BREAKING: Ross Bjork leaves Texas A&M to become AD at The Ohio State University
With the impending retirement of Gene Smith, The Ohio State University has hired a prominent name from Bryan-College Station as its next director of athletics.
According to Travis Brown, a reporter for The Eagle, the Buckeyes’ athletic department has hired Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork as its next AD.
“I have been extraordinarily 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 stated in an Ohio State news 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. I can’t wait to get started.”
Smith, the current Buckeyes senior vice president & Wolfe Foundation-endowed athletic director, will retire on June 30. ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel broke the news on Monday that Ohio State was zeroing in on Bjork as the successor to Smith and planned to finalize the move this week.
“Ross is uniquely equipped to step into our Buckeye community and make an immediate impact,” Smith stated. “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.”
Bjork was hired as the Aggies’ 16th director of athletics on May 23, 2019. He came to College Station with over 20 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics. Since 1995, Bjork has had previous university stops at Tulsa, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky (twice), Missouri, Miami, UCLA and Ole Miss.
When Bjork was rehired by Western Kentucky in 2010 to serve as director of intercollegiate athletics at 38 years old, he was the youngest AD among the 120 FBS schools.
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