Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer expresses major concern about the change in leadership that is happening in Columbus.
The last week has been quite the whirlwind in Columbus, OH. Spring ball is in full force on the gridiron, the Buckeyes men's basketball team is one of the hottest in the entire country, and the University President voluntarily stepped down.
Buckeyes' president Ted Carter announced on Monday that he was stepping down as the president of the University, citing an inappropriate relationship with a female podcaster in the area.
Details of the relationship and what happened have not surfaced, but the Buckeyes wasted no time in naming the next leader of their University.
Ohio State named Provost Ravi Bellamkonda as the successor to Carter. Ohio State moved swiftly in this decision and bypassed the traditional National Search that typically takes place in a situation like this.
Bellamkonda is the fourth University President since 2020. The position has been in complete turnover mode since COVID.
On Thursday, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer talked about his experience with presidential turnover in his coaching career.
Meyer was hired by Gordon Gee in 2011, and Meyer stated that once the leadership changed, it made it much harder for him.
Meyer's coaching career spanned two different full-time presidents and one interim leader. Meyer cited that the change in leadership, lines of communication, alignment, and direction are all reasons for concern for Ryan Day.
The fortunate part for Day is that he is no stranger to this. Just as the Buckeyes have had four different presidents since 2020, Day himself has had 4 different presidents during his time as the head coach.
Day has been able to navigate the uncertain waters and has done so to the tune of a National Championship. However, it is going to get much harder for him as the landscape of college football levels out while the Buckeyes can't get their leadership set in stone.
Bellamkonda came out on Thursday, and in his first chance with the media, he noted that the world recognizes Ohio State as an athletic powerhouse and made it very clear that it would be a priority for him in his new role.
For the Buckeyes football team, these choppy waters are not uncharted territory, and it could be a good opportunity for the approach to NIL and accelerating the athletic programs with new leadership.
However it all shakes out, this is an unwanted hurdle that Day and the Buckeyes now have to clear. The question that needs to be asked is: how much more of this does Day want to take?
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