Gene Smith
American coach and former athletics director of Arizona State UniversityWikipedia
9
MENTIONS
6
EPISODES
6
PODCASTS
Search complete. 9 mentions across 6 episodes found for "Gene Smith".
Oct 19, 2026
Travis JusticeHOST
That's fair.
Travis JusticeHOST
Meaning you've had a lot of, Gene Smith was there.
Travis JusticeHOST
Gene Smith went on to bigger and better things, ended his career at Ohio State.
Travis JusticeHOST
It was a stepping stone, right? Jamie Pollard could have used Iowa State as a stepping stone.
Travis JusticeHOST
We asked him, what did he say? There was about one and a half other jobs that he thought about and didn't go after it.
Seth ShanerHOST
And that, that's what makes it weird, too.
Seth ShanerHOST
Warde Manuel technically staying through December, so that puts you in silly season with the portal, and is it like a, um, Gene Smith-Ross Bjork situation where they have to make this hire before Thanksgiving, basically, and then you let the n- the incoming guy make the decision on the football coach going forward, and then he, he hire, he keeps or fires Whittingham, and wants to bring in his own guy, or ke- or stays the course.
Seth ShanerHOST
That can't be a Warde Manuel decision.
Seth ShanerHOST
So there, that, that's an issue in itself.
Jay PaternoGUEST
And as you mentioned, college game day, it just flows right into that.
Jay PaternoGUEST
Gene Smith, who was the athletic director at Ohio State for years, when the Big Ten signed the deals without having any piece of ESPN involved, he said to me you're going to regret this from a viewership standpoint because that's the best promotional vehicle there is and i'll give you two examples penn state has lost to wisconsin northwest in the last two weeks okay kentucky is ranked in the coaches poll mississippi state is ranked if you look at northwestern's resume and you look at wisconsin's resume Northwestern is 4-1, 3-1, whatever they are.
Jay PaternoGUEST
Their only loss is by six points at
Chris PicaroHOST
Indiana.
Beau BishopHOST
Now, some of us saw this as a very, very short window of massive profit and understood that the cable model was changing even then, even a d- dozen years ago.
Beau BishopHOST
This is the infamous, uh, me criticizing Gene Smith when he was on the show with me and AR, and Gene saying that I was naive, that, that Maryland and Rutgers would not get better at football.
Beau BishopHOST
Um, and that was kind of my case, that just being in the Big Ten, that was not going to mean that they were gonna be great at football all of a sudden.
Beau BishopHOST
So that's where that, that famous, infamous conversation had, uh, happened, was about that.
13 MINS LATER
Beau BishopHOST
Yeah
Ryan BakerHOST
... that I would have went after because they had success in basketball, and not all the time, but they did have some success in football.
Ryan BakerHOST
And I wonder, 'cause you, you talk about Gene Smith saying, "Oh, you're naive.
Ryan BakerHOST
They're gonna be good if they come to the Big 10."
Urban MeyerHOST
It's yours.
Urban MeyerHOST
But it honestly, Mark, it's my job description when Gene Smith handed it to me.
Urban MeyerHOST
It's the first time ever in my career.
Urban MeyerHOST
It did say win every game.
speaker_10SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
[laughs]
Urban MeyerSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
She got our athletic director, Gene, comes over, and I haven't told this story many times, but he comes over, and he can tell.
Urban MeyerSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
He's like, "Okay." And I said, "Gene, we're doing this, and if not, you gotta let me go 'cause I can't do this."
speaker_10SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Wow.
speaker_10SOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Wow.