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Tressel contract, NCAA on Buckeye AD’s agenda
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
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[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER[/FONT]
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April will mark Gene Smith’s first year as Ohio State athletics director. Smith spoke at the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club on Monday.
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CANTON TWP. - The man who juggles many balls stopped for a few hours. Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith, coming up in April on his one-year anniversary on the job, spent about 90 minutes with the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club on Monday at Four Winds restaurant.
As one might expect, there wasn’t a lack of questions for the man in charge of Ohio State’s 35 varsity sports.
Smith has two hot items on his agenda. First, Ohio State will meet with NCAA officials Feb. 3 and 4 to find out if they face further sanctions from nine rules violations that primarily center on the men’s basketball program. After that, Smith and Head Football Coach Jim Tressel will talk about a three-year contract extension due Tressel by March 1, possibly extending the deal longer.
The important news is Smith does not believe Ohio State will face any additional serious sanctions from the NCAA. The only football issue among the nine violations is quarterback Troy Smith’s acceptance of $500 from a booster. However, Smith sat out two games and made restitution as recommended by the NCAA.
“We had a total collaborative effort with the NCAA,” Smith said. “We agree on eight of the nine allegations. We’ll battle on that one a little. I do not believe we’ll face significant sanctions. I believe we’ll be on probation. I do believe we’ll have to pay back money and maybe take some banners down.
“Our battle is to make sure that current and future student-athletes don’t have to pay any sanctions because of what has occurred.”
Former basketball Coach Jim O’Brien filed suit against the school over his firing. His suit may provide the NCAA with additional evidence, which may be one of the reasons the original hearing in December was postponed until February.
Smith isn’t speaking much about Tressel’s contract. He echoed earlier thoughts that he is interested in extending the deal. Tressel’s contract has a March 1 deadline to extend it.
“I will discuss publicly I am interested in trying to extend Jim’s contract,” Smith said. “But the particulars ... are personal between him and me.”
Pressed further afterward, Smith declined to get into details. Is it possible OSU would add three years to the three-year extension in place?
“We haven’t discussed that yet,” Smith said. “(The media) has discussed it more than we have. Jim is recruiting and some point when he gets done, then we’ll talk about it.”
Perhaps, though, Smith has a newer appreciation for Tressel. He spent the entire Fiesta Bowl week in the same hotel as the football team. He attended every practice. He observed Tressel as close as he ever has.
What did he learn?
“Preparation,” Smith said. “I knew he was a great preparer, but being there with him and in the same hotel for a week, seeing it more intimately, that took it to a whole new level.”
While Smith is new to Ohio State, he isn’t new to Ohio. He graduated from Bedford Chanel High School and then Notre Dame in 1977, where he lettered three years at defensive end for the Irish.
He coached on Dan Devine’s staff for four years before moving into administration. Smith spent seven years as the athletics director at Iowa State and Eastern Michigan. OSU hired Smith from Arizona State where he was the athletics director.
Watching his new team beat his alma mater, Notre Dame, must have been difficult.
“It wasn’t tough at all,” Smith said. “I had a great experience at Notre Dame. They taught me a lot. That’s behind me, though. ... I had more challenges and emotions with Arizona State University and the fact that was the last Fiesta Bowl in Sun Devil Stadium.”
Don’t believe him?
He took a a nice jab that brought a near-packed house to a roaring laughter.
The topic of scheduling Notre Dame in the regular season came up. The Buckeyes will play Youngstown State before they play the Irish on the football field in the regular season.
“We’re 3-2 against them. We won; we’re done with them,” Smith said. “We’re going to get someone better. Hey, I went there. I played there. I can say that. I earned that right.”
Next week’s speaker is Ashland University Head Football Coach Lee Owens. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail:
[email protected]
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