Ohio State's Gene Smith explains NIL frustrations, updates NCAA's work on Plan B

INDIANAPOLIS – Four years ago, Gene Smith was tasked as co-chair of the NCAA’s NIL working group to develop a plan for the future. Before the state laws went into effect and before collectives existed, the Ohio State athletic director and 18 administrators and athletes had the chance to guide college athletics into its new era. 

Smith put in nearly two years of work on the strategy. Early on, he identified what an influx of cash means for inducements in recruiting and the transfer portal. When the NCAA’s Board of Governors supported rule changes in April 2020 to allow NIL endorsement deals – a step in a very long process – multiple guidelines issued were related to pay-to-play fears. 

In January 2021, the Division I Council decided to delay its vote on NIL. The move ultimately killed any chance of the NCAA being prepared for the slew of state laws that went into effect six months later. 

Smith, one of the most respected figures in college athletics, has not forgotten his time spent on NIL reform. Since then, he’s had to educate his athletic department on a topic he tried to prepare the NCAA for. His coaches have experienced the pay-to-play environment he foresaw. And Smith has had to watch countless college sports leaders plead for Congressional help in recent months.

The leader of Ohio State athletics was not in Indianapolis this week only for Big Ten Media Days. Instead, he spent time at NCAA’s headquarters for two days of NIL meetings. Those conversations centered around the need for clarity and more guidance. 

Something Smith knows a few things about. 

“Yeah, it’s a frustration,” Smith told On3 of the state of NIL. “It’s a frustration from the two years that we worked on the original NIL framework and guardrails. They weren’t passed. But you know, what? You put that behind you. When you’re a leader, you face change. I don’t even think about that anymore. I always think about, ‘Ok, what are we going to do right now? What are we going to do moving forward?’ 

“The last few days were about that. I think something’s gonna happen. Will it improve everything? No. Will it mitigate some things? Of course.”

‘We’re not in control of Congress’

With new NCAA president Charlie Baker in Indianapolis this week along with multiple administrators and athletes from high-profile sports, a database of NIL activity and uniform contracts for deals were among discussion points. A registry for those participating in the NIL space, such as agents and collectives, was also brought up. 

Since Baker took the job this past spring, he has made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for an NIL mandate. Despite the rising number of bills and draft discussions that have populated in recent weeks, there is some uncertainty that legislation could be enacted in a timely fashion. The upcoming election cycle does not help, either. 

Examining the NCAA’s aggressive push for federal NIL laws

This week’s meetings were a sign the NCAA is starting to take steps to formulate a Plan B. The NIL working group has been tasked with drafting an updated proposal. Yet, the NCAA has not even enforced its interim NIL policy since its inception. 

Smith is not completely sold the NCAA should be controlled by lawmakers. Plan B would ensure administrators could mold NIL moving forward. If Congressional legislation is enacted, those discussion points at this week’s meeting could quickly become federal law. An NIL clearinghouse has been outlined in some bills, wiping out the NCAA’s jurisdiction.

“I think I’m always concerned,” he said. “If we don’t do something, something will be done to us. I like the fact that Congress dropped their bills because – look at [Richard] Blumenthal, Cory Booker and Jerry Moran. They dropped those bills. That means they understand, and they want to do some work. The two days that we’ve had here [Indianapolis], we’ve worked very hard. A lot of information from our stakeholders. So now, it’s a matter of the NCAA and the working group taking that information and doing something with it. We have to, it’s not like, can we? No, we have to.

“I’m optimistic that’s going to happen because we’re in control of that. We’re not in control of Congress. Something’s going to happen, from the working group or from Congress.”

Gene Smith explains position on revenue sharing

The Big Ten’s longest-tenured athletic director has been a proponent of college football moving under the College Football Playoff umbrella and away from the NCAA. Smith openly campaigned for more institutional involvement in NIL a year ago, citing the need to reign in recruiting inducements.

What he certainly is not ready to sign on for is revenue sharing. Earlier this week, a group of seven NIL collectives – The Collective Association – released a revenue-sharing model. The idea calls for a portion of TV revenue to be distributed by conferences to an “official” institution collective in equal shares. From there the collective distributes the money to athletes. The third-party option would ensure athletes are not viewed as employees of schools. 

The former Notre Dame defensive end has seen the athlete experience morph in his years 37 years in college athletics. In Smith’s opinion, athletes already receive a portion of revenue between the cost of attendance and Alston money. 

Gene Smith also cited the lengths the Buckeyes have gone in making mental health a priority, building out a sports psychology staff. 

“No, we’re already revenue sharing,” Smith said. “Think about this. Let’s use J.T. [Tuimoloau]. So he has a circle of care, all that takes money. It’s unreal; they have meals at their disposal. They get cost of attendance, they get Alston money. They get free education. So, it was already revenue sharing.”