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

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THE EUGENE D. SMITH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Ohio State’s student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and on the fields of play under the leadership of Gene Smith, who directs the nation’s largest and one of its elite athletic programs.

Smith is proud of the high-performance culture that has developed with the leadership of what he often refers to as “the best coaching staff in America.” Record achievements by individuals, teams and the entire athletic program attest to Ohio State’s commitment to the development of the total student-athlete in a holistic way.

Entire article: https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/the-eugene-d-smith-leadership-institute/

 
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The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly put a strain on Ohio State's athletic budget, but as of now, all 37 of the school's varsity sports are safe.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith announced at his Thursday press conference that at this point in time, Ohio State is avoiding eliminating any sports or eliminating pay cuts for coaches.

That doesn't mean cuts won't be made somewhere. Smith said the school is working off of a two-month budget that has been approved by the Board of Trustees. As they get a better understanding of the future, they'll make a more definitive long-term budget that will likely have to include fewer expenditures somewhere.

"We have to do some work on our budget," Smith said. "We've got a lot of work to do as we ultimately make some decisions."

Smith's announcement comes a day after Stanford, one of the largest and most prestigious athletic departments in the country, announced it will cut 11 of its 36 varsity sports following the 2020-21 athletic season.

Stanford said its model for supporting 36 varsity sports was not sustainable and that the athletic program was projecting an operating deficit of more than $12 million in 2021. Ohio State is currently the only athletic program in the country that sponsors more sports than Stanford.

Obviously, the situation is still fluid and cuts may still be made, especially if there is no football season to boost revenue, but as of now, Ohio State will move forward with all 38 of its varsity sports.

Stanford said its model for supporting 36 varsity sports was not sustainable and that the athletic program was projecting an operating deficit of more than $12 million in 2021. Ohio State is currently the only athletic program in the country that sponsors more sports than Stanford.
 
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I found this article from last month.....

Ohio State's Gene Smith named Big Ten's best athletic director by Stadium
June 16, 2020

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.

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.

Entire article with video interview: https://buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/2...-smith-named-big-tens-best-athletic-director/

Meyer, Day, and Holtmann: Could he have made any better hires?
 
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When Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith last spoke with the media two weeks ago following the Big Ten’s decision to cancel non-conference games, his outlook toward the upcoming college football season could only be described as pessimistic.

During an interview with 97.1 The Fan’s Bishop & Laurinaitis on Wednesday, however, his words were more optimistic. He confirmed Ohio State would be starting walkthrough football practices on Friday and that the Buckeyes were on track to begin fall camp on Aug. 7, acknowledging he wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea of full-fledged football practices yet but also sharing hope that Ohio State would figure out a plan to allow those practices to happen over the next two weeks.

Smith also expressed hope that the season could start as early as Sept. 5 – even though the Buckeyes weren’t originally scheduled to play a Big Ten opponent until their Sept. 26 home game against Rutgers – and said the flexibility created by having a shorter, conference-only schedule “provides us unbelievable opportunity” to potentially make a season happen, even if games have to be moved around or the season has to be shortened further.

Although it still remains as uncertain as ever whether college football will actually be played this fall, Smith and his colleagues around the Big Ten remain hard at work to try to find a way to make it happen. And one of the biggest reasons why, as he’s expressed repeatedly over the past few months, is he wants Ohio State’s athletes – including those whose next steps could be to play professionally – to have the opportunity to compete for the Buckeyes again.

“We have young people whose futures are aligned with their opportunity to play this fall, and I think we got to make sure, as best we can, we don’t overreact and we give them a chance,” Smith said Wednesday. “You can go through the names just like I could; they got a future. So how we do help them?”
 
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“We want to play the game,” Smith said in an open letter released by the Buckeyes on Wednesday night. “We will have our student-athletes back to competition as soon as possible.

“The Ohio State University is confident that we have the safety protocols and rigorous safeguards in place for our student-athletes to practice and return to competition immediately. While a decision has been made by the presidents of the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall season, we view this as a temporary delay, and Dr. Johnson has directed us to prepare for the possibility of bringing at least some of our fall sports back to practice and competition by the end of the year. We are actively planning for the winter and spring seasons for all sports, including the return of football.”
 
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How many games is Gene Smith attending?

He has attended all of the games prior to Indiana, including the Penn State game.

In an otherwise silent stadium, his boisterous cheering was clearly audible throughout the press box at Beaver Stadium.

He is both an extremely enthusiastic, and knowledgeable supporter of the Buckeyes. As a former college football player, Smith frequently identifies plays and predicts what will happen before the snap.

Did you ever try to "accidentally" walk in to Gene Smith's suite next door and help yourself to some of the food in there?

Sadly, no. We have not been able to get past the velvet rope.

We have not been able to get past the velvet rope.
Click to expand...

:lol:
 
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Bumping this thread because I don’t believe that Gene Smith has gotten the credit he deserves for being a main driving force in salvaging this season. I’ve seen Buckeyes like President Johnson, Justin Fields, and Dr. Jim Borchers deservedly complimented and given thanks for their roles in making the 2020 tOSU football season happen, and that’s great.

I haven’t always been a fan of everything that Gene Smith has done, but I think he deflected credit to President Johnson and others; and I believe that Gene Smith was the person that coordinated things with the other ADs and the newly installed commissioner, who was somewhat in over his head.

I was unsure about the decision to not play at Illinois, but that proved to be correct when the Buckeyes blasted Sparty and would have been ready for The Game if TTUN had been interested in showing up. The team had enough to win an unprecedented fourth straight outright B1G title, and enough to get an enormous win in a playoff game last night.

This season may or may not finish in dream fashion, but it’s been immensely enjoyable under extremely difficult circumstances. We didn’t get a shot at the NC in 2012, in large part to Gene’s regrettable decision to play in a 2011 bowl. In my mind, having the opportunity to play for the Natty this year redeems that previous situation.

I am personally grateful to Gene Smith for everything he’s done to make this season possible. He’s also made tough decisions regarding keeping other sports teams, and dealing with a huge budget hit while minimizing the impact to future athletic teams at tOSU.

So thank you, Gene, and Go Bucks!
 
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