COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State has found its next athletic director.

The university announced Tuesday that Ross Bjork of Texas A&M will take the position upon the retirement of Gene Smith at the end of June. Bjork’s first day will be July 1.

Reports surfaced Monday that Ohio State was targeting Bjork, who has led the Aggies program since 2019. The search caps a process that began shortly after Smith announced his retirement in August and weeks after Ted Carter became president of Ohio State on Jan. 1.

“Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community,” Carter said. “The bar is incredibly high at Ohio State, and we have found in Ross a highly intelligent and effective leader – not to mention a fierce competitor.” 

Carter and Smith will introduce Bjork during a news conference at noon Wednesday. His hiring will require the approval of Ohio State’s board of trustees.

Before Texas A&M, Bjork served as athletic director at Mississippi and Western Kentucky, overseeing periods of success and controversy. At Ole Miss, the football team vacated 33 wins over NCAA violations under coach Hugh Freeze after a highly successful period that included an upset of Alabama in 2015.

At Texas A&M, he extended the contract of football coach Jimbo Fisher, one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, and then fired him last November, leading to a buyout payment of about $75 million.

“We wish [Ross] great success as he joins the tremendous leadership team at Ohio State University; they are lucky to have him and his family,” Texas A&M President Mark Welsh said.

Ohio State’s football program under coach Ryan Day is coming off losses in bowl games to end the past two seasons — despite winning 22 games over that time — and the Buckeyes haven’t defeated Michigan since 2019. The men’s basketball program under coach Chris Holtmann has gone 2-4 in Big Ten play this season after going 5-15 last season.

Bjork also worked at UCLA, Miami and Missouri. Ohio State will mark his first position at a Big Ten school. He’s a native of Dodge City, Kansas, and he played football at Emporia State University. His wife, Sonya, is a native of Williamstown, Ohio, in Hancock County. They have two sons.

Smith came to Ohio State in 2005 and is responsible for hiring both Day and Holtmann, in addition to many other coaches and athletic construction projects around campus.

“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,” Smith said.