Newly appointed Ross Bjork addressing the public for the first time at Covelli Center Wednesday since the Tuesday announcement. He will take over July 1. Credit: Lauryn Luderman | Sports Editor
“You have my pledge that I will work hard every single day for the Buckeyes.”
Ohio State’s next athletic director Ross Bjork spoke in front of the Buckeye community Wednesday at the Covelli Center discussing his plans as he steps into his biggest role yet.
Bjork said it was important for him to fulfill the university’s mission: supporting the student-athletes and preparing them for life after college, helping the staff reach its full potential, and, most importantly, building upon the legacy that outgoing athletic director Gene Smith created.
“He’s always been accessible, he’s always been down to earth and that’s going to be my job to make sure that I continue that type of legacy here at The Ohio State [University],” Bjork said. “The people, the tradition, the excellence. I’m humbled and honored to be chosen to serve as the Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation [Endowed] Eugene Smith — that’s an honor right there — endowed director of athletics starting later this summer.”
Additionally, Bjork had high praise for Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day, with whom he sat down on Monday.
“Brilliant mind in the game of football, high-level leader, knows what championship football looks like — knows how to put all of those pieces together,” Bjork said. “Coach Day, he’s going to get it done and it’s going to be a lot of fun when we win those championships.”
Come July 1 and pending board of trustees approval, Bjork will become Ohio State’s ninth athletic director and will succeed Smith, one of the most prominent figures in collegiate athletics for over a decade. Bjork said this opportunity is “surreal” and “what dreams are made of.”
Bjork was officially announced as the next athletic director Tuesday in a press release by new university President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., just 16 days after his tenure in office began. Carter said though the process of finding a new athletic director began before he landed in Columbus Jan. 1, he was up to date with progress and was instrumental in holding final interviews and making the official decision.
“That person I found — Ross Bjork,” Carter said. “Ross struck me as not only a leader but somebody who’s passionate about sports, somebody who is a man that’s been in the arena and [has] experience like no other.”
As the current athletic director of Texas A&M since 2019 and with a son set to play football at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas, Bjork said the decision to move wasn’t easy. However, when the job as the next Ohio State athletic director became available, Bjork said after many prayers and reflection with family, it was an opportunity he could not pass up.
“We kept coming back to this analysis,” Bjork said. “The bus for Ohio State athletics only stops maybe once, if any, and we can’t control that bus schedule — we can’t control when it pulls over and so the timing may not be ideal, but the stop is.”
Bjork said being the athletic director goes beyond everyday athletics.
“Drive the everyday culture, develop your coaches and your staff to their full potential. Be involved in external relations and resource acquisition — all of it. From [name, image, likeness] to capital funding,” Bjork said. “Student-athlete well-being and life after sport, we need to make sure we keep that in mind. And then we have to be teachers and educators.”
Bjork said one of the first things he wants to do is get to know the coaches and the sports. Once he’s taken the time to do so, he will evaluate coaches by what barriers or challenges they face and how they respond.
He said he looks forward to working with the entire athletics staff in what he called the “top” athletic department and a “championship brand.” Already, Bjork said he understands what Ohio State means to the people who support it, which is one of the key aspects of what makes a Buckeye.
“I know that if you’re from this state, it doesn’t leave,” Bjork said. “This is a public trust. This program belongs to the people of the state of Ohio, and with that comes great responsibility to do it the right way, no shortcuts. Period.”
A final note Bjork had on the football team is that they will “embrace high expectations.” He is already aware of the Michigan rivalry and hopes to put a stop to the Wolverines’ current 3-0 run, saying the team will be “ready and prepared.”
Bjork will work under Smith for the next five months before making the official switch. He said that because he still runs Texas A&M’s athletic program, he will be there often but hopes to make more appearances on campus and at Ohio State sporting events in March.
