Gene Smith wants athletes from Ohio State to high schools to have the opportunity to compete this fall and says he believes sports “can help galvanize our country.” https://t.co/24BEVxfQx6— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 23, 2020
BSB Reprints: Ohio State Hires Gene Smith As Athletic Directorhttps://t.co/UM38KvD1yY pic.twitter.com/AMN3ySehQG— Buckeye Sports Bulletin (@Buckeye_Sports) July 30, 2020
JUST IN: A word of caution from @OSU_AD “This is not a final decision that there will be an athletics season; it is the next phase in our responsible planning process with the Big Ten Conference to be prepared if we are able to have an athletics season,” OSU AD Gene Smith.— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) August 5, 2020
Ohio State AD Gene Smith says school wanted fall sports season delayed and not canceledhttps://t.co/yuP2BIRd8Z pic.twitter.com/zXUTCAuJOm— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) August 11, 2020
Gene Smith reportedly says Ohio State will not attempt to play a fall season outside of the Big Ten and is preparing for a spring season. https://t.co/NGNJZhTsYh— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 11, 2020
Gene Smith confirmed Ohio State is no longer exploring the possibility of playing this fall after Ryan Day called it a “fluid situation” earlier Wednesday. https://t.co/Lx5J2XenMO— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 12, 2020
Gene Smith confident in Buckeyes protocol, ready for winter https://t.co/qOUZJV0qhp— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) August 20, 2020
Gene Smith on the College Football Playoff: "I think it’s assumed by the committee, as others, we may not have consistency in the number of games a particular league will play." Says the "look" will enter into the discussion.— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2020
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith named to think tank for Olympic sports https://t.co/1BzfoONCUt— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) November 15, 2020
GENE SMITH He says he wants to think Illinois AD Josh Whitman, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, the partners at FOX and Ohio State president Kristina Johnson. "This is our reality. We're struggling as a community to stop the spread of COVID-19." He says having "definitive guidance" through this process is difficult. Smith says Ohio State did not hit the Big Ten threshold that would have necessitated a program shutdown, "but the positivity rate was concerning enough where we felt we needed to pause." He says Ohio State had an "unbelievable run" of minimal positive tests. Smith says the goal is to put together a plan to "potentially come back to compete next weekend." He thanks Larry Johnson for stepping into the role as interim head coach. Smith says there haven't been conversations with the Big Ten about getting rid of the six-game minimum required for the Big Ten championship. "I get the question. I'm very sensitive to that. But that's not where we are. We made a decision late last night to do what we did." Important to note: He does say that might come up in future discussions. Doesn't rule it out. Smith on what needs to happen for Ohio State to play Michigan State: "I think we need to continue to test and see that there's no more positives that occur. We need to make sure that we're working with our conference office that they're confident in what we're doing." He says they need to make sure they're playing "on a clean field." Friday evening, Smith says, it became apparent that the program needed to be paused. He says it's "kind of fluid" when Ohio State gets back to the practice field. "There's too much uncertainty." He mentions there's probably a point where they wouldn't be able to compete, but he'd defer to Day. Asked when Ohio State can get back into the facility: "We don't know. The approval process us us. It's not like we have to get approval from the Big Ten or anyone else. It's us." Smith says he doesn't think any Big Ten has hit the thresholds to force a shutdown. In Ohio State's case, they're seeing "community-type spread." On the Illinois game: "Could we have played? Sure. Was it the right thing to play? No." On Day: "I just want to thank Ryan. I can't begin to share with you how hard his job is. I can't. I think most of you who are with him every week, you get it. But I can't tell you how hard his job is, particularly now. It's beyond describing."
S2:E3 of the Gene Smith Podcast is up! This episode's topics include:◼️ Ryan Day & the #CFBPlayoff◼️ Olympic sports◼️ NIL Impact🎧 https://t.co/8zlyGN3ENl | Encova Insurance pic.twitter.com/T4y99YHhEb— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) January 13, 2021