Ross Bjork: Ohio State putting 'everything on the table' for naming rights
Ross Bjork started his tenure as Ohio State athletic director last month but he has been evaluating the athletic department for months.
The former Texas A&M and Ole Miss athletic director shadowed for Gene Smith in the months leading up to July 1. He led the process for new coaching hires in men’s basketball, softball and baseball. Bjork has approached all of this thinking about what revenue sharing will mean.
While some schools are focused on just matching the $22 million in year one of revenue sharing, he’s eyed what that number could grow to over the 10-year settlement agreement. Top programs like Alabama, Georgia and Texas could be sharing up to $30 million in the next decade.
With the NCAA now allowing on-field sponsorships and the future prospect of jersey patches, Bjork said Ohio State is evaluating every option for new revenue sources. That could even include naming rights for Ohio Stadium.
“So Safelite is exclusive for the field naming, so it’s the field name,” he recently told On3. “But in and around the perimeter of the stadium, adjacencies to the field, things like that. I’ve been saying, ‘Look, we have to put everything on the table.’ Naming rights of the stadium. The jersey patch is a conversation. We have to work with our partner, Nike, in that conversation.
“If we’re breaking glass right now and we’re going to put the window back, let’s get it all on the table so we can put the window back in the right position. Everything has to be on the table right now to analyze. That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. It just means let’s at least answer the question. Here’s the value. Is this the right thing to do? Yes or No. If it’s not, OK, fine. If it is, how do we pursue it? Or how does it fit in?”
Ohio State isn’t ready to make cuts
Bjork isn’t ready to announce cuts to his new department. His predecessor at Texas A&M, Trev Alberts, laid off several high-level administrators and staffers in April. The House settlement agreement allows for institutions to reduce the number of sports offered.
Ohio State could install different tiers of funding for sports. Bjork believes there will continue to be financial aid and traditional scholarships. Revenue sharing will be in a bucket. Plus, name, image and likeness will be accessible to all athletes.
“What sports are in the financial aid category, what sports are in the revenue share category – all sports can be in the NIL category,” Bjork said. “We can try to support them for all sports. And then what you have to do is, depending on how it’s funded in those other categories, you have to determine what are the resources needed to support that sport. If we have sports that become walk-on sports where the athletes are walk-ons, do they need as much infrastructure around them?
“… If you’re stratifying your sports, do you need that extra coach anymore? Those are all the questions that we have to answer at some point in time. We don’t have full clarity on that piece yet. That’s part of our analysis. And so when we say shrink, I think the answer is, what do you need to operate that program? And what do you need to operate the program where you don’t impact the student-athlete experience? You still have health and safety. You’re not going backward on that. But the other stuff that we do for our sports, you may have to pull back.”
Football key revenue driver for Ohio State
As Ohio State and Ross Bjork evaluate what changes will be needed to offer the top dollar in revenue sharing, the athletic director is not making changes to expectations around the football program. After three consecutive losses to Michigan, pressure in Columbus is high for Ryan Day to defeat the archrival and deliver a national title. Even when he touts a 56-8 record.
“We’ve sold more season tickets than we have in the last 15 years in a single season,” Bjork said. “So how do we continue the fan experience, those kinds of things? So the expectation piece that’s there no matter what, because it’s Ohio State. What we focus on is what are the resources. How do we build it right? What kind of people do we have?”