Smith said he would "hate" football possibly separating from universities, as "whatever model exists has to be tethered to education”Barbara J. Perenic/USA TODAY NETWORK
Outgoing Ohio State AD Gene Smith said he thinks the NCAA's governance model "worked exceptionally well" during his tenure, though what it "didn’t do was shift," according to Marcus Hartman of the DAYTON DAILY NEWS. Smith, speaking during a Q&A session on Thursday at the Fawcett Center, said, "There was a period of time where the association was strong, where the governing structure was strong, but everything is about leadership. And I have a lot of respect for (current NCAA president) Charlie Baker, but he’s probably four or five years too late, and he’s trying to recover.” He added the association "didn’t shift with the times or the ecosystem that we served, which is why you have all these interest groups, pressure groups in it right now -- lawyers, politicians, everybody." Smith: "When there’s a leadership void, people will step in” (
DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 4/20).
RELATED: Smith to leave lasting impact at OSU amid looming retirement
ALL ABOUT EDUCATION: Smith said he would "hate" football possibly separating from universities, as "whatever model exists has to be tethered to education.” Smith said some athletes "come to us at a very immature level and we do a great job of getting them maturity and a great job of helping the light bulb come on for them," so in "higher education we have to keep it tethered to education." He added if it was "not a part of that, then make it semi-pro and take it outside the institution and you pay the institution a contract to use the stadium.” However, Smith said that model "would bother me, because I would know that those student-athletes who, regardless of the fact they might be getting some level of money, they’re not being taught how to live the next part of their lives." Smith: "That’s probably old-school in me, but I’m just passionate about giving these young people the opportunity to be educated” (
COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 4/19).
RELATED: Ohio State football expands staff to address changing college sports landscape
SPENDING ON THE WAY OUT: In Columbus, Bill Rabinowitz wrote Smith wants this year’s OSU football team to “be a part of his legacy.” In part because of the hiring of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, OSU’s assistant coach salary payroll will be $11.425M in 2024, an increase of 22.5% over last year. Smith said he "probably put a significant burden" on incoming AD Ross Bjork with the "budget because I was playing poker with football and went all in.” OSU has not won a Big Ten title since 2020. Smith said Bjork has “got to balance the budget in the future because I just went berserk” (
COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 4/18).
