Buckeyes work with Bjork from Texas A&M to be advertisement
Jan 16, 2024, 04:28 PM ET
Ross Bjork has made the jump from Texas A&M to Ohio State to be the brand-new athletic director for the Buckeyes, it was announced Tuesday.Bjork’s employing
brings a paradigm shift for Ohio State athletics in the wake of the retirement of long time athletic director Gene Smith, indicating a reversal under new president Ted Carter, who started his tenure in recent weeks.
“Few sports directors have developed such an excellent and strong record of success in sports, in the classroom and throughout the neighborhood,” Carter stated in a statement. “The bar is extremely high at Ohio State, and we have discovered in Ross a highly intelligent and effective leader– not to mention an intense rival.”
Bjork, 51, will deal with Smith on the shift and will formally start his period with the Buckeyes on July 1.
“I have been extremely blessed to be a product of college sports as a student-athlete and lucky to deal with many exceptional student-athletes, coaches, staff and university leaders throughout my profession, and Ohio State represents the conclusion of these efforts,” Bjork stated in a statement. “To be a part of Buckeye Country, together with its storied customs and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome difficulty for me and our household. I can’t wait to start.”
Bjork brings more than a years of SEC experience. He operated at Ole Miss as the athletic director from 2012 to 2019 before being employed at Texas A&M. Prior to Ole Miss, he was the athletic director at Western Kentucky and before that, an associate or assistant advertisement at schools including UCLA, Miami and Missouri.Bjork had simply fired Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher, which came at the expense of the greatest buyout in the history of the sport. Texas A&M owes Fisher more than$76 million of the completely ensured deal. Bjork did not hire Fisher but was athletic director when the agreement extension that led to the buyout was issued.In the wake of Fisher’s firing, Bjork carried out a training search that ended with the hiring of ex-Duke coach Mike Elko.Bjork helped guide leaders in the Texas legislature in the development of the new NIL law.
He also managed the creation of programs to gear up student-athletes with education and resources connected to fund, individual branding, networking and media training.Ohio State looms as one of the leading jobs in college sports. Smith is set to retire in July after 18 seasons, during which he became one of the sport’s most respected voices. Eight times throughout Smith’s tenure, Ohio State completed No. 1 in the Big Ten in the standings of the Directors’Cup, which acknowledges schools with the most success across college athletics.Ohio State, which has 36 sports, has won 32 team and 117 private national championships during Smith’s tenure.ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.