COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A change in leadership is here for Ohio State. Ross Bjork is set to take over on Monday as the school's director of athletics. And in Gene Smith's final days, he's looking forward to seeing his own next chapter play out in the near future.
"Spending time with my family and my grandkids and redefining what my life will be like," Smith said. "But also in the athletic industry. Ross is going to do a great job as the athletic director here."
Bjork was hired from Texas A&M in January and has already made an impact at Ohio State, elevating Jake Diebler to the head coaching role in men's basketball and hiring new coaches for the school's baseball and softball teams.
But he comes in as the Buckeyes grapple with a changing landscape in college athletics, which is a transition that Smith hopes he's helped ease as he departs.
"Having my teammates work with the conference and the national scene and help redefine a new model that intercollegiate athletics will operate under with the revenue sharing and things of that nature," Smith said. "And it will shake itself out. It'll be something different that we'll all have to get used to and embrace."
While the contests will stay the same, Smith says what will change is how Ohio State will manage the money. And he said it was important to work alongside Bjork to ensure a smooth transition.
"It was cool. You normally don't get that opportunity," Smith said. "To have basically four months to spend time with Ross and help him learn the environment, learn the culture, learn the operations, it was great. He's smart, he's experienced. He's a good human being."
Now as he begins retirement, Smith looks forward to growing out his beard, playing more golf and wearing Hawaiian shirts more often.
"I'm looking forward to see if I can change my biological clock to sleep in," Smith said. "I work out early in the morning. Sometimes it's 4:45 in the morning. I'm trying to find out if I can actually sleep longer and workout when I want to."
The end of his tenure is something Smith has been anticipating for awhile. But he acknowledges that the moment feels different now that it's finally here.
"It's been unbelievable. Having the opportunity to spend some quality time with people that, you know, help invest in a vision. I've spent a lot of time with some donors and then also spend some time with staff and the department and, you know, saw some athletes a couple of times this week," Smith said. "So this has been emotional, but it's been good."
