How does Gene Smith still have a job?

OSUBias on 24 May 2012 - 11:41am #

He has to have dirt on Gordon Gee or something. But it's ok because he doesn't know that blackmail is a "violation" of the law.

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

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clashmore_mike on 24 May 2012 - 11:47am #

Behold the power of a Notre Dame degree.

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Scarlet_Buckeye on 24 May 2012 - 1:19pm #

I have absolutely zero idea how Gene Smith still has a job. The guy is an utter-idiot.

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BED Staff on 24 May 2012 - 1:27pm #

This thread.

The Ohio State University, College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 2006
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Class of 2009

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OSUBias on 24 May 2012 - 1:33pm #

@clashmore, that's really someone you want to hang your hat on? "Notre Dame degrees: getting our graduates jobs they're underqualified for since 1842!!"

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

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William on 24 May 2012 - 1:50pm #

>Implies that racial backlash will/would occur if Smith is fired.

>Mfw.

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ShadyBuckeye on 24 May 2012 - 2:28pm #

Gives new meaning to the word "BLACKmail"

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clashmore_mike on 24 May 2012 - 2:32pm #

OSUbias, it was a joke. But if you are taking it serious, if it is his degree that is saving his job, that'd be a bad thing how? Go to ND, get a degree that makes you more employable or go to another school, don't get a degree and work at the Citgo. Which would be the better recruiting pitch? Again, my post was in jest, I'm sorry you took it the way you did.

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OSUBias on 24 May 2012 - 3:28pm #

@clashmore no worries , my mistake. i have a couple of ND friends who deliver lines like that routinely, not in jest, that have skewed my ability to recognize humor. my exasperation with smith may have also been skewing it, because i really don't like him

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

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Heartless_Scarl... on 24 May 2012 - 4:33pm #

You can't fire your AD over secondary violations...

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Big Swede on 24 May 2012 - 4:41pm #

Secondary violations seem to be like parking tickets, as long as you pay them (or in this case self-report secondary violations to the NCAA) you got nothing to really worry about.

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SPreston2001 on 24 May 2012 - 4:47pm #

I really dont think hes that bad people. I mean seriously what has he really done that made everyone hate him?

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tennbuckeye19 on 24 May 2012 - 5:18pm #

Heartless- The reason people are wondering why he still has a job is because his competency to do his job and do it well are in question, not just because of secondary violations.

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WoodysGlasses on 24 May 2012 - 6:08pm #

Not to mention the general tendency for verbal diarrhea as well as the bowl debacle.

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RedStorm45 on 24 May 2012 - 6:48pm #

People who never took a public relations course know this guy is a PR nightmare.

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smith5568 on 24 May 2012 - 6:52pm #

Everyone seems to forget that Gene Smith is the Athletic Director, not the Football Director. Perhaps, because of football's importance he should manage it better. However, Ohio State's Athletic Department has become more successful since he has been hired. We are second to Stanford, the perennial Director's Cup winner for best overall Athletic Department.

We have upgraded our facilities, and have very solid football, basketball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, tennis, and volleyball programs, just to name a few.

As a pure "football director", I would agree he has been sub-par, but as an athletic director he has been extremely successful.

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WoodysGlasses on 24 May 2012 - 7:15pm #

Let's face it, the Athletic Director has two jobs: Don't mess up football, and don't mess up basketball. He hasn't done so great with the former.

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William on 24 May 2012 - 7:21pm #

^Woodysglasses Wrong, so wrong. We have something like 36 varsity sports and last time I checked 34>2.

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rdubs on 24 May 2012 - 7:35pm #

I have become the defacto defender of Gene on this site. I understand why people are upset, but those who actually want him fired are just being reactionary. If you stop and look at our athletic department today and when he took over he has improved it in the two ways that athletic departments should be judged: on the field and in the classroom. We finished second last year in the Director's Cup and likely will finish second again this year. This along with the fact that we keep breaking records for athlete GPAs is an indication that our athletic department is the best it has ever been. Since we have one of the largest (if not the largest) departments in the country, I would argue that he is the BEST AD in the country and that we are lucky to have him.

Did he make mistakes around the handling of the football violations? Absolutely. But everything he did was in his loyalty to OSU.

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WoodysGlasses on 24 May 2012 - 7:39pm #

Really? Given a choice between giving up football and basketball, or giving up the other 34, how many people do you think would choose the former?

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WoodysGlasses on 24 May 2012 - 7:47pm #

@ Rdubs, where is the source that says we keep breaking athlete GPA records? Also, Directors cup results have been mixed under Smith.

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rdubs on 24 May 2012 - 8:10pm #

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/051412aaa.html

Also I couldn't find a link, but I remember Gene Smith saying that the average fall GPA for the athletic department was the highest on record. And I guess my point about the Director's Cup was that it seems to be trending up, it appears Stanford is the only one we can't beat over the last couple years.

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WoodysGlasses on 24 May 2012 - 8:39pm #

Well agree to disagree on Smith. I think we could do better.

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cbusbuckeye on 24 May 2012 - 9:58pm #

@rdubs so you are telling me that there are no better candidates out there? Sure, maybe Smith is the best athletic director in the country, but by that logic athletic directors are a pretty sorry lot.

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William on 24 May 2012 - 10:05pm #

@Cbus, Gene Smith is pretty damn good at his job. At the very least we should be thankful we don't have a fool like Debbie Yow running our AD. Her iniatives left Maryland $80 mil in debt, and for some reason NC State hired her.

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rkylet83 on 24 May 2012 - 10:46pm #

I wonder how Doug Archie still has a job as well. Im so sick of hearing about violations about every month

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rdubs on 24 May 2012 - 11:28pm #

I would argue that most ADs are bad at their job, hell most coaches are bad at their jobs. That is why really good coaches can take half decent teams and make them winners overnight.

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Buckifan4Life on 25 May 2012 - 12:39am #

Yeah, I'm puzzled why he is still there too. My gut feeling all along has been that he had some sort of bonus in his contract if the football team plays in a bowl game, hence why OSU didn;t self-impose last year. Instead, his cockiness about OSU NOT getting a bowl ban had something to do with OSU actually getting one (I believe). Regardless,...I remember reading a story that suggested Urban Meyer would have a hand in selecting the new AD (his old AD from either Utah or Bowling Green) shortly after taking the job with OSU and after a reasonable amount of face time for Gene Smith. You know, the "I wanna spend more time with my family" stuff...

~Go Bucks!