Ohio State football will be entering a new era, as will all of Buckeyes sports when a new athletic director is officially named to replace the retiring Gene Smith this year. It seems the school has found its man.

“News: Ohio State is moving toward hiring Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork as its new athletic director,” Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported Monday. “Nothing is finalized yet, but the process is expected to wrap up in the coming days. {ESPN insider} Pete Thamel first reported Bjork as OSU's top target.”

The Buckeyes' leading candidate quickly rose up the ranks in his administrative career, becoming the youngest active Power Five conference AD at the time after being hired by Ole Miss in 2012. He caught on with the Aggies in 2019, overseeing what would become an uneven tenure. At least where Texas A&M football was concerned.

On Tuesday, the move became official, per Auerbach:

After the hire was announced, Ohio State President Ted Carter released a statement (h/t Pete Thamel of ESPN):

“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.”

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Bjork's time in College Station will forever be defined by his role in extending Jimbo Fisher's contract in 2021 following a successful 9-1 campaign the year before. The investment was invalidated almost immediately, with the coach going just 19-15 thereafter before being fired in November. The school is now forced to enter a highly expensive payment plan to fulfill the rest of its financial obligations to Fisher.

However, Ohio State is obviously confident that Ross Bjork can lead a functional department in Columbus. He will succeed one of the most prominent athletic directors in program history. Gene Smith had to deal with a fair share of bad optics while serving as AD (started in 2005) and senior vice president of the university (promoted in 2014), but the Buckeyes flourished as a sports community.

Ohio State football was among the many champions that were crowned in this span, winning a national title in 2015. Perhaps Bjork can change the public perception of him and secure a similar level of success for the team going forward.