AD Bjork wants to see strong finish from Holtmann’s basketball team

New Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork first spoke to Buckeyes men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann on Tuesday. The two then met face-to-face the following morning, before Bjork’s introductory press conference.

“He seemed like a great guy,” Bjork said. “Seems like he’s doing a great job. Obviously don’t like losing that game on Monday (at Michigan). We talked about how does he build chemistry and culture on the stretch run? You’ve got basically two and a half months left in the regular season, and I know he’s looking to finish strong.”

Holtmann indicated he has also enjoyed the two’s initial exchanges.

“He’s following a legendary figure in his field in Gene Smith, and I know he’s excited to get to work,” Holtmann said. “... Ross’ reputation around fundraising and work in the NIL space is outstanding, and we are excited to have him here.”

In his seventh season with the Buckeyes, Holtmann is in the second year of a contract extension signed during the summer of 2022 that will keep him at Ohio State through 2027-28. If OSU seeks to fire Holtmann, the school would owe him the remaining balance on his contract, a figure that would be roughly $20 million through the 2023-24 academic year.

Ohio State is 135-80 (.628) under Holtmann. He was named Big Ten coach of the year in 2017-18, his first season, and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his first six seasons (Ohio State would have reached the canceled 2020 tournament) before going 16-19 in 202223 and missing out on the postseason.

The Buckeyes are 12-5 this year, 2-4 in the Big Ten and will host Penn State on Saturday while saddled with a threegame losing streak.

Bjork has time to settle in

In addition to getting to know Holtmann better, there is obviously a lot on Bjork’s plate for the coming months. The good news is that he has a six-month runway leading him into his official first day on the job on July 1.

Between now and then, current AD Gene Smith will continue to run the Buckeyes athletic department.

“Ross will be learning from Gene, learning all the details and ropes and complexities of what we’re going to be doing here,” Ohio State president Ted Carter said Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to having them both here. They’re going to make a great team, but Gene will still be the boss until he steps away.”

From his seat in the crowd, Smith joked, “Any good decision is mine, and any bad decision is his.”

There are formal steps to be taken before Bjork officially joins Ohio State. He’s currently the boss at Texas A&M. And Ohio State’s board of trustees will have to formally approve his hiring in February.

ajardy@dispatch.com