“My mentors have always said, ‘You will know when it’s time. You’ll know,’” the Cleveland native said.
Smith, 67, came to that decision during conversations with his wife, Sheila, about his future during the summer.
He also cited feeling as if the leadership structure is in place throughout the rest of the department to withstand his exit and cited the university getting set to hire a new president.
“I really believe with this presidential change, which will be highly positive whoever they hire, give her or him the opportunity to hire their leader and make a run and build on what these coaches and staff and student-athletes have already done,” Smith said.
The Buckeyes have won 32 team national championships, including football in 2014 and wrestling in 2015, during his tenure and 115 team conference championships.
“There’s so many great moments,” Smith said. “The national championship in football, which was special. Three national championships in men’s volleyball were special. The wrestling national championship was unreal. I think I was in North Carolina for women’s basketball and had to fly to St. Louis in order to catch that and see those young men perform.”
But he said he is most proud of the culture he says the department crafted for supporting student-athletes off the field.
“We developed a student-athlete holistically, and that means so much to me,” Smith said. “It really does, and it took us a little bit to transition to that, to make sure that when that student-athlete leaves our little cocoon, she or he is ready. They’re ready for the next chapter in their life.”
Smith was among the highest-profile leaders in college athletics during his tenure, including serving as chair of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee and on the College Football Playoff committee, and he oversaw many high-profile coaching changes.
Those included the hire of football coach Urban Meyer in late 2011 and the decision to elevate current head coach Ryan Day from offensive coordinator when Meyer opted to retire in late 2018.
Both basketball programs also replaced the respective winningest coach in its history, first with Kevin McGuff replacing Jim Foster as the women’s coach in 2013 and then Chris Holtmann taking over for Thad Matta on the men’s side in 2017.
Smith also had to deal with multiple NCAA infractions cases during his time at Ohio State, including at the time he was hired in the wake of a men’s basketball recruiting and extra benefits scandal that marred the end of the tenure of his predecessor, Andy Geiger.
In 2011, Ohio State had to deal with a major case involving extra benefits and the football team that led to coach Jim Tressel being forced out and the team being barred from postseason play in 2012.
In 2017, the swimming and diving teams were penalized for recruiting violations, and the fencing, women’s golf and women’s basketball teams were found guilty of infractions in a combined case that was wrapped up last year. The latter also involved a one-year, self-imposed postseason ban for basketball.
“2011 was Hell,” Smith said. “You know, that was painful. The student-athletes who were impacted didn’t deserve the penalties that they had to deal with. That was hard. People were affected negatively, and that was a hard time.”
He also cited the 2020-21 school year conducted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as a difficult time along with his brief suspension in 2018 when Meyer was judged to have mishandled allegations of domestic abuse by assistant coach Zach Smith (no relation).
“There’s moments in my history that were disappointing,” he said. “2011 was hard. That was harder than the time we dealt with Urban, but that was hard, right? And I’m disappointed that we were there, disappointed in the student-athletes that had to bear the pain of that. Disappointed that Buckeye Nation had to bear the pain of that. Disappointed you guys had to cover that. So, it was hard. So yeah, in my career, my legacy not just here at Arizona State and I would say at Eastern Michigan, there’s been times when I wish I could have done something different. There’s no question about it.
“You know, any leader who says that everything was smooth, and they go back, and they wouldn’t change the decision they made, I’m not so sure they’re being 100% honest with you.”
As far as potential successors, Smith has developed a large family tree of pupils who have gone on to be Division I athletics directors. That includes Heather Lyke (currently at Pittsburgh), Martin Jarmond (UCLA), Pat Chun (Washington State) and Diana Sabau (Utah State).
“It will start when the new president’s here unless something happens and they’re not here over the next year,” Smith said. “Then the trustees will conduct that, but I anticipate that there’ll be a new president and that will be that person’s hire.
He said he would not be hand-picking his successor but expressed some traits he hopes the next OSU AD has.
“They’re gonna hire someone skilled and experienced, so someone hopefully with a high IQ and EQ,” Smith said. “Someone that understands the value of people. That’s a huge characteristic. Someone that holds true to their values of integrity and respect for others and excellence in every single thing you do.
“But they’re gonna have to be patient. In this ever-changing world that we’re dealing with, you’ve got to hit pause and don’t overreact and just be patient and be curious and inquisitive. And just ask a lot of questions and then at some point, you have to be authoritative and lead.”
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