Ross Bjork

Ross Bjork
Bjork in 2017
Current position
TitleAthletic director
TeamOhio State Buckeyes
ConferenceBig Ten
Annual salary$1.65 million[1]
Biographical details
Born (1972-10-22) October 22, 1972 (age 52)
Dodge City, Kansas, U.S.
Alma materDodge City Community College (Associate)
Emporia State University (Bachelor's)
Western Illinois University (MS)
Playing career
1992–1994Emporia State
Position(s)Fullback
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1996–1997Western Kentucky (dev. offc.)
1997–2001Missouri (athletic dev. offc.)
2001–2003Missouri (asst. AD for dev.)
2003–2005Miami (FL) (assoc. AD)
2005–2010UCLA (senior assoc. AD)
2010–2012Western Kentucky
2012–2019Ole Miss
2019–2024Texas A&M
2024–presentOhio State

Ross Bjork[2] (born October 22, 1972) is the athletics director for The Ohio State University.[3] He previously served as the director of athletics for Texas A&M University, University of Mississippi[4] and Western Kentucky University. He has also previously worked for the University of Miami, UCLA, and the University of Missouri.[5]

Early life/playing and coaching career

A native of Dodge City, Kansas, Bjork graduated from Dodge City High School in 1991.[6] Bjork then earned an associate degree from Dodge City Community College, where he also played fullback.[6] Bjork transferred to Emporia State University, where he also played fullback and received his bachelor's degree in 1995.[6] Bjork earned his master's degree from Western Illinois University in 1996. Bjork is married to Sonya and has two sons, Payton and Paxton.[4]

Administrative career

Bjork started his administrative career in 1996 at Western Kentucky University where he was an assistant development coordinator. Bjork then spent time in the athletics departments at the University of Missouri (1997-2003), University of Miami (2003-2005), UCLA (2005-2010).[7][6] In 2010, Bjork returned to Western Kentucky as its Athletics Director, where he was the youngest athletic director among all 120 NCAA FBS schools when hired.[6]

While at Western Kentucky, Bjork made several high-profile decisions. In 2011, then-WKU Defensive Coordinator Lance Guidry was arrested for driving under the influence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the day before WKU played LSU.[8] Guidry coached WKU in its 42-9 loss and Bjork never suspended Guidry. Bjork also fired Women's basketball coach Mary Taylor Cowes and Men's basketball coach Ken McDonald.[8]

In 2012, Bjork left WKU to become the Athletics Director at Ole Miss. Ole Miss saw several scandals during Bjork's tenure. Just seven months into the job, Bjork fired women's basketball coach Adrian Wiggins for recruiting violations.[9] NCAA investigations revealed persistent football recruiting violations, including evidence that Ole Miss employees and boosters arranged numerous "impermissible benefits" for players, such as car loans and cash. At least one recruit was suspected of getting help on his college entrance exam.[10] Ole Miss officials began calling reporters, telling them falsely that most of the alleged violations had taken place under Freeze's predecessor Houston Nutt.[11]

In July 2017, Houston Nutt sued Ole Miss for defamation. The lawsuit was settled in October 2017, and Ole Miss issued an apology to Nutt.[12] In discovery for that lawsuit, Nutt's lawyers discovered that Hugh Freeze had been calling escort services from his university phone.[12] Bjork then allowed Freeze to resign.[13]

In 2019, Bjork left Ole Miss to become the Athletics Director at Texas A&M. Following a 9-1 season in 2020 which saw the Aggies finish fifth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, Bjork gave football head coach Jimbo Fisher a four-year extension through 2031, which raised his salary from $7.5 million to $9 million.[14] Bjork fired Jimbo Fisher in 2023 during a disappointing season which saw the Aggies finish 7-6 with a loss in the Texas Bowl. Fisher was 45-25 in six seasons at Texas A&M. The $76 million buyout owed to Fisher is triple the next-highest known coaching buyout by a public school.[15]

Bjork then tried to hire Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as Fisher's replacement. After reportedly closing in on a deal with Stoops, the decision was reportedly nixed at the last minute by the Texas A&M board of regents. The decision to not hire Stoops was also due to the immense backlash from the fanbase. Just a day later,[16] Texas A&M hired former Duke University head coach Mike Elko.[17]

On January 16, 2024, Ohio State University announced that Bjork had been hired as its next athletic director, effective July 1, 2024, with a transition period beginning March 1, 2024.[18][19] Bjork is the 9th Athletic Director at Ohio State.

References

  1. ^ Brown, Chase; Hope, Dan (January 17, 2024). "FUTURE OHIO STATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ROSS BJORK TO MAKE $2 MILLION PER YEAR ON FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  2. ^ "Emporia State Names 2017 Distinguished Alumni". June 12, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "Ohio State Hires Ross Bjork As Athletic Director". Eleven Warriors. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "OleMissSports.com Ross Bjork Bio - Ole Miss Rebels Official Athletic Site". Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Aschoff, Edward (June 20, 2012). "AD Ross Bjork Is Ready For Test At Ole Miss". ESPN. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Hall of Fame - Ross Bjork". Dodge City Community College. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Ross Bjork is Named Associate Athletic Director". University of Miami Athletics. University of Miami. July 30, 2003. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Kizer, Drake. "New Texas A&M AD Bjork left his mark on WKU". College Heights Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Forgette, Matt; Gray, Jack (February 22, 2017). "A Complete Timeline of Ole Miss' NCAA Investigation". Red Cup Rebellion. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Morgan Moriarty (January 23, 2023). "The updated list of 21 NCAA allegations against Ole Miss football". SB Nation.
  11. ^ Wolken, Dan. "Detailed claims in Houston Nutt's lawsuit make case Ole Miss definitely owes an apology". USA Today. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Kirshner, Alex (October 16, 2017). "The Houston Nutt-Ole Miss lawsuit is over, but not before it brought down Hugh Freeze". SB Nation. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "Hugh Freeze Abruptly Resigns as Ole Miss Football Coach". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 21, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Khan, jr., Sam. "Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher agree to 4-year extension through 2031 and raise". The Athletic. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  15. ^ Thamel, Pete (November 12, 2023). "Jimbo Fisher fired by Texas A&M, to receive record buyout". ESPN. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Report: Mark Stoops Deal Nixed By Texas A&M Aggies Board Of Regents At Last Second". SI Now. November 26, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  17. ^ "Mike Elko Named Head Football Coach". Texas A&M Today. November 27, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Ross Bjork named athletics director at The Ohio State University". January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  19. ^ "Texas A&M hires AD away from Ole Miss". May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.

Further reading