Ohio State has hired Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork to fill the same role for the Buckeyes, the school announced Tuesday. Bjork, who has experience across the SEC, replaces longtime Buckeyes administrator Gene Smith, who announced his retirement in August 2023 after serving in the position for 18 years. Bjork will begin his tenure at Ohio State on July 1.
“Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community,” Ohio State president Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. said in a press release. “The bar is incredibly high at Ohio State, and we have found in Ross a highly intelligent and effective leader – not to mention a fierce competitor.”
Bjork is viewed as one of the elite fundraisers in college athletics and has overseen success at every stop. He was named an assistant athletic director for development at just 29 years old at Missouri, and he became the youngest athletic director in the FBS when he was hired at Western Kentucky in 2010.
“I have been extraordinarily blessed to be a product of college athletics as a student athlete and fortunate to work with so many outstanding student-athletes, coaches, staff and university leaders throughout my career, and Ohio State represents the culmination of these efforts,” Bjork said in a press release. “To be a part of Buckeye Nation, along with its storied traditions and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome challenge for me and our family. I can’t wait to get started.”
He helped Willie Taggart turn WKU into a consistent winner before landing at Ole Miss at the outset of the Hugh Freeze era. The Rebels emerged as a national contender with Ole Miss even pulling two upsets during the…
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