OSU names new AD
COVER PHOTO: Former Texas A&M was named as Ohio State's seventh director of athletics on Jan. 16, 2024. Picture credit: osu.edu.
In early August, current Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith shocked Buckeye Nation when he announced he was stepping down as the head man in charge of the university’s athletics department.
Since then, the hunt was on for a new leader. That hunt ended when the dog found its proverbial prize when new president Walter “Ted” Carter, Jr. announced he had found Smith’s replacement in Texas A&M AD, Ross Bjork.
“Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community,” Carter said. “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 - who has more than 30 years of experience in collegiate athletics - will begin his tenure on July 1, 2024, pending approval by the OSU Board of Trustees. But it sounds like all but a done deal, especially when the chair of OSU’s Board gave him glowing remarks.
“The college athletics landscape is changing each day, and Ohio State was firmly committed to finding an athletics director who would lead us with confidence and innovative thinking into the future,” said Hiroyuki Fujita, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. “Ross Bjork possesses all the qualities we had envisioned – and more – and I am thrilled to welcome him to our Buckeye family.”
During his tenure at Texas A&M, the school set records in overall grade point average, NCAA Graduate Success Rate and NCAA Academic Progress Rate and was lauded for three hires in 2021 who all had solid first seasons. Baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle advanced the Aggies to the final four of the Men’s College World Series; women’s golf coach Gerrod Chadwell took his team all the way to NCAA Championships while his counterpart, Brian Kortan, had the men’s team qualify for the national meet for the first time since 2019.
Before arriving at Texas A&M, Bjork served as director of athletics and vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Mississippi. When hired, he was the youngest athletics director among the Power 5 conferences and Ole Miss achieved its highest Learfield Directors Cup finish in their history.
Prior to that, Bjork was the director of intercollegiate athletics at Western Kentucky University from 2010-12 where he began his administrative career as an assistant development coordinator in 1996. As their AD, the Hilltoppers’ overall cumulative average GPA was over 3.0 for all 391 student-athletes for the first time in program history.
Additionally, he worked on the senior athletics staffs at UCLA (2005-2010), University of Miami (2003-2005) and Missouri (1997-2003).
“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.
“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.”
Bjork will succeed longtime Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director Gene Smith, who announced in the summer that he would retire in July 2024. A national search for Ohio State’s next athletics leader began soon after, including a university search advisory committee of faculty, staff, students and Buckeyes in the greater community.
“Ross is uniquely equipped to step into our Buckeye community and make an immediate impact,” Smith said. “As I have said, Ohio State has afforded me the professional opportunity of a lifetime, and I am forever grateful. My final, important project over the next several months will be to work with Ross to ensure a smooth and effective transition with our student-athletes, coaches, department staff and university leaders.
As senior vice president and Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director, Bjork will be a member of the university’s President’s Cabinet. Additionally, he currently serves as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) 1st vice president and is on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Experience Committee. He has served as part of numerous national organizations, including the NCAA Division I Working Group on Transfers and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, and as chair of the Southeastern Conference Awards Committee.
Bjork and his wife, Sonya, have two sons. He received his bachelor’s degree in recreation administration from Emporia State University in Kansas, where he played fullback on the football team, and earned a master’s degree in athletic administration from Western Illinois University.
His mother is a native of Williamstown, Ohio, where she grew up on the family’s farm, and according to OSU’s official statement on Bjork’s hiring, his mom remains an "ardent supporter of TBDBITL".