Gene Smith accepts OSU's challenges

He'll be in charge of a department that's being investigated by the NCAA.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio State introduced Gene Smith as its new athletic director Saturday, putting the former Arizona State AD in charge of a department that is being investigated by the NCAA about possible improper benefits given to athletes.
Smith, the athletic director at Arizona State since 2000, will replace Andy Geiger, who said he is retiring because he is burned out.
"I know there's been challenges," Smith said at an introductory news conference. "I know there are pressures that exist. I understand the many challenges in dealing with some of the issues the athletic department has faced."
The 49-year-old Cleveland native is the first black athletic director in Ohio State's history.
Before going to Arizona State, he was AD at Iowa State and Eastern Michigan.
Smith agreed to a seven-year contract with Ohio State starting April 15 that will pay him up to $625,000 annually if he meets athletic and academic performance goals to be laid out by university president Karen Holbrook.
Smith's base pay will be $450,000. Geiger had an annual base salary of $250,000.
Smith takes over an athletic department with an operating budget of more than $80 million and 36 varsity sports. That compares with 22 teams and a $35 million budget at Arizona State.
He must deal with controversy
He will also have to deal with several controversies.
The football and men's and women's basketball programs are being investigated by the NCAA amid allegations of academic fraud by student-athletes, payments from boosters and no-show summer jobs.
Former Ohio State football standout Maurice Clarett has alleged that coach Jim Tressel helped line him and other players up with loaner cars. Clarett has also charged that football players were placed in easy courses and received high pay for minimal work in the summer.
Smith said he feels the school's reputation has survived.
"Keep in mind that outside of Columbus, the Ohio State University is still thought of in a great way," he said.
Arizona State's graduation rate improved to school highs under Smith. But in a report released last week, the NCAA rated the program's overall academic performance below the cutoff point at which it could start to lose scholarships.
Ohio State's program got slightly higher overall marks from the NCAA in its Academic Progress Ratings. The Buckeyes' football team was ranked 11th-worst in the country, a little bit lower than Arizona State's.
Smith is a graduate of Notre Dame, and was a defensive end on the Fighting Irish's 1973 national championship team.
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