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Gene Smith (Former AD, ‘10 AD of the Year, '13 NAAC Organizational Leadership Award)

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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2005-03-04-ohio-state-smith-ad_x.htm

Ohio State to hire athletic director from Arizona State
By Jonathan Drew, The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State is hiring Arizona State's athletic director to take over a program trying to shake off a series of NCAA investigations and other public relations fiascos, the director of an organization for athletic directors said Friday.

Gene Smith, a Cleveland native who played football at Notre Dame before leading athletic departments at three universities, flew to Columbus on Friday to work out the deal, said Dutch Baughman, director of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association.

Ohio State said it would hold a 2 p.m. news conference Saturday to announce a new AD.

Smith, 49, inherits an athletic department that began facing problems within months of its football team winning the national championship in 2002. Since then, the football team and women's and men's basketball teams have faced a series of NCAA investigations over allegations ranging from sham academic courses to free orthodontics work.

The Columbus Dispatch and WBNS-TV first reported on Thursday that Smith, the athletic director at Arizona State University for the past five years, was the leading candidate in the search.

"This is an outstanding fit. Gene is a very, very intelligent and eloquent professional. He understands our profession thoroughly. There's nothing at Ohio State that is a surprise to him. He is well-equipped to deal with any issue that is present," Baughman said.

Before his stint at Arizona State, Smith was AD at Iowa State from 1993-2000 and Eastern Michigan from 1985-1993.

Baughman said his group helps athletic departments identify candidates and work out their compensation.

Outgoing athletic director Andy Geiger wouldn't comment on Smith's hiring, saying he wasn't involved in choosing his successor. Messages seeking further comment were left for athletic department spokesman Steve Snapp and university spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk.

Arizona State officials don't know whether Smith has accepted the Ohio State job, said Virgil Renzulli, vice president for public affairs at Arizona State.

"We know that Ohio State is interested in Gene Smith, and we are making every effort to keep him," Renzulli said.

Baughman said he's confident in Smith's ability to handle the problems that for the past three years have dogged Geiger, who cited burnout earlier this year when he announced his retirement, effective June 30.

"He'll be able to step right up to it. There won't be a learning curve period of time. He's going to get right up to speed," said Baughman, who said he has known Smith for more than 15 years.

The Buckeyes' troubles began the fall after their football championship when star running back Maurice Clarett was suspended for lying to investigators during an NCAA probe of allegations that he received improper benefits from a family friend.

Clarett has since accused football coach Jim Tressel of setting him up with cars, said boosters provided him with no-show jobs and that Ohio State professors gave breaks to football players.

Also in football, quarterback Troy Smith was suspended for the Alamo Bowl last season for accepting benefits from a booster and could receive further penalties.

In December, Geiger announced the school was banning its basketball team from playing in the NCAA or NIT tournaments as a way of mitigating expected sanctions from the NCAA.

Former coach Jim O'Brien acknowledged he loaned $6,000 to the family of a recruit in 1999. O'Brien, who was fired by Geiger on June 8, is seeking up to $6 million in a breach-of-contract suit against Ohio State.

Most recently, the school announced that the NCAA was probing allegations that an orthodontist worked on two women's basketball players without billing their insurance company.

Smith graduated from Chanel High School in Bedford, Ohio, in 1973 and played lettered three years as a defensive end at Notre Dame before graduating in 1977. He was a member of the Fighting Irish's 1973 national championship team.

He served as an assistant football coach from 1977 to 1981 at his alma mater, helping to guide the 1977 team to another national championship.

Smith spent two years in business before taking a job in athletic administration at Eastern Michigan in 1983.
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Also, could it be possible that he could help bring some tOSU vs. ND matchups in the future?
 
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My question is - why is OSU paying him 500-600k when Andy only received in the 300s? In this range, he will be one of the highest publically compensated people in the country (like in top .001%), with only coaches of massive revenue producing sports commanding more. (The President makes $400,000, and thats only after 30+ years at $200,000).

With the lukewarm reception that he has already received, my initial reaction is OSU overpaid. I hope I am wrong.
 
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Simply a guess as to why he is being paid so much....Perhaps it is b/c he is taking over at a time that will afford no honeymoon period....and lots of crap to deal with...

-osu football ncaa problems
-osu basketball ncaa problems
-jim o'brien lawsuit which could get ugly
-the low grades issue with both basketball and football
and most importantly
-seriously high level of athletic debt to handle
 
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My question is, why can we not get an OSU grad. We have the largest university in the country, more grads and than anyone, and we don't have an AD, football or basketball head coach that went to tOSU. I think this is unbelievable. How long has it been since we had a OSU grad in one of these positions. Seems crazy to me
 
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yt6 said:
My question is, why can we not get an OSU grad. We have the largest university in the country, more grads and than anyone, and we don't have an AD, football or basketball head coach that went to tOSU. I think this is unbelievable. How long has it been since we had a OSU grad in one of these positions. Seems crazy to me
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OK, give us some suggestions. I'm sure you know a few that are qualified and would take the job. Thanks.
 
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Its not my job to know who these candidates are. If you are honest, you would probably agree thsat there is a different passion, understanding and commitment to a school and its programs when you went there. When your degree is from there you have an identity with the school that is different than someone who didn't. I have to imagine that there are qualified people who could step into at least one of these roles int he past, what 30 years??
 
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yt6 said:
When your degree is from there you have an identity with the school that is different than someone who didn't.
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True, but it could also make you blindly loyal instead of making intelligent business decisions that will benefit the school in the long term...

2 sides to that argument for sure.
 
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Alan said:
Simply a guess as to why he is being paid so much....Perhaps it is b/c he is taking over at a time that will afford no honeymoon period....and lots of crap to deal with...

-osu football ncaa problems
-osu basketball ncaa problems
-jim o'brien lawsuit which could get ugly
-the low grades issue with both basketball and football
and most importantly
-seriously high level of athletic debt to handle
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Just to further what Alan has said, also you have to take into account that the guy's wife was in a great position at ASU, they have NO smog floating above any of their programs & there might not have been a lot of quality character guys willing to make this (by public means) risky transition. I like the hire and think he will be a great asset to the university. And if Holbrook is making $400,000....I'm okay with this guy raking in 2-3 mil. :wink2:
 
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they have NO smog floating above any of their programs
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The NCAA has been investigating the ASU football program since the start of the 2004 season for extra benefits provided to at least one football player by a member of the ASU compliance group. This investigation has not yet been concluded, and ASU lost a starting RB in 2004 as a result of the allegations.

Focus of football probe blasts ASU’s Smith
Adams: Athletic Director to blame for rumors
by Brian Gomez
published on Friday, October 1, 2004

A former ASU athletic department employee at the center of an internal investigation said Thursday that Athletic Director Gene Smith is responsible for rumors about her involvement in the case.

Former compliance assistant Wendy Adams, who reportedly was fired during an investigation into possible NCAA violations, blamed Smith for not dispelling rumors such as her giving improper benefits to student athletes.

Adams said she couldn't comment on any specific allegations of wrongdoing, but expressed frustration toward ASU for not addressing the rumors.

"I actually think that if the [athletic director] would put the information out there, it would stop some of [the rumors]," said Adams, a Chandler resident who is an ASU alum. "Things aren't being said, so people just assume. There's not a lot of information out there."

Smith declined to comment on Adams' claims, citing a need to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Sophomore tailback Loren Wade was suspended shortly before Saturday's Pac-10 opener against Oregon State for what ASU head coach Dirk Koetter called a team rules violation. It's unclear whether Wade will return this season and sources said the investigation involves the tailback.

Adams, who described her departure from ASU as "a parting of ways," criticized the athletic department's ongoing investigation.

"Some of the things they are investigating, they're just pulling stuff out of their butt," said Adams, who has hired a lawyer since the investigation began. "I don't know if they can make an educated statement right now. Either they don't know or they're not saying.

"I have no idea who's saying this stuff, but it's someone who doesn't really know what's going on and they're just trying to guess."

Asked if Adams felt sorry for Wade, she said, "Definitely not. Not at all."

Adams would not say whether multiple student athletes were involved in the investigation.

On Thursday, The Arizona Republic reported that Adams is a close friend of Francine Arthur, the former athletic department employee who married ex-Sun Devil J.R. Redmond five years ago during a similar investigation.

Adams said that she knew Arthur, but she denied being friends with her.

"I did not like that girl at all," Adams said. "I could not stand her."

Adams earned a bachelor's degree in purchasing and logistics management in May 1993 and a master's degree in public administration in August 2002.

Reach the reporter at [email protected].
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NCAA probe into ASU football program
 
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The verdict is still out in my opinion. Unfortunately I think that him being a minority played a factor in his hiring, which I do not think it should be (OSU did the same with Karan HOEbrook). This approach limits the available candidates, and pigeon holes the search. I am not stating that he isn't the most qualified candidate for the position, but it appears that some who are familiar with him are not too hot on his leadership.

I'll go into it open minded, I'm sure he'll do a good job. Besides, Andy G didn't necessarily leave him with a perfect department in my opinion. The guy is going to have some serious issues to deal with, and will be exposed to the big time in a hurry. We'll find a lot about his integrity within his first 2 months.
 
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We'll find a lot about his integrity within his first 2 months.
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Well-- We'll figure out he handles scrutiny in a hurry.

To me, the important attributes that we can't know anything about are going to be his ability to budget on a massive scale, his ability to handle the press (I hope he's a little smoother than Andy.. if you get my meaning) and his ability to live up to the expectations of the Alumni beyond winning. These are things that are have unprecedented scale outside of Ohio State. We're the biggest athletic department, now this guy has to figure out how to make it the best.
 
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