Here's More Fuel for the Fire

A day after Gene Smith declared his allegience to the dark side, or should I say Scarlet and Grey side, he was named the top collegiate AD by the National Football Foundation (NFF).

Here's the exerpt from the NFF:

GENE SMITH
Director of Athletics, Ohio State University


In only three years at Ohio State University, Gene Smith has successfully continued the legacy of Buckeye sports, quickly establishing himself as one of the country's most respected athletics directors in college sports.

Smith oversees the nation's largest Division I-A athletics program, featuring 36 varsity sports, more than 900 student-athletes and an operating budget of $97 million. OSU's athletics department is completely self sufficient, receiving no tax dollars, university money or student fees. In the fiscal year 2007-08, Buckeye athletics will contribute nearly $22 million in assessments to the university, including more than $12 million in grant-in-aid reimbursements. Equally impressive, the OSU athletics department has recently been selected to receive one of the NCAA's Diversity in Athletics Awards in the category of Overall Excellence in Diversity, which is based on achievement in the areas of diversity strategy, gender and racial diversity of departmental employees, minority graduation rates and more.

Under Smith's watch, Ohio State has garnered three straight Big Ten titles and has been invited to three BCS bowl games, including the last two national championship games. The Buckeyes have finished in the Top 5 nationally since 2005 and boast the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith. OSU players have been named First Team All-America picks seven times and First Team All-Big Ten selections 23 times.

Named one of Black Enterprise Magazine's "50 Most Powerful African Americans in College Sports," Smith was named the first African American president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in 2007. He serves on numerous NCAA committees, including the Football Rules Committee, the Committee on Infractions and the Management Council. The Cleveland, Ohio, native attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship and joined the Irish coaching staff following graduation. He has also served as the athletics director at Eastern Michigan, Iowa State and Arizona State.