Amid seismic changes in the Big Ten, one of the conference’s most powerful figures is preparing to step away.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith will retire at the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year, he announced in a Wednesday morning press conference. Smith has led the Buckeyes’ athletic department since 2005.
“I believe that July 2024 is the right time to welcome new leadership to build upon what we have achieved and continue to build upon the great tradition of excellence in athletics and business advancement at Ohio State,” Smith said. “I am forever grateful.”
Smith was hired away from Arizona State after the ’05 retirement of Ohio State’s previous athletic director, Andy Geiger. Smith oversaw 32 team national championships and 117 individual national championships, including the Buckeyes’ title in the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014.
Meanwhile, the conference has changed around him, growing from 11 schools to 18 with the additions of Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
“For Ohio State, [USC and UCLA] frankly [provide] two other schools in unbelievable markets that frankly can carry some weight,” Smith said in 2022. “Ohio State has been a program for the Big Ten over the years that has been at the top of the pyramid in the Big Ten and carried a significant amount of weight in the value of the Big Ten.”
