Ross Bjork on Ohio State football: 'It's going to be a lot of fun when we win those championships'

There’s new leadership in place at Ohio State, following the hire of Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork for the same position with the Buckeyes. And Bjork is already eyeing championships with football coach Ryan Day.

The two have spent some brief time together and from what little he’s seen of Day already, Bjork is convinced championships are on the way.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Bjork said. “This guy right here, I mean coach Day, he’s going to get it done and it’s going to be a lot of fun when we win those championships.”

Day, of course, has been highly successful at Ohio State but hasn’t yet burst all the way through to win at the highest level. Michigan, of late, has been a real thorn in the side.

But Day is still 56-8 in six years in Columbus, a record most programs would kill for. So it really does seem to be a matter of just figuring out that final mile in the program.

“Coach Day and I spent about an hour together on Monday as part of the meeting process to finalize everything,” Bjork said. “Obviously I didn’t know him personally but know a lot of people, we have a lot of similarities in terms of crossover. Brilliant mind in the game of football, high level leader, knows what championship football looks like, knows how to put all of those pieces together.”

Again, Michigan is going to be the primary focus until Day proves he can get over that hump. The Wolverines have beaten the Buckeyes in each of the last three years, ruining the path to the playoffs a couple times.

Finding a way to even up the rivalry so Ohio State can compete for a national title, like Michigan just did, is absolutely paramount.

“We get it, The Game matters. So he and I talked about that,” Bjork said. “The best thing that I can do is lock arms with him, figure out are there any barriers, figure out key decisions. He’s the coach, he’s the strategist. He has to build the roster. And it’s my job to say what are the infrastructure pieces, what are the culture pieces that I can help you with and then let him go to work. By all accounts those things are all coming together.”

While Bjork will now have the power to fire Day, ultimately, he would prefer to have things work out with Day a winner. That’s always easier than the alternative for Ohio State.

But the goal is to compete at the highest level. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

“I’m here to help in whatever I can do in that realm while they make those decisions,” Bjork said. “But I’m a football guy. I’m going to help and I’m going to make sure that, again, we compete at the highest level because the pedigree is here.”