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Athletic Director Gene Smith Accepts Position at Ohio State University

TEMPE, Ariz. —ASU Athletic Director Gene Smith has accepted a position as athletic director at Ohio State University. The announcement was made on Saturday, March 5, at a press conference in Columbus, Ohio.

“Gene has been an extremely successful athletic director and university leader at Arizona State University,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “He and his wife, Sheila, senior vice president of the ASU Foundation, are beloved by the university family. We are very sorry to see Gene leave but well understand that this is a wonderful opportunity for him. On behalf of the entire ASU community, I want to thank Gene and Sheila for all they have done for this university, and wish them and their family great happiness and great success in Ohio.”

Crow continued, “We will take steps immediately to find a successor who can build upon the base Gene has created here, to make ASU one of the very top athletic programs in the country in the performance of our student athletes, both on the playing fields and in the classroom.”

Smith was appointed as Arizona State University’s 18th director of athletics on July 27, 2000. He arrived at ASU with a wealth of experience as a Division IA athletic director with previous stints at Iowa State (1993-2000) and Eastern Michigan (1986-93).

Smith, who was named the 2003 Division I West Region Athletics Director of the Year by NACDA, created a winning environment at ASU, dedicated to building stronger programs and committed to providing student-athletes the opportunity to be successful academically, athletically and socially. The graduation rate of student athletes hit a school record during his tenure, improving 11 percentage points over the highest previous mark and 13 percent higher than the university average.

Smith has a long history of national leadership and service. Since he arrived at ASU, he has served on a number of NCAA committees, is a member of the Tempe Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Board of Directors and the Maricopa County Sports Authority Board of Directors, and is currently vice president of the Pacific-10 Conference Executive Committee, chair of the Pac-10 Football Officiating Committee and a member of the Pac-10 Selection, Athletics Directors’ Revenue Sharing, Rose Bowl Management and Bowl (Ad Hoc) committees.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1977. He earned three varsity football letters as a defensive end at Notre Dame and was a member of the Associated Press 1973 national championship team.