Real Pod Wednesdays: Gene Smith talks Ohio State career, college sports changes ahead of retirement
[Music] welcome into real pod Wednesdays Dan hope joined by Andy Anders and by a very special guest this week as Jean Smith who is now in his final two weeks as Ohio State’s athletic director is joining us one more time here on the show Jean has it sunk in yet that uh your time as Ohio State’s athletic director is almost over my wife and a Sheila uh we haven’t had any second thoughts about um retirement uh since we announced it so that’s a good sign uh but yeah it sunk in you know my office is is you know all the walls are cleared off now and uh um our movers are coming so uh it’s all it’s all right front of us is there anything that scares you about uh about you know leaving the Working World I suppose after so long not really Andy I mean I’m you know I’m very comfortable um my wife is a good planner fortunately um and we have a good plan U my my mentors have shared to me that I just can’t call Turkey uh so um I’m looking forward to stand in the business a little bit uh in a certain way but um I I have to do something so I’m on the fiestable board uh which will keep me heavily involved in in the industry and and uh so I’m not really scared I’m I’m looking forward to golfing and hiking and being around the grandkids I I’m imagine that we’ll probably still see you back in Columbus from from time to time not not a whole lot though Dan you know I’m G come back I think for the Iowa game but otherwise um not really you know I’m a catch the team on the west coast you know I’m going to we’re moving to Arizona so I’m going catch the team uh when they come out to UCLA or USC or something like that nature different teams uh but if my schedule allows but otherwise uh I’m probably not going to come back to Columbus so hot for athletic events I’ll probably come back a couple or few times to play with my golf Partners next summer but uh that’ll be about it are you looking forward to just kind of sitting at home and watching the Buckeyes on TV yeah I am actually uh in in I’m moving to Arizona Paradise Valley so there’s a a I own bar called bottled blond so I’ll be at the Bottled Blonde on some occasions but um largely at home I’m looking forward to it and uh be able to you know crack a beer and watch the game and and U be relaxed you obviously have had a close relationship with Ryan you know since hiring him and working close with him the past five plus years I will as you’re sitting there you know drinking a beer will it be weird kind of that distance and and seeing him operate on game day you know as sort of from from more of an outside perspective yeah you know it will be slightly weird um not being there um to go down to the sidelines if one of the players get injured or or to watch him uh perform and then be able to have uh you know the impromptu meetings that we’ve had on Sundays or even the Friday meetings pregame always um met with him uh in a you know informal casual way on Friday morning so uh I will actually miss that Friday morning more than anything um I’ll miss being at the games and and being there support uh my teammates who are running the operations for for everything but also uh just being there to support um that that’s that’s something that is uh I’m GNA have to wean myself from over time you mentioned earlier this offseason that you went all in to help football try to win a championship this year what made it so important for you to do that well I think one we you know we we really had to get our way back as both of you know we were winning Big 10 championships on a pretty consistent basis and uh which catapulted us into the old BCS ultimately cfp uh uh process so we got to get back to that we got to get back to winning championships and now this new system with the expansion and then the new system um you know we’re going to probably unless we fall flat flat on our faces we’re going to probably be in the question is where in and so you know if you’re able to fortunately win the Big 10 Championship then you’re in all likelihood going to get a buy uh so uh we just got to get back to that and and so I felt like uh what what other things could we do to invest in football uh particularly in my last year I can make some decisions and you know the the bullets can can fly at me um those decisions and we just go all in when you say you know bullets flying at you around those decisions are are you saying like it gave you sort of more freedom knowing that your retirement was coming up to be a little more bold and maybe whether it’s Anil strategy whatever it may be to kind of enable this uh push for football yeah it was more around the salaries of coaches you know and and I won’t go into details about you know who we may have lost if we didn’t up their salaries or those type of things and obviously getting a chip to Kelly and at that level of a salary was significant and and did investment in facilities you know normally um I would have been more conservative around what we did in the Woody Haze um most people don’t know that that’s an older building and every year we try and make it look nice you guys have been in there you know pain and lighting and you know some graphics things of that nature but uh you know we weid the entire locker room you know we we did we redid the entire Aquatics area um you know we carpeted the entire facility normally I would have done different pieces of it we replaced two Fields two turf fields Outdoors um normally I would have cascaded that over time and not has been as impactful to the budget uh but I felt like okay we’re going to get all this done um and make sure that football has what it needs to be successful uh from a uh most people that’s where the players live that’s where the coaches work all day every day and you guys see it because you’re there you know every Tuesday after a game so um I just wanted to go all in and and that was probably something that uh I normally would not have done when you think about watching those games at home do you have that last weekend of November circled on your calendar oh yeah yeah you know we we got the family going to be there and uh you know I’m I’m all excited about that one for sure and you know I’m just excited about all of them but really excited about that one was what is going to be cool for me Dan is I like you guys I know all the kids you know so I know all the kids and you know I I want to see you know some of the the uh young puppies play Early you know I’m hopeful um that we have games where those those backups can get in that’s going to be really cool for me to watch so but certainly uh that November game Circle Switching gears to basketball for a second you know obviously Ross was the one who hired uh Jake but you knew him well from his time as an assistant do you feel a personal investment in his success too even though you didn’t make that higher maybe advised on it though yeah yeah that’s exactly right well said I mean I did advise on and obviously poed him to inim that gave him the platform to you know kind of a Resume Builder so to speak in an interview opportunity and he did exception well um not just the wins that we were fortunate to have you know the Purdue win was huge the Michigan State win was huge um but how he handled the team and the energy and and uh the the the engagement with the fans I mean all those things are critical and and uh so um and I did advis Ross along the way but I do have some ownership in it I do feel have some personal pride in it uh he’s doing a great job uh this this year is going to be challenging year uh it’s year one uh from that perspective so you know the expectations have to be consistent with reality um but he I think he’s going to do a really really good job and I’m looking forward to seeing him in uh in Vegas on November 4th I’ll be at that game when they play Texas obviously people want to see you know championships come back to that program too just what do you think are the steps that will need to happen for Ohio State basketball to get back to where it’s winning Big 10 championships well I think one is you know Jake needed to hire his staff and make sure that there’s total alignment uh with the staff support staff and the people in the department that support basketball uh I think that’s critical and then he needed to get get his roster set you know I think he’s done a great job in the portal uh we’re fortunate enough to hold on to a few guys that were I think a part of our future um and you guys know them uh as well um um I did not anticipate that we would lose Rody Gale uh that was a loss and then of course uh Felix I was hopeful that we could retain those two but uh that’s a new world we’re in particularly with basketball I think it’s it’s more impactful there just because of the numbers but uh he’s got a great roster great kids uh in our culture um and so I I think that’s the main thing and then you know the recruiting part uh it’s just going to Ohio is blessed over the next couple years to have some unbelievably talented uh basketball players we got to be strong in that space and which was played well for for Jake in the hire so anyway I think we got to get it all comes down to players you guys know that so um you know great great players make great coaches so we we got to make sure we we’re really strong in the recruiting what has it been like and obviously this was one of the big things you worked with with Ross over the last few months what’s it been like working with him um for these past four months and what do you think Ohio State fans should expect from him as the athletic director it’s been enjoyable you know Ross and I knew each other before and and uh I have a lot of respect for him in his career path he’s his season athletic director season administrator and he holds the values that we all hold dear and and uh so helping him transition and learn our culture and how our we operate here as an institution and help him understand what Buckeye nation is all about and um you know this is obviously the largest program that he’s ever overseen so understanding that mass number of people and 575 employees or whatever it is and all the concerts and Nationwide Arena and all those things that we run um I think he he’s get acclimated to so uh it’s been great to work with him and some of my people my teammates knew him too um Dan Cen and he work together as development officers uh you know in the industry so you know it’s worked well uh he’s got a great relationship with the president which is critical uh so he’s figuring it all out what’s maybe your biggest advice to Ross that you wish somebody had told you before you became Ohio State’s atic director you know um that’s kind of hard I I I think probably the biggest thing is is the to to pause and don’t press don’t press you know take take your time um you know you feel like you got to Sprint sometimes when you’re driven and you’re you’re kind of a slightly type A personality um you know you want a rooll and and and you ought to take your time a little bit and he’s doing that this transition has allowed him to do that actually uh but uh that’ be the biggest thing is you know I I was fortunate when I first came in I I just read a book uh um by Michael Watkins the first 90 days and that helped me frame my transition time uh around pausing and uh but that’s probably the biggest thing is don’t feel like you got to change everything right away just just read the room you know I’ve seen some of my colleagues go at different places and change the mascot and they don’t last long can you imagine if I changed Brutus not well a little weird let’s just change his let’s redo everything shoot yeah um you know speaking of change obviously this is college sports as a whole since you took over in 2005 has shifted drastically in what ways has that changed the job of being an athletic director at a major program like Ohio State you have to begin to think differently there’s no question that you have to really think about everything differently I actually think the the model will be defined in 25 and then you you go through 25 and early 26 and there’ll be you know Clarity that everybody will be able to manage it uh but I think uh you know the biggest thing is you got to think different budgetarily uh you have to pay more attention to this new ecosystem you know and making sure that you have a stronger emphasis on uh Financial uh management U teaching that with our student athletes um you know they’re going to come into through the revenue process they’re going to revenue share process they’re going to come into more money so making sure that your financial literacy program uh is the best that it could possibly be ours is really good uh but you know everything needs to be looked at and and so um there’s just a whole lot of things with that um just a really really more attention to some of those details um the money’s going to be the money and that’s not going to that’s just reality we’re going to be told what it’s going to be and and then you just gota Embrace that change and roll with it how do how well do you think Ohio state is prepared for this new Revenue sharing system and just for college sports in general what how do you think that’s going to be good bad or whatever for college sports well I think we’re we’re prepared uh obviously we have great support from Buckeye nation and and uh we we really began last year talking about this I always told our coaches and my teammates that uh this was the case that once it’s settled once you know hopefully it wouldn’t go to to court which you know I was really praying for uh but now that it’s it’s close to being settled uh we that would bring Clarity and now we have it to some degree uh we have more when the judge makes her to final decision but uh I think we’re well positioned uh we started to reduce expenses in a lot of different areas uh big time uh we’ve already we have a started two years ago a revenue generation committee to you know think about other things we could do to generate Revenue I mean you guys saw it I mean I never thought we’d be playing golf in the stadium you know so we had uh you know 11,000 people play nine holes of golf in the stadium and and and you know that’s just unique for us uh but uh those type of things we we have to think about and do take the risk associated with them from a revenue generation point of view but we also need to significantly reduce expenses around uh a number of our different areas and sports and uh we’re doing that what are some of those areas where you’re looking to cut expenses well it’s it’s largely you know so I think one of the things we all have to get used to is is the fact that our our our our programs uh probably won’t be uh as as the same across the board uh so we just have to kind of look at where teams travel how they travel um scholarship uh allocations all those different things and and we began those conversations and uh Ross and and others his team will begin to make some solid decisions on that uh we’ve been totally transparent with coaches um you know helping them understand that something’s coming EX ly what don’t know uh but those things we have to look at is there any level of fear that Ohio State might have less than 36 going forward or um is it is every effort being made to maintain all 36 as they are current yeah we’re kind of committed to maintaining those 36 and and I think we we may change how our expectations with them based upon how much you invest in them uh so uh that that will change to some degree but I I think the idea of keeping those Sports is are important from a number of different reasons one is uh Title 9 the federal law making sure we apply to that our women enrollment at Ohio State is is higher than our male enrollment uh so we got to make sure our proportionality numbers align so I think that’s critical U but I just think the reality is every sport that we’ve had you know we’ve funded at the highest level to compete for for championships and that will change that will change and and uh we we’ve been very transparent with our our coaches and support staff about that so there’ll be a new model and we’re not the only ones as you guys probably aware reading and all that but everybody’s going through the St process now and U so we’ll we’ll continue to do that and uh the environment’s ready for it and uh we’ll just have to have different expectations for different programs I wanted to Circle back too just because it caught my attention something you mentioned earlier about teaching athletes financial literacy um is is that something new that kind of came about with nil is that something that’s sort of always been in place like obviously it’s important when now you know a lot of these kids are getting you know money they’ve never seen before in college to teach them how to use that wisely so I guess when did that sort of get implemented did it ramp up with niil how did that all work sat it’s been in place for years I mean uh you know 2000 uh probably uh probably 13 somewhere in there some somewhere in there we really really got deep into it and started doing a better job with it and and most people don’t know you know in our there’s so many life skills that we teach um you know we require all of our sophomores to have resumes think about that you know many of our student athletes never worked before in their lives and all of a sudden they got to write a resume and they’re like oh I got nothing to put on it so you know that’s what’s helped our internship program our Institute that you guys are heard about or read about um and it all contributes to you know our academic performance of our teams you know 36 sports that over a 3.0 GPA and our football team um have a thousand on the APR all that’s a part of it um financial literacy was always a part of the many different things that we try and teach our our student athletes however to your point we did ramp up uh around nil we ramped that up and talked more about taxes we always taught taxes but we were more about taxes you know talking to P eligible student athletes around taxes and I remember having a zoom with parents and and our football team and I think it was two months before nil was enacted and and asked all of our football players how many of you pay taxes zero none of wow they were dependence on their parents right so if you do a deal and you get paid in Gross you got a whole backer percentage otherwise your parents are going to get called by the IRS so don’t worry about the NCAA worry about the IRS and so we we started that into a to your point about being a little bit more focused on on that that that part of uh financial literacy and there’s some other elements in there as well it has to be really hard to make those decisions you were talking about about you know which sports you’re going to continue to fund at a championship level and which ones maybe you need to scale back on how do you think you know those decisions are going to be made yeah I think you know you have to look at your your your data your metrics you have to look at the the number of sports sponsored in Ohio you have to look at the number of sports sponsored in the Big 10 you have to look at the number of sports sponsored nationally around that individual Sport and you know and your expenses associated with it and determine if it’s something that uh you want to uh have perform at a different level uh so you just have to begin that process and we’ve begun that process we started it actually last year so we have a chart Ross has it so um we just got to make those decisions outside of Revenue sharing and the changes that are coming with What mo that model what other changes do you see coming to college sports in the near future don’t know you know that that’s the that’s the part of this aggregate of change you you just don’t know um you know so uh I’m hopeful that some of the things that we’ve learned by some of the things that have happened we’ll be able to adjust to uh I am concerned about the the transfers um you know I think student athletes who transfer you know more than once uh have a real problem uh they they lose credit hours the first time and they lose credit hours the second time so what do that look like from a graduation point of view uh I believe in the one-time transfer model I believe they deserve that right uh but uh a lot of the decisions that are being made around transferring are not academic decisions and that concerns me uh and so we’ve been fortunate where our student athletes historically have graduated in less than four years less than four years and now I’m worried about whether we can maintain that because remember graduation is the that’s the Holy Grail that’s it and so and as we all know only 1% Go Pro and I think we had 31 athletes uh competing in the Olympic trial so I don’t know how many are going to make it so you have the Olympics and you have Pro and that’s only like one% so the rest of them got to find jobs and you need that sheep skin in order to find a job and so I I think that that Focus has to always continue to be part of our culture and and and something we tether to um but I’m worried about the transfer part I I I’m hopeful that that that changes over time when people talk about the career you’ve had here as Ohio State’s athletic director what are the biggest things that you hope people say about you well you know I hope uh you know they they uh they recognize that I always had the student athlete uh at the the core of what I was all about um you know you know I I just met with Nate Ebner who you know had an unbelievable career in in playing ball and rugby and Olympics and the whole nine yards but trying to help him you know with his next iteration of life and he’s 30 something years old um but that’s what I do and a lot of people don’t see that and uh that’s that’s what it’s all about for me is that hopefully people will recognize that um that’s been my focus uh the coaches focus on championships and all those type of things and and then but um helping that student athlete U find her or his uh next career path is is really what it’s all about for me uh it really is getting that sheep skin developing as a person I I hope people recognize that that’s the passion that that I brought to the table when you look back on that is there a story maybe that sticks out from your years of an athlete that that you saw grow maybe helped find that career path and fi find that sort of growth you know there’s not one you know there’s just so many you know Christian Dozer who played volleyball for us years ago she came back to a volleyball game here and I was like shocked she it’s married had two little kids with her and you know she’s got a great career and there’s just so many of them and you know you know Cardell Jones who had that famous tweet you know about but you know better than me then and he gets his degree you know uh you know it’s just just just so many of them I could just go on forever and uh U doing my commencement you know when I had the blessing to speak at commencement and and seeing you know Cody Simon walk across the stage and see a Mecca abuka walk across the stage I mean and they’re still here playing you know that’s that stuff I mean I I don’t know I don’t know that stuff just moves me and and I just uh I had to actually go up and give Cody a hug you know because you know he’s just such a ex simple our person uh so I don’t know I I could just go on and on you know Emma barasi and and um a former synchronized swimmer who uh was our female athlete of the year and she’s a four-time national champion she’s out in Vegas and uh competing in that that O show C but she got her NBA along while she was doing that I mean it’s just I just go on we could be here for a while is is there an achievement in your time as Ohio State’s athletic director that you are most proud of yeah I’m really proud of the the football championship obviously under Urban um that was really a cool experience and and you know everything associated with it from you know three quarterbacks you know and and that that was a a fun time for for all of us I think a remarkable experience for all of Buckeye nation and obviously those student athletes but that was huge and you know I kind of I have an affinity for wrestling I think everybody knows that so you know the wrestling National Championship under Tom Ryan in 2015 in St Louis was I mean those kids were phenomenal you know miles smk KY SNY Logan St day tomasel I mean you just go on and on those they were that’s a different sport you gotta kind of you know be you got to kind of love it and and I do it’s it’s just a true definition of the man in the arena and and I just enjoyed it and that stands at the top of the pyramid for me now I can keep going there because Vol men’s volleyball and you know night women’s ice hockey and I can just keep going but those two probably stand out to me a lot there’s a variety of sports you listed in there and I think one of the lasting legacies you have as athletic director and it’s kind of talked about is that you had a you know a holistic approach and really elevated All Sports in Ohio State and um over the years what made that so important to you to not just you know the focus on football and basketball but to really Elevate the entire athletics department the resources that we’ve been blessed to have and the model that we were in now that’s going to change but the reality is we could provide the resources for pistol to win you know national championships then we should do that and and and it’s not that much but we did that and and you know that did concern me that our pistol team was beating Army I’m like H if I’m going to war I’m taking my but uh but you know the reality is all of those young people they have a talent a a gift that um we needed to make sure we had the best platform possible for them to develop that gift and be champion with it and whatever sport it was fencing whatever sport it was and so um I just felt like that that was the right thing to do parents give us their children um their most prized possession then they’ve developed them to that point 17 or 18 years old so it’s our responsibility to help develop them uh on in whatever sport that they’re in along with all the other issues that we talked about but certainly in the sport that they’re in well Jean we want to thank you for being so gracious with your time with us over the years it’s always been a pleasure to have you on the show and talk to you and we wish you nothing but the best in retirement well thank you I appreciate both of you I mean you’re both Professionals in this industry and I thank you for your support and in in being able to to share with Bucky nation and others what we’re all about so thank you for your hard work appreciate the relationship well it’s always a pleasure to talk to Jean Andy what were the biggest things that stood out to you from that interview I think the continued commitment to try and keep all 36 Sports even if it’s not going to be at the same level that it’s been in the past for Ohio State you know there there are certain programs that are going to have more trouble competing at the levels they’ve been accustomed to but that’s going to be the same across College athletics of course every athletics department is going to have to make tough decisions in terms of how much revenue they share with athletes and then what that means in terms of what programs you have to modify or cut whatever that may be but there seems to be and and this is something that’s been reiterated you know a commitment to try and keep all 36 Sports if possible uh and keep those athletes in sort of the you know culture of Ohio State athletics like Jean said you know there’s a diverse array of of talents uh you know and I liked that he referenced the pistol National Championship you know that’s that’s pretty fun it’s important to try and keep these programs around but you also have to be realistic at the same time which is why you know I think it’s the strategy seems to be going forward it’s going to be more teams give up a little bit so every team can continue to at least have a program yeah I think Jean’s uh sentiment is shared by many it’s like wait Ohio state is beating Army in pistol but that just tells you how good Ohio State’s uh pistol program has been but yeah I think that’s what stood out to me as well is the fact that you know we he had said that when we talked to him in back in April with other media members but to hear him say that again that you know they’ve had those conversations they’ve begun talking to coaches from different sports about the reality that certain sports are not going to be funded at that Championship level as he refers to it and you know hopefully we’ll be able to have Ross Bor here on the show at some point after he has started as athletic director and I think that’s certainly going to be a question I’m going to be interested to ask to him is how do you make those decisions because it is tough decisions I mean we’ve had some conversations off air about certain sports that you know would this be the first sport to be cut or would this be the sport to lose its funding but there’s no easy decision to make there because every one of these Sports football and basketball obviously get the most attention and make the most money but all of the athletes and coaches and alumni and everybody involved with each of these respective programs they all care so much they all want to compete at that highest level and so it has to be hard conversations for Jee Smith to have that Ross York will have to have with certain programs of hey we’re not going to be able to provide these same kind of resources to you anymore because we just can’t we have to share Revenue with our athletes now it it’s taking a a cut out of our program and we just can’t afford to continue to fund your sport as much as we would like to and so you know as Jean said it’s not just Ohio State having that conversation it’s every athletic department having this conversation because every athletic department is now preparing for this Revenue sharing that is coming a year from now and and everybody’s going to have to deal with that but you know for Ohio State there’s a unique challenge in there in the sense that Ohio state has 36 Sports the most in the country which means there’s a lot of different sports you got to deal with I think too it was interesting to hear some of the delving into how what what the all in investment to football meant this offseason I think facilities isn’t necessarily you know a decade ago maybe that was one of the first things that might have come into your mind is improving the facilities as this all in push but hearing him dive into more of how important it was he felt to upgrade some of the things in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center you know like he said two new tour Fields New locker room new carpet all these things and when you’re trying to impress transfers on a visit I would suppose that that goes into that you know and and we’ve seen some photos and videos from the locker room upgrade it’s uh it looked pretty impressive and I I think that you know you talk about the nil stuff he didn’t get into that as much um but the coaching salary you know really opening up to get the best assistance possibly be under Ryan day and then those facility upgrades it seems clear to me that Jean going out in his final year wanted to set up the Marquee program at Ohio State the athletics department as a whole but especially the Marquee program at Ohio State for Success long term as much as he could just being the director and being the guy who calls the shots in terms of you know how money is spent so that dedication in that commitment I do think was partly spurned by it being his last year and him being willing to you know spend more of that money and and have that be what he left behind and it’s an interesting dichotomy there because we just talked about how o Ohio state is going to have to cut resources for some of its Sports yet he’s talking about going all in on football and I think that’s interesting because because I do think there’s a sentiment among some Ohio State fans that you know maybe having 36 Sports has hurt the Ohio State football program because Ohio state has so many sports to fund when it’s not just you know putting all that money into football but I think you know the the way Jean has talked about both those topics you know tells you you know football remains Ohio State’s top priority it’s the sport that brings in the most money and it’s certainly the sport they spend the most money on and you know I think you know in that transition from Jean Smith to Ross Bor that’s going to continue to be the case if not even more so the case but you know I think there’s certainly a recognization from you know a top down from from president Ted Carter uh to top down B you know when it comes to Ohio State Sports you know football is King and that competing for championships in football is King and and that all factors into it too when you start talking about allocating resources you know we don’t know exactly how that Revenue sharing model is going to work yet I don’t think even Jean Smith knows exactly how that Revenue sharing model is going to work yet but we do know that the the top priority when it comes to that Revenue sharing is going to be getting more money in the hands of Ohio State football players and you that money so that Ohio State football can build the best roster possible I think too you know looking longterm if it’s the thing that pushes Ohio State over the top there’s going to be more money to be made the further you get in the playoffs in this era you know if you get all the way to the championship game that’s extra cuts of extra blll revenues uh and and those sorts of things and there’s of course the more increased attention increased you know whether that’s merchandise sales whether that’s attendance in the future not that Ohio State’s ever had an attendance problem but these things also are going to increase revenues for the athletic department because football has always been option one two and three in terms of generating Revenue right this this is what allows Ohio State to fund 36 Varsity Sports is how much money football makes specifically and so you know increasing that brand even more and if if it’s you know sometimes you do have to spend money to make money so if a few extra coaching hires some facilities upgrades if these are the things that are able to push you deeper into the playoffs perhaps get you past Michigan whatever it may be then that’s also going to generate more Revenue to then fund those other sports and continue to fun football in the future to the fullest capacity and so football I I’m sure a lot of fans are happy to hear that football is still the top priority and Ohio State spared no expense in Jean Smith’s last off season it sounds like Jean is you know comfortable with retirement it sounds like you know it it has sunk in for him and and he and his wife Sheila are ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives he’s ready to get out to Arizona spend more time with his grandkids play more golf which you know I know I’d love to play more golf so I can certainly see where he’s coming from there but you know I know for me personally I don’t know that it’s necessarily sunk in for me yet that in two weeks Jean Smith will no longer be Ohio State’s athletic director because he’s been Ohio State’s athletic director as long as I’ve known I mean we’re both younger guys here I mean I growing up in Massachusetts was not following Ohio State Sports before Jean Smith became Ohio State’s athletic director so even dating back to when I was just a student before I started you know covering Ohio State Sports you know Jean is the only Ohio State athletic director I’ve ever known so it is going to be a little bit weird to not see him around I mean even just you know to go to events and and not see him there andy when you think of just Jean and his tenure what do you think are going to be the biggest things that stand out in your mind about his tenure as Ohio State’s athletic director we talked about a little during the interview is just his commitment to really raise the tide of all boats for all boats in Ohio State’s athletic department and how holistic his commitment was to getting Ohio State to compete in uh a lot of different areas I love he brought up the wrestling championship because if you look Penn State’s been a dynasty for two decades now it’s some crazy number like 16 of the last 18 national championships they’ve won or something like that um to up into that uh shows the commitment that he’s had there what Ohio State’s been able to do in women’s hockey since you know at the end of his tenure here winning multiple national titles in a sport that was largely dominated by a select few teams you know that the the commitment across the board to all Ohio state sport is going to be toward the top of his legacy and what the reputation he has is and I think also um a lot of the strides that were made toward the tail end uh in terms of football and this new landscape of nil and the transfer portal obviously he gets credit for the Urban Meyer hire and helping Ohio State get to the top in 2014 um and you know most people I think are going to remember the Ohio State athletic director for what happened in football during his tenure and no athletic director is going to be without blemishes too we didn’t really get a chance to talk about what happened in 2011 or 2018 and some of those topics but I think for me those hiccups you could say pale in comparison and this is just my perspective pale in comparison to the other things Jee accomplished and in helping to lead Ohio State into this new future there’s a reason he held this job for decades and has such Prestige nationally I think a lot of people around the country respect what Jean Smith has accomplished and getting Ohio State also to a place through all of this where he still has a very clearly whenever you talk to an athlete focused mindset development mindset about these people and getting young people into the careers they want into the lives they want outside of sports on top of that he was still able to put Ohio State at the top of the mountain in terms of Revenue generation and helping secure these big media rights deals and helping the athletic department make as you know as much money as it ever has so I I think when you look at for me the whole scope it’s a great legacy Jean leaves and uh again maybe there’s a little bias for me talking about it because like you I mean I I he’s been the athletic director pretty much since I gained sentience you know so it’s hard to picture a world without Jean but um for for me I think it is a great legacy he leaves behind yeah I agree with you on all that I mean obviously you know people are always going to you know think about the things that went wrong and you know he he was certainly not perfect in his tenure as Ohio State athletics director he certainly had some moments I think that he would like to have back but I think by and large I mean he’s going to be very much in the conversation for the best Ohio State athletic director that’s you know ever overseen the department with just everything that he did in his his 19 years uh you know the success that so many sports had under his watch and uh you know to to to your point I I think you know for for Jean you always felt that uh his commitment to the athletes was very genuine and when he talks about you know every time we’ve had him on the show he always talks about you know preparing athletes for graduation and uh you know preparing them for life outside of sports and I think that is something that is very meaningful for Jean that that he understood the job that he had with the number one job is to well there’s two two number one jobs win championships and make money you have to do those things as an athletic director or you don’t get to be the athletic director anymore and as he said you you probably don’t want to change the mascot I uh certainly not one as iconic as Brutus Buckeye but you know I I I think beneath all of that I I I think Jean the thing he truly cared about above all was what was best for Ohio State’s athletes you know whever that was fighting for them during the covid pandemic whether that was creating programs and bringing resources into Ohio State uh whether it be you know the Eugene Smith Leadership Institute which he started to help athletes uh develop leadership and life skills whoever that you know the mental health services that you know Ohio state was very much on the Forefront of bringing B into college sports I I I think that you know Jean truly has had an offensive commitment to trying to do what’s best for Ohio State’s athletes across all of its Sports and and I think for me that that is the first thing that I will think of with Jean because it’s easy to try to boil down an Athletics director’s Legacy to how many championships did he win under his tenure but you know that’s really more of a coach and the players Jean would certainly tell you that he played a part in Ohio State football winning a national championship and Ohio State wrestling winning a national championship but but that starts with the athletes themselves and then and then the coaches he he’s really there to put the structure in place to allow them to succeed but I think where he really made a massive impact on Ohio state that will continue for decades to come is is the infrastructure that he created for Ohio State athletes to succeed not only on the field of play but off the field in the classroom in the community as they prepare for their professional careers right and staying with the times too in that preparation you know hearing him talk about increasing the financial literacy training um and that’s why I wanted to follow up on that is because like I think it it’s good to whenever you talk to Gan while he certainly has an approach to things while he certainly has things he’s done that have worked in his career that he returns to he allowed himself to stay uh Innovative throughout his decades long career and not be left behind by the changes that are happening you know it did take Ohio State maybe some time to ramp up in the nil space but you know you look what they accomplished this offseason hard to argue with the result that ultimately came and again with that then you’re now preparing your athletes how to handle these large sums of money they could be getting you know in football or even smaller sums in other sports you know uh and and training them even just how to do taxes like he said uh how to I’m sure there’s some portion of that that’s talking about how to invest that in your future rather than just spending all the money you get on these flashy things now uh and and being wise about that and I think that’s so good to hear that Ohio state was not only at the end of his time start really getting proactive uh in terms of talent acquisition and retention in the nil space but also teaching athletes how to deal with that so I I just think that speaks again to his legacy to how he’s put athletes first not just in the words that he’s spoken but I think in in the actions throughout his tenure and with that Leadership Institute to how he’s put the off field needs of athletes first throughout his time as athletic director well we hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of real pod Wednesdays we want to once again thank Jean Smith for joining the show and wish him all the best in his retirement coming up in just a couple of weeks and we hope you’ll join us again next week
Gene Smith is ready for the next chapter of his life.
Less than two weeks away from his retirement, Ohio State’s athletic director says he isn’t having any second thoughts about his decision to move on at the end of the month. After 19 years leading OSU’s athletic department, Smith feels ready to move to Arizona, play more golf and spend more time with his grandchildren.
Before leaving Columbus, however, Smith joined us for nearly 30 minutes on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays to talk about how he’s helped Ohio State prepare for the future and reflect on his career in Columbus.
Following our conversation with the athletic director, we shared our thoughts on what Smith had to say about the changes that could be required for Ohio State to continue funding 36 sports in the revenue-sharing era, how OSU is prioritizing the success of its football program and what we believe Smith should be most remembered for.
The rundown of our conversation:
0:00 Intro
0:07 Gene Smith is Ready for Retirement
3:54 Why and How Smith Went All In on Ohio State Football in His Final Offseason on the Job
7:31 Gene Smith Expects First-Year Challenges But Long-Term Success for Jake Diebler
10:24 Gene’s Advice for Ross Bjork: “Pause and Don’t Press”
13:06 How Ohio State is Preparing for Revenue Sharing in College Sports
17:03 Ohio State Committed to Keeping 36 Sports, But Funding for Some Sports Will Change
18:22 How Ohio State Teaches Financial Literacy to Its Athletes
21:36 Smith Concerned About Academic Ramifications of Transfers
23:37 Why Helping Athletes Off the Field Was So Important to Gene
26:34 Football and Wrestling National Championships Among Gene’s Proudest Accomplishments
29:52 Reaction to Gene’s Comments About Football Investment, Funding for Other Sports
37:56 How We’ll Remember Gene Smith’s Tenure as Athletic Director
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