New Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork was formally introduced to the OSU community and fielded questions from reporters in his introductory press conference on Wednesday.
Eleven Warriors' Dan Hope and Andy Anders discussed Bjork's comments and those of Ohio State president Ted Carter on a wide array of topics and how they might shape the future of Ohio State athletics in the latest episode of Press Coverage, which you can watch in the video above.
Various items were discussed in a press conference that exceeded one hour, but among the most notable was Bjork's support for head coach Ryan Day, whom he called “a brilliant mind in the game of football” and said he expects to lead Ohio State to championships.
Ross Bjork believes in Ryan Day. pic.twitter.com/4DipVS9bd9
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 17, 2024
Bjork, along with new Ohio State president Ted Carter, both said that they want to keep all 36 of OSU's Division I sports despite possible changes to the NCAA’s model that could include sharing revenue with athletes.
"We have unbelievable facilities," Bjork said. "Those aren't going to sit empty. ... But knowing what's king, football. Other varsity sports have to recognize that."
With the Big Ten and the SEC emerging as the two power conferences in college sports' ever-changing landscape, Bjork said he believes the high-revenue programs need to consolidate in the near future to create their own model for college sports.
"We are the two leaders, our conferences are," Bjork said. "... I think we have to shape it and we have to monitor what's gonna happen within the landscape."
Bjork also addressed his mistake of giving Jimbo Fisher a 10-year, $95 million contract extension at Texas A&M only to fire him two seasons later, saying it was something he'll learn from moving forward.
"Gene (Smith) was an AD since he was 28 years old, I think I was 37 and now I'm 51. So you take all those experiences ... you take facts, you take data, you take personalities and you make the right decision,” Bjork said. “At the end of the day, it's the Harry Truman quote, 'The buck stops here.' At the end of the day, I'm the AD; if there's anyone to blame, blame me."
You can watch the latest episode of Press Coverage and watch the entirety of Bjork’s press conference on Eleven Warriors’ YouTube channel.
