiling point because of the senseless and tragic death of George Floyd.

Both peaceful protests and violent riots have broken out across this country, and the only way we’re going to heal if there is real change that comes out of all of this. We have to band together and collectively move in the right direction.

Many famous personalities and figures have come out and called for change and expressed their condolences for yet another case of needless and overreaching misuse of violence towards minorities in this country by the police.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith is one of those people that put his thoughts in writing. He shared them via his Twitter profile on Saturday.

“My beautiful mother was born in the rural South in 1926,” said Smith. “Among the many indignities she suffered, she often had to step into the gutter instead of walking on the sidewalk. She lived to see her son become Athletic Director at Ohio State, something she never dreamed possible.”

“Now, as I cherish my children and grandchildren, I call on all of us to make their world a place where what happened in New York and Minnesota this week is not tolerated. A world where equal justice for all is a reality.”

“My life’s work is dedicated to talented young men and women of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexual preferences and socioeconomic statuses. I love and support each and every one of them. I dream of a world that does the same.”

Below is the Tweet Smith shared.

Say what you will about Smith on some of the criticism he has received in the past, but it’s hard not to get behind this message. Hopefully, this and many other messages shared along the same lines bring about some significant and much-needed change.

Ohio State could look to bring back fans at one-fifth stadium capacity this fall

The Buckeyes want to have fans in their stadium, as does every other NCAA team. If that’s feasible is still yet be seen though.

The Buckeyes want to have fans in their stadium, as does every other NCAA team. If that’s feasible is still yet be seen though.

Unlike many teams, the Buckeyes have a plan. While it may not be what fans are hoping for, athletic director Gene Smith put together a model that will allow for 20,000 fans.

“We have played a little bit with the social distancing concept. We know that will probably take us down south of 30,000 fans in the stands, actually closer to 20,000-22,000. We’ve played with that a little bit as a framework to start,” Smith said according to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd.

Ohio State’s website notes that the stadium holds 102,780, although more have been jammed into the massive structure before. That said, as you are probably well aware, this downsizing is due to COVID-19.

The team’s game against Oregon has already reportedly been impacted by the state’s legislation. While games won’t start until early September, the dynamic of this virus and how it will slow is still unknown.

For now, all we can do is hope for the best. A tell-tell sign of the college’s plan to restart athletics will be if these players return for training on time.

From there, they’ll likely mount a plan to get fans into stadiums for games while keeping a keen eye on the virus’ progression. Smith’s idea seems to be almost a worst-case scenario as fans can then wear masks and social distance to their seats and on their way out.

It’s disappointing obviously, but at the same time, it will get at least some fans in the stadium which is a positive. College football with no fans, or at least a limited number is way better than no college football at all.

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Ohio State AD Gene Smith starting to envision college football this fall with, and without fans

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith made himself available for the media via teleconference Wednesday and had some pretty encouraging things to say. First and foremost, nothing is a done deal, and there are plenty of things to work out still, …

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith made himself available for the media via teleconference Wednesday and had some pretty encouraging things to say. First and foremost, nothing is a done deal, and there are plenty of things to work out still, but according to the evolving situation, Smith is getting a little more comfortable with having games without fans.

Smith had previously stated that he couldn’t see games occurring without fans. It seemed to be an arrow to the heart of Ohio State football in the fall.

“It seems inconsistent to me that we could say it’s unsafe for the fans to be in the stands but it’s safe for the players, to be in that gathering environment,” Smith said in on a teleconference with media members in April.

Now, however, Smith is starting to at least be open to the idea. Wednesday, he relaxed his stance on the possibility of seeing OSU football in an empty stadium.

“Obviously that’s still a conversation that all of us are having in the Big Ten and across the country — and I struggled with it at the beginning,” Smith said Wednesday. “As I continue to have conversations, I’m becoming more comfortable that if that is where we end up — and I’m optimistic that we won’t — but if we do end up there, then I think we can accommodate it. It’s still, for me, an interesting challenge to think that we could create an environment where our players who are in contact physically can be safe, but we couldn’t come up with a strategy to create a safer environment for X- number of fans. So I still struggle with that concept. However, I could get there if that is ultimately what we do.”

But it didn’t stop there. Smith now says that he believes that accommodations could be made for football games in the fall with fans, and with as many as 22,000-50,000 fans depending on the current government measures in place with social distancing.

“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.”

That’s not to say that guidelines in the state of Ohio will allow that, but if things are relaxed, He’s optimistic there won’t need to be games without fans at all.

Smith clarified his stance on the number of fans the ‘Shoe and staff could accommodate afterward on Twitter.

This is some very encouraging news on the heels of the NCAA’s vote to allow football and men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes back on campus to engage in voluntary workouts beginning on June 1. The NCAA’s vote comes after news broke that Ohio State itself is preparing for football athletes to be back on campus as of Monday, June 8.

So, it’s all trending in the right direction, and that’s much further along than probably any of us thought we’d be just a few weeks ago.

Now, that doesn’t mean things won’t revert back the other way around with a rise in COVID-19 cases, or further news to the detriment, but it looks like college football in the fall is starting to become a real possibility.

For now, be optimistic Buckeye Nation. Keep your tolerance high and your expectations low, and more than likely it’ll all work out.

Gene Smith has a hard time envisioning a college football season without fans or students

Ohio State AD Gene Smith was available via teleconference last week and said he can’t envision college football without fans or students.

As the world continues to deal with a new normal that has been thrown at it with the very unwelcomed COVID-19 pandemic, many are beginning to wonder how all of it will affect the college football season. Will it start on time? Will it be abbreviated? Will there be fans?

It’s that last point that seems to be one of the main ways a season could still take place. But that’s before you start looking at all the logistics of what that means.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith met with reporters last week via teleconference and he touched on that same thought. He said at first it made sense, but then when he began to really drill down into what that would look like, it gave him pause.

“That one I’ve thought about a little bit,” said Smith. “I struggle with that concept. When I first heard [games without fans] I said, ‘OK, that could work.’ But if we don’t have fans in the stands we’ve determined it’s not safe for them in a gathering environment. Why would it be safe for the players?”

It’s a good point. How do you put roughly 170 players plus a coaching staff, trainers, and support personnel together and still be able to guaranteed everyone’s health? It’s not 105,000 people, but it’s still a significant gathering that could put student-athletes at risk, even if this current pandemic is beginning to wind down.

The same goes for having games without students on campus. If the University feels things are safe enough to bring face-to-face classes back, that doesn’t bode well for carrying on athletic events, especially ones of such magnitude as a major college football game.

“Think about that, if students aren’t on campus that means the institution has made a decision it’s not safe for those students to be here on campus,” Smith said. “Why would it be safe for student-athletes? I keep hearing — and it’s like, ‘How does that work? It doesn’t make sense.'”

Still, despite where things are at today, it doesn’t mean there won’t be college football. Really, anyone speculating otherwise is simply giving a wild and rather uneducated opinion. Not Dabo Swinney, not Kirk Herbstreit, and not any other college football personality or administrator.

Unless, of course, there’s a crystal ball somewhere that nobody else has access to.

All we can do is take it day-by-day, week-by-week, and month-by-month. What’s most important right now is the health of those affected by this terrible disease. Anything else — even college football — is just a cherry on top.

Ohio State AD is weary of student athletes returning to school for sports

Gene Smith is using common sense.

Ohio State’s Athletic Director Gene Smith was asked about student athletes potentially returning to play sports in the middle of a pandemic, and he actually gave a really insightful answer.

The NCAA has banned all spring athletics because of coronavirus and hasn’t made a determination on what’s going to happen with fall sports — including NCAA football.

Smith was asked for his thoughts on the NCAA’s upcoming decision on fall sports, and he just didn’t seem to be very comfortable with the idea of players returning to play in empty stadiums when non-athletes aren’t even allowed to step foot back on campus because of coronavirus.

“I struggle with that concept…When I first heard that, I said, ‘OK, that could work.’ But I figured if we don’t have fans in the stands, we’ve determined it’s not safe for them in a gathering environment. So why would it be safe for the players?”

This makes a lot of sense, right? If normal students shouldn’t return to campus because of the virus, neither should student athletes. Seems pretty cut and dry.

But Smith’s answer might come as a surprise to some people when taken in context with the some of the other statements from some of college football’s other most powerful names.

Just a couple of days ago, Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy argued that football players needed to come back and play to “run money through the state of Oklahoma.” Before that, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney said he had “zero doubt” that college football would start on time. Why? Because, according to Swinney, America sent people to the moon so OF COURSE football will start on time.

So, yeah, it’s pretty refreshing to hear Smith say that, at the very least, he struggles with the concept of forcing student athletes to play sports in the middle of a global pandemic.

Hopefully the NCAA has as much sense as Smith does here.

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WATCH: Ohio State AD Gene Smith thanks health professionals and public safety workers during COVID-19

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith took to Twitter to thank the many health professionals and public safety workers during COVID-19.

During these trying times, against an invisible enemy like this COVID-19 pandemic, it takes heroes of epic proportions to get us through it all.

During 9-11, it was the first responders like the police and fireman that were on the front lines. Some of those same folks are involved in this one too, but so are the many health professionals that are risking their own health to care for those stricken by this tragic virus that has already impacted so many.

That’s not lost on Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith. He took to Twitter on Friday to thank all the Ohio State medical professionals and public safety workers for putting themselves in front of others.

Yes, it’s a job, but one that takes great bravery and courage to continue to fight what we’re dealing with these days. Click on the below and have a listen to the gratitude Smith conveys.

Ohio State’s Day, Holtmann, Smith families team up to donate $175K to Mid-Ohio Foodbank Covid-19 Fund

Amid the Covid-19 health crisis, the families of Gene Smith, Ryan Day, and Chris Holtmann will up to donate $175K to Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

In another nod to Buckeye Nation stepping up to aid those suffering from the current Covid-19 health crisis, the Day, Holtmann, and Smith families are going in together to donate a total of $175,000 to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank Covid-19 emergency Fund. This, according to a release from the athletic department Tuesday.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and his wife, Sheila, head football coach Ryan Day and his wife, Nina, and head basketball coach Chris Holtmann and his wife, Lori, are all donating $35,000 per month between the months of April and August.

The Mid-Ohio Foodbank is seeing a surging need because of the impacts of Covid-19, and this money helps to provide more assistance for those in need.

“So many people in our community are struggling to feed their families right now,” Smith said in the release. “Our families wanted to do something to support those who need help. By contributing to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, we know we can make a significant impact.”

Matt Habash, president and CEO of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, is no doubt very appreciative of the donation and says it will go a long way in helping the food bank meet the increasing need for assistance.

“We understand that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that it will take months for many of our struggling neighbors to recover,” Habash said. “We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of these amazing families to be on this journey with us.”

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According to the information provided, for each dollar donated, the Mid-Ohio Foodbank is able to secure $9.00 worth of groceries, meaning the donation from this Ohio State league of legends will result in $1.5 Million worth of groceries for Ohioans that so desperately need it in this truly historic season.

The three families would like to get the word out too and encourage anyone interested in joining the Smiths, Days and Holtmanns in contributing to families affected by COVID-19 can make a donation to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank at www.midohiofoodbank.org/buckeyenation.

Take that Covid-19. Humanity is fighting back, and this case, it’s wearing scarlet and gray.

 

Ohio State AD Gene Smith talks coronavirus and Buckeye athletics

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith offered some thoughts and comments on OSU athletics and the coronavirus.

We’ve seen a few in Buckeye Nation come out with encouraging comments as we all grapple with this battle with the novel coronavirus that has gripped the world. We’ve heard from former Ohio State guard Aaron Craft and also head football coach Ryan Day.

Now we’ve got a video posted by OSU athletic director Gene Smith as well. You can watch the below video shared to the official Twitter profile of the Ohio State Buckeyes and listen to Smith’s message. In it, he thanks OSU fans, talks about the safety of the many athletes playing sports for the university and offers a note of encouragement as everyone deals with this pandemic.

Stay safe and be well OSU fans!