Summary:

We sit down with Senior Vice President of The Ohio State University, Gene Smith, to talk about his background and childhood, his experiences playing college football, his path to a career in athletic administration, how he excelled in his career through simple practices like sticking to his values / constantly differentiating himself / and giving everything that he had to the moment he was in, and then we wrap up by talking about his vision for The Ohio State University and all of the exciting things that him and his team have planned for the future.

Mile Markers:

(00:00:00) Background on the episode!
(00:00:38) Subscribe to Conquering Columbus
(00:00:55) AWH
(00:01:23) The SunDown Group
(00:01:43) Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
(00:02:13) Want to sponsor Conquering Columbus?
(00:02:27) Survey!
(00:02:39) Conquering Columbus Intro Music
(00:03:55) Introduction & background to Gene Smith
(00:05:48) Playing football at Notre Dame
(00:07:30) Being recruited by Woody Hayes (Ohio State was my 2nd choice)
(00:08:45) Whatever job you have, do it excellently
(00:09:00) The path to becoming an Athletic Director
(00:10:30) Focusing on developing the entire student-athlete
(00:13:00) A focus on academics at The Ohio State University
(00:16:20) John Macko shout-out & the resources at Ohio State
(00:20:15) Gene’s path to Ohio State via Athletic Administration
(00:22:00) “I never applied to any of those jobs… it goes back to, the best job in the world is the job that you have… differentiate yourself constantly…
(00:26:00) You have to always do the right thing… Stay grounded in your values… My integrity is something that no one can ever take from me
(00:30:00) The Jim Tressel resignation and NCAA tattoo-memorabilia violations
(00:33:30) Ohio State Athletics is essentially a large business, how do you hire for those coaching positions?
(00:38:00) Creating a platform for success & growth
(00:44:00) Balancing deep & meaningful relationships with business and how they relate to Ohio State Athletics
(00:48:45) Scholarships
(00:51:20) Gene’s long-term vision for the university and the athletic department
(00:56:30) Recapping the episode
(00:57:55) Living Uncomfortably
(01:01:00) Subscribe to Conquering Columbus!
(01:01:20) AWH
(01:01:50) The SunDown Group
(01:02:10) Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
(01:02:40) Want to be a sponsor of Conquering Columbus?
(01:02:50) Survey!
(01:03:00) Conquering Columbus Outro Music

Links

Gene Smith
The Ohio State University
Facilities Management eXpress (FMX)
The SunDown Group
AWH[subscribe]