Gene Smith says USC and UCLA can help Ohio State carry the ‘weight’ of the Big Ten
By Keith Farner
Published:
Gene Smith might have ruffled some feathers in the Big Ten with his latest comments about Southern Cal and UCLA joining the conference.
Speaking at a press conference, the Ohio State athletics director made comments that could draw some reaction from schools around the Big Ten about how each member contributes to the overall conference.
“For Ohio State, it frankly provides 2 other schools with unbelievable pockets that frankly can carry some weight,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, Ohio State has been a program for the Big Ten over the years that has been at the top of the pyramid in the Big Ten and carried a significant amount of weight and value of the Big Ten. Now we have 2 others who can contribute to that weight, and really excited about that. No disparagement to any other school, that’s just reality when you asked specifically about Ohio State.”
Without naming names, Smith evidently feels that USC and UCLA will immediately join the upper tier of the Big Ten. This will be interesting to see if there’s any reaction to Smith’s statements.
This answer about why adding USC and UCLA makes sense for Ohio State might raise some eyebrows elsewhere in the Big Ten pic.twitter.com/ARUdrCLsZ7
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) July 1, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
