Director of Athletics
Ohio State University
Gene Smith begins his first year as The Ohio State University Director of Athletics in March of 2005 after spending nearly five years in the same capacity at Arizona State University (July 2000-March 2005).
Smith takes over 36 Ohio State varsity teams with a wealth of experience as a Division I-A athletics director. Prior to his time with the Sun Devils, he served previous stints at Iowa State (1993-2000) and Eastern Michigan (1986-93).
In his first four years at Arizona State, Smith hit the ground running, starting his own legacy of success in Tempe. He hired nationally-regarded coaches in football, soccer, wrestling, women's golf, water polo and volleyball while directing each of ASU's 22-sports programs, many of which saw unprecedented competitive success during his tenure. Smith also oversaw completion of a $30 million capital campaign, which in part funded the construction of the $19 million Ed and Nadine Carson Student-Athlete Center, completed in May, 2002.
Smith, who was named the 2003 Division I West Region Athletics Director of the Year by NACDA, created a winning environment, dedicated to building stronger programs and committed to providing student-athletes the opportunity to be successful academically, athletically and socially. Nearly 60 percent of the 480 Sun Devil student-athletes were Maroon & Gold Scholars in 2003-04, posting at least a one-semester grade-point average of 3.0 while more than 10 percent achieved a perfect 4.0 grade-point. The graduation rate hit a school record, 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. Smith was appointed to the NCAA Infractions Committee, the NCAA Football Rules Committee, the NCAA Administrative Review Committee and the BCS Athletic Director's Advisory Committee during his time in Tempe.
Smith's strong reputation among his peers was affirmed in June, 1994 when the Notre Dame graduate was named president of NACDA. In 1990, Smith was appointed to a four-year term on NACDA's 32-member executive committee. In 1992, he was elected third vice president of NACDA and was named to the Division 1-A Executive Committee. He was elected First Vice President of NACDA in 1993. Smith also served on the NCAA President's Commission Liaison Committee, the NCAA Executive Committee, the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee and the NCAA Working Committee to Study Basketball Issues. He was appointed to the NCAA's Management Council in May of 1996 and continues to serve on that committee.
Prior to his arrival at Iowa State, Smith served as athletics director at Eastern Michigan University for seven years. Smith joined the EMU staff in 1983 as assistant athletics director for non-revenue sports. He was named interim executive athletics director in 1985 and was elevated to the position permanently June 25, 1986.
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.
Smith also served as an assistant football coach at Notre Dame from 1977-81, helping to guide the squad to its 1977 undisputed national championship. He then spent two years as a marketing representative for IBM prior to joining the Eastern Michigan staff in April 1983.
