Leadership is a character trait that Gene Smith possesses in indelible ink.
Whether it is in his role as athletics director at Ohio State, which has the largest athletics budget in the membership at more than $100 million annually, or serving on numerous NCAA committees through the years, Smith’s voice offers a diverse perspective when it comes to helping shape the direction of the Association.
The fact that he’s one of only 11 African-American male ADs in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is one variable Smith brings to policy-making or problem-solving decisions.
He also brings the viewpoint of a former student-athlete (defensive end at Notre Dame), an assistant coach and AD (at Eastern Michigan, Iowa State and Arizona State). Add two years in marketing at IBM, and Smith has a perfect background for balancing the educational and business models of intercollegiate athletics.
“When I got started in the 1980s, I made sure I served on committees in the NCAA and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics,” Smith said. “I did it because I wanted to learn, and I wanted to be able to contribute.”
Smith’s list of service includes being the first African-American president of NACDA in 1994, a member of the Division I Management Council, the NCAA Committee on Infractions, the NCAA Executive Committee, the NCAA Football Rules Committee, the Presidents Commission Liaison Committee and the NCAA Baseball Academic Enhancement Working Group.
He is currently a member of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, which he describes as one of the most rewarding tasks of his career.
“Every meeting I go to, I learn something,” Smith said. “The camaraderie and integrity of the people on that committee is unbelievable. It is a committee that I feel blessed to be on. I’ve been on a number of them. This is the one I thoroughly enjoy.”
Smith comes from a blue-collar background in Cleveland. His father was an electrical contractor, who often took his son with him to work.
“That started from the time I was 5 years old,” Smith said. “My heroes and role models were plumbers, contractors, brick layers, sheet metal guys. I used to sweep up behind them and bring them their tools.”
As he grew older, Smith would work side-by-side with these men, and he would also listen to their conversations during breaks.
“These laborers gave me my work ethic and, quite frankly, made me fearless,” Smith said. “It made me appreciate my opportunities because many of them lived job to job. They didn’t know if they were going to have another project once the project they were working on was complete. I remember that vividly.”
Smith, whose wife Shelia is the associate vice president for development at Ohio State, believed one of those blue-collar jobs would be his calling until he began receiving recruiting letters from football programs during his junior year of high school.
“That’s the first time I started thinking about going to college,” he said.
Smith narrowed his choices to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan. He chose the Fighting Irish, who were then coached by Ara Parseghian. Another member of the coaching staff Smith would grow close to was defensive assistant Tom Shoults.
After exhausting his eligibility and graduating with a business administration degree in 1977, Smith joined Notre Dame’s coaching staff from 1977-81. He left the coaching lifestyle by accepting a marketing position with IBM.
His path into intercollegiate athletics came when Shoults, who was then the athletics director at Eastern Michigan, began recruiting Smith again. This time, he wanted him to join his athletics department staff.
Smith did so in 1983, but he really didn’t know the backdrop of the profession when it came to advancement opportunities.
“All I knew was I was going to work for a great person in Paul and that he was going to teach me the business,” Smith said. “Shortly before Paul was ready to retire, I began to look at the landscape and say, ‘Wow, there are not that many African-American athletics directors out there.’”
Smith, who counts former NCAA President Cedric Dempsey and NACDA Executive Director Mike Cleary as mentors, went through some tough experiences when he sought other opportunities. There were only four black ADs in the FBS when Smith reached that position in 1985.
“I really felt at some of the places I interviewed, that I was simply an affirmative action representative in the pool,” Smith said. “At other places, I felt the interview was genuine, and I just lost the job. There were times when I was depressed and didn’t think I would get the opportunity.”
Eventually, the calls began to come. In 1993, he was hired as the AD at Iowa State. From there, Smith moved to Arizona State in 2000, and he was named to his current position March 5, 2005.
All of Smith’s AD positions offered different challenges. At Eastern Michigan and Iowa State, he spent about 90 percent of his time trying to generate revenue to fund the department. During his days at Arizona State, revenue generation took up 70 percent of his time.
Currently, with the history and size of the Ohio State athletics department, Smith can focus on other aspects of the operation. The department, which has 313 full-time employees, is self supporting and receives no university funds, tax dollars or student fees. This fiscal year, Smith said the department will contribute around $26 million to the university.
“We want to demonstrate through everything we do, that we are integrated with the mission of the university,” Smith said. “For example, helping the library renovate its facility and increasing its volumes is important.”
Smith applauds the NCAA philosophy of having more presidential control and the emphasis of making the athletics department a part of the overall university culture.
“I’m glad that it has headed in that direction,” Smith said. “As for athletics directors, I view us as hybrids. In one regard, we are middle managers. In another regard, we’re leaders. You go back and forth depending on the business situation. Today’s AD knows how to do that seamlessly.”
It’s all part of being a leader.