It's a new era for Ohio State athletics. The Buckeyes said goodbye to longtime athletic director Gene Smith, who retired after 19 years on the job, on Friday and began July by officially welcoming Ross Bjork as the Scarlet and Gray's newsenior vice president and Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director on Monday.
Hired by Ohio State president Ted Carter in mid-January, following Smith's retirement announcement, Bjork left Texas A&M to take over the Buckeye athletic department, beginning first as asenior advisor to the athletic department before Smith's retirement. Bjork brings more than 30 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, including stops at Ole Miss and Western Kentucky.
Despite being on campus for four months and getting his feet wet while observing Smith's day-to-day, the work officially starts now for Bjork. Bjork is ready for what's next, stating that he is "grateful, humbled and fired up" to begin as Ohio State's new athletic director.
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"As I get started on July 1, the only promises I will make will be based on three things," Bjork wrote in a social media post on Twitter Monday morning. "I will work at my maximum effort every single day for you and our student-athletes. I will carry myself with a positive attitude and humble confidence about who we are, what we stand for and how we do it. I will embrace and cherish our role in supporting student-athletes while being a great steward of the treasured assets within Buckeye Athletics and Business Advancement."
Despite not being in his official role, Bjork has been busy since arriving in Columbus. Following Smith's decision to part ways with Chris Holtmann, Bjork was tasked with hiring a newmen's basketball coach. Bjork kept the hiring in-house, promoting Jake Diebler to the role following his time as interim head coach to close out the 2023-24 regular season. Additionally, Bjork has hired new rowing coach Emily Gackowski, baseball coach Justin Haire and softball coach Kirin Kuman.
A native of Dodge City, Kansas, Bjork played fullback at Division-II Emporia State from 1991-95 before going into athletic administration. Along with serving as the athletic director at Texas A&M (2019-2024), Ole Miss (2012-19) and Western Kentucky (2010-12), Bjork worked in athletic departments at Missouri (1997-2003), the University of Miami (2003-2005) and UCLA (2005-2010).
"Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community," Carter said at the time of Bjork's hiring. "The bar is incredibly high at Ohio State, and we have found in Ross a highly intelligent and effective leader – not to mention a fierce competitor."
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Bjork now steps into big shoes after Smith's departure. The retiring athletic director helped the Buckeyes finish as the Big Ten's top team in the Learfield Director's Cup standing on eight occasions, overseeing 117 conference titles and 35 national championships across all sports.Smith also helped to raise more than $930 million during his tenure with the Scarlet and Gray.
"Thank you for your unwavering support of our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff," Smith wrote in his parting message to Buckeye Nation. "It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as your Athletic Director over the past 19 years.All of us have enjoyed remarkable experiences via our sports, concerts, and other events that occurred in our athletic venues. Thank you for sharing your passion and commitment that contributed to our student-athletes success, on and off the field. I am extremely proud of our student-athletes' performances, in the classroom and competitively. They have set a standard of excellence for all future Buckeyes. Sheila and I look forward to supporting our teams in the years ahead. Although we'll be a bit farther away, they will always be close to our hearts."
