Ross Bjork named Ohio State's new athletic director

A seismic shift has gone down in college sports. Texas A&M’s Ross Bjork is leaving the Aggies for the Ohio State Buckeyes, becoming their new Athletic Director, the university announced Tuesday.

The Buckeyes have been in search for their new leader of their athletic department, and Bjork was first reported to be one of the front-runners earlier this week. Now, we’re entering a new era in Columbus, as the former Aggies AD is taking the job at Ohio State.

The 51-year-old Bjork took over as the Aggies’ AD in 2019 after spending eight years at Ole Miss. After spending almost half a decade with the school, he’ll now replace long time athletic director Gene Smith at Ohio State.

“Few athletics directors have established such an impressive and strong record of success in athletics, in the classroom and throughout the community,” Ohio State president Ted Carter said in a statement. “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.” 

Moreover, Bjork started his career in 1996 at Western Kentucky for two years. He moved to Missouri from 1997-2003 in a variety of roles as an assistant AD. Then in 2003, he became the associate AD at Miami for three years. In 2005, Bjork went out west to become the senior associate athletic director at UCLA. 

Once 2010 rolled around, Bjork became the youngest athletic director among FBS schools went he took over Western Kentucky upon his return. After three years, he moved onto Ole Miss.

Alas, Bjork leaves the Aggies after hiring former Duke head coach Mike Elko to replace Jimbo Fisher on the football field. It was seen as a big change following the disappointment and lack of a national title from Fisher and staff.

At the time, Bjork explained that the search firm helped in the process but that Elko was always one of the top candidates. Additionally, Bjork stated that Elko showed Texas A&M throughout the process that he was the right person to instill a winning culture in the program.

Now at Ohio State, it’ll be Ryan Day who Ross Bjork is working with towards the common goal of a national title. Time will tell how they work out, but it’s evident the winds of change are blowing in both College Station and Columbus.

“I have been extraordinarily fortunate to work with so many outstanding student-athletes, coaches, staff and university leaders throughout my career, and Ohio State represents the culmination of these efforts,” Bjork said in a statement. “To be a part of Buckeye Nation, along with its storied traditions and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome challenge. I can’t wait to get started.”

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.