COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's new athletic director said
Friday that accusations a former football player shot and killed
another player at his old school will make him more aggressive
about dealing with athletes' problems.
"I will be a better administrator for it and I'll be a better
person for it," said Gene Smith, in his first day at Ohio State
after being AD at Arizona State.
Former Arizona State running back Loren Wade is accused of
shooting former Sun Devils player Brandon Falkner outside a
Scottsdale, Ariz., nightclub on March 26. Wade was suspended for
the season last year while the university investigated whether he
accepted improper benefits and has since been kicked out of school
for violating the team's weapons policy.
After the shooting, Smith said he had been aware that Wade had
previously threatened another athlete, but did not consider it life
threatening. He later learned of a second threat against another
athlete.
Smith said Friday that he would not discuss details of what
happened at Arizona State, but vowed he will be more diligent in
investigating problems with players.
Smith spent his first day on the job meeting staff and reviewing
budgets. He said he has no plans to cut sports at Ohio State and
would provide for all 900 students athletes and 300 sports staff.
Smith replaces Andy Geiger, who said he retired because he is
burned out, and inherits a program with 36 varsity sports, a budget
of more than $80 million and several problems.
In the Buckeyes' football program, quarterback Troy Smith has
one game left on a two-game suspension for taking money from a
booster. The NCAA is looking into allegations by former running
back Maurice Clarett that players received money from boosters and
frequently were given high-pay, no-show jobs.
Because it is so far along, Smith said he likely would not be
involved in an ongoing NCAA investigation into the men's basketball
program for alleged violations committed under former coach Jim
O'Brien.
Geiger fired O'Brien in June after the coach acknowledged that
he gave $6,000 in 1999 to a recruit who never played for the
Buckeyes. O'Brien has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against
Ohio State.
In his new role, Smith said he wants to emphasize collaboration
among Ohio State athletic staff.
"The most successful organizations do not operate in silos,"
he said.
Smith also said he "loved" the idea of adding a 12th game to
Ohio State's football schedule in 2006, partly to bring in more
revenue to the program and because "players love to play." He did
not know who a potential extra-game opponent could be.
Though he said he would be open to discussing the possibility,
Smith said he did not support a college football playoff and
preferred the current bowl system.
Smith also said he would not take as visible a role as his
predecessor in promoting Ohio State sports, leaving that to other
coaches and officials.