At the core of a +$200M / year collegiate powerhouse: Culture.

In this episode, Coach D and Matt Young speak with Gene Smith, Director of Athletics at The Ohio State University about what is at the core of a +$200M / year collegiate powerhouse: Culture.

Gene shares his story from his experience as an athlete, being a coach, and in business that has led him to his 16th year as Athletic Director at Ohio State and how he facilitated transitions to build a truly excellent environment. 

When first joining Ohio State, Gene saw the need to focus on:

Communication: focusing on conversations between employees, athletes, and parents.Organization Alignment: core values being used to guide recruitment and organization decisions. Culture: creating an environment where people feel engaged, accountable, and inspired. 

He shares how he approaches building culture, how to embed people into the process, and how to acknowledge if some people aren't right for that environment.

His mandate around leadership: subscribe to the philosophy that there isn't just one leadership style.

Focusing on culture is a key element to their approach to total student athlete development that includes a recruitment process looking at:

AthleticismAccountabilityDesire to develop as a person 

Be inspired by the conversation and advice Gene shares on how to build a powerhouse culture that builds life skills, good habits, and a vision for the future. 

Gene is former college football player and coach who currently serves as Vice President and Athletic Director for the Ohio State University. He was named the university's eighth athletic director on March 5, 2005. Prior to his tenure at Ohio State, he served as athletic director for Arizona State for 5 years, Eastern Michigan for 10 years, and Iowa State.

In 2003, when he was Athletic Director of Arizona State, Smith infamously told boosters and supporters of the football team to “Get over it.”, following an emotional loss to rival University of Arizona.

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