Is It Time To Fire Gene Smith?

One down, one to go?

There are many who feel that Gene Smith needs to move on. From the mishandling of Tatgate, to the odd way that Coach Tressel was forced to leave, and the bowl ban that might not have happened had he self-imposed for 2011, Athletic Director Smith has committed many egregious errors in judgment and management that have much of Buckeye Nation calling for his head. I wonder if the Buckeye faithful would be more forgiving of someone with significant Buckeye roots.

When a new Ohio State football coach is needed, one major factor to consider is whether he is an Ohioan. Whether the man played for the Buckeyes, coached here as an assistant, or simply was born in the area, most fans can agree that having lived the history of the Bucks as a youth is really the only way someone can begin to understand the passion surrounding this program.

Anyone who remembers the John Cooper era can attest to the importance of being a Buckeye. Why don’t we demand a true Buckeye in the big chair?

Ohio State's 2012 Bowl Ban Isn't The End Of The World

Bowl ban? No biggie.

The pre-Christmas announcement of Ohio State’s 2012 postseason ban came as a shock to Buckeye Nation, who mistakenly assumed that the self-applied punishment of scholarship restrictions would absolve the program of all sins. 

The wave of Urban Meyer-induced euphoria that had enveloped Columbus over the last several weeks has subsided, and fans can finally look at the grim reality. A 6-6 season, with a loss in Michigan, is not a season worth remembering. A bowl ban for 2012 has hopes from Buckeye fans as gray as an Ohio November day. 

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Breaking: Ohio State Receives One Year Bowl Ban

Throwing down the hammer. Seriously.

According to the Dispatch, Ohio State has been placed on a 1 year bowl ban for the 2012 season. The penalty means Ohio State automatically is out of the running for any bowl, or a Big Ten or national championship next year, just as newly appointed head coach Urban Meyer is wooing recruits to the Buckeyes.

Athletic Director Gene Smith said previously that while Ohio State has been declared a repeat violator that failed to properly monitor its football program, a bowl ban would be out of line with penalties handed to universities with similar violations.

In its ruling to be made public this afternoon, the NCAA Committee of Infractions will levy the bowl ban and two other penalties on top of the ones the university already imposed on itself, the sources said. The NCAA will:

- Strip four more football scholarships over the next three years on top of Ohio State’s prior forfeiture of five scholarships over that span.

- Add an additional year of probation to OSU’s self-imposed two-year probation for the football program, meaning any violations through the 2013 season could draw harsher-than-normal penalties.

If you haven't figured this out on your own, Gene Smith could probably have avoided this by simply banning Ohio State from the postseason THIS year. Instead, the juniors on this team, which include John Simon, Jake Stoneburner and more, won't be able to play in a bowl game if they come back for their senior season.

Update 3:00 PM: The NCAA has released it's official statement on the Ohio State penalties.

Update 3:15 PM: Gene Smith releases his official statement in response to the NCAA Penalties.
"We have decided not to appeal the decision because we need to move forward as an institution. We recognize that this is a challenging time in intercollegiate athletics. Institutions of higher education must move to higher ground, and Ohio State embraces its leadership responsibilities and affirms its long-standing commitment to excellence in education and integrity in all it does."

Keep checking Inside The Shoe for the latest updates on the NCAA Ruling, and Ohio State news.

Ohio State Places Scholarship Sanctions On Self

Ohio State issued a release late this afternoon outlining new sanctions in connection with extra benefits provided by an OSU booster. The new sanctions include scholarship restrictions of a total of five scholarships over the next three years. 


(To dumb it down a little bit, OSU will not lose five scholarships each of the three years, just a total of five lost scholarship seasons over the three years.)


To give a short summary for what's after the jump, here's a bullet point list:

• Ohio State will lose 5 scholarships over a period of 3 years, starting in 2012.
• It's still unclear whether or not OSU will receive a bowl ban, and must wait for the NCAA final ruling.
• 5 total lost scholarships over 3 years is not bad at all, in our case. That means we'd have classes of 83, 83, and 84 for the next 3 years.
• These sanctions are given to OSU by OSU, so the NCAA can still add on.