Ross Bjork Releases First Statement As Ohio State Buckeyes' AD

Ross Bjork is now officially Ohio State's athletic director.

Jan 17, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ross Bjork speaks during an introductory press conference for Ohio State University’s new athletic director at the Covelli Center. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Ross Bjork officially became the new athletic director for the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday, and he is amped to get going.

Bjork has released his first statement after starting his new position, and he promised to further advance what is already a terrific athletics program.

The journey begins officially at THE Ohio State University. Could not be more grateful, humbled & fired up to lead Buckeye Athletics & Business Advancement into a new era.
Let’s go Buckeyes👊🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/8iDdoe6bva

— Ross Bjork (@RossBjorkAD) July 1, 2024

It was originally announced that Bjork would take the job back in January.

Bjork will be replacing Gene Smith, who had been serving as Ohio State's athletic director since 2005. Smith announced last year that he would be retiring. Sunday was his last day.

This is hardly Bjork's first rodeo.

The 51-year-old is coming over to the Buckeyes after spending the last five years as Texas A&M's AD. It also marks the fourth athletic director job for Bjork in total, as he also served as AD for Western Kentucky (2010-12) and Ole Miss (2012-19).

Bjork has certainly experienced success in the past. He transformed Western Kentucky into a respectable mid-major program, Mississippi won three bowl games under his direction and Texas A&M collected a couple of bowl wins and one 9-1 campaign with Bjork at the helm.

Obviously, Ohio State is a different level.

While Ole Miss and Texas A&M are certainly impressive programs, the Buckeyes are one of the very top football schools in the country and will represent a new challenge for Bjork.

He also has some very big shoes to fill, as Smith did a marvelous job in the nearly two decades he spent in Columbus.

We'll see if Bjork can live up to the sky-high Ohio State standard.