Ohio State football: Gene Smith gets extension

Athletic Director Gene Smith got a contract extension today. What does that mean for the Ohio State football program?

Gene Smith has had an up and down tenure as Athletic Director. He did hire Urban Meyer, Thad Matta, and Ryan Day, but also cost the Ohio State football team a national championship in 2012 when he cooperated with the NCAA over the tattoo scandal.

Smith will be staying with the Buckeyes for a while though after receiving an extension today. His extension runs through 2026 and will pay him about $2 million a year. This makes sure that Smith stays in place for years to come at Ohio State.

The tattoo scandal will always bother me as far as Ohio State cooperating because we know that the NCAA doesn’t have any real power. If Ohio State didn’t cooperate, they wouldn’t have gotten a bowl ban in 2012 and would have destroyed Notre Dame in the National Championship game.

But Smith does have a lot of things to his credit. He hired Meyer, who led the Ohio State football team to a national title in 2014 and hired Ryan Day. He also hired both Thad Matta and Chris Holtmann for the basketball program. All of those have been great hires.

Smith’s contributions go past his hiring though. He also was part of the committee that put together the College Football Playoff. He also is a prominent voice in both college football and college basketball and holds a lot of power as the AD at Ohio State.

This is generally a good thing for all Ohio State athletics. As long programs don’t commit any dumb violations, Smith generally does a great job leading the Athletic Department. This is a good idea for all involved and should be a good thing for both the football and the basketball programs.