Ross Bjork (born October 22, 1972) is the

athletics director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

for The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He previously served as the director of athletics for

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

and

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

. He has also previously worked for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Early life/playing and coaching career

A native of

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

, Bjork graduated from Dodge City High School in 1991. Bjork then earned an associate degree from

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 ...

, where he also played fullback. Bjork transferred to

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

, where he also played fullback and received his bachelor's degree in 1995. Bjork earned his master's degree from

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

in 1996. Bjork is married to Sonya and has two sons, Payton and Paxton.

Administrative career

Bjork started his administrative career in 1996 at

where he was an assistant development coordinator. Bjork then spent time in the athletics departments at the

(1997–2003),

(2003–2005),

(2005–2010). In 2010, Bjork returned to

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

as its Athletics Director, where he was the youngest athletic director among all 120 NCAA FBS schools when hired. While at Western Kentucky, Bjork made several high-profile decisions. In 2011, then-WKU

Defensive Coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Lance Guidry was arrested for driving under the influence in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

the day before WKU played

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. Guidry coached WKU in its 42–9 loss and Bjork never suspended Guidry. Bjork also fired Women's basketball coach Mary Taylor Cowes and Men's basketball coach Ken McDonald. In 2012, Bjork left WKU to become the Athletics Director at

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. Ole Miss saw several scandals during Bjork's tenure. Just seven months into the job, Bjork fired women's basketball coach

Adrian Wiggins Adrian Michael Wiggins (born October 15, 1973) is an American basketball coach who is currently head boys' basketball coach at Clovis East High School. Prior to that, he was the head women's basketball coach at Fresno State. Early life and educa ...

for recruiting violations. NCAA investigations revealed persistent football recruiting violations, including evidence that Ole Miss employees and boosters arranged numerous "impermissible benefits" for players, such as car loans and cash. At least one recruit was suspected of getting help on his college entrance exam. Ole Miss officials began calling reporters, telling them falsely that most of the alleged violations had taken place under Freeze's predecessor

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is an American former college football coach and player. He formerly worked for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State Univer ...

. In July 2017,

sued Ole Miss for defamation. The lawsuit was settled in October 2017, and Ole Miss issued an apology to Nutt. In discovery for that lawsuit, Nutt's lawyers discovered that

Hugh Freeze Danny Hugh Freeze Jr. (born September 27, 1969) is an American college football coach. Since 2023, he has served as the head coach for Auburn University. A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tenne ...

had been calling escort services from his university phone. Bjork then allowed Freeze to resign. In 2019, Bjork left

to become the Athletics Director at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. Following a 9–1 season in 2020 which saw the Aggies finish fifth in the final

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

rankings, Bjork gave football head coach Jimbo Fisher a four-year extension through 2031, which raised his salary from $7.5 million to $9 million. Bjork fired Jimbo Fisher in 2023 during a disappointing season which saw the Aggies finish 7–6 with a loss in the

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replace ...

. Fisher was 45–25 in six seasons at Texas A&M. The $76 million buyout owed to Fisher is triple the next-highest known coaching buyout by a public school. Bjork then tried to hire Kentucky head coach

Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Kentucky, a position he has held since 2013. Stoops is the all-time winningest head coach in the ...

as Fisher's replacement. After reportedly closing in on a deal with Stoops, the decision was reportedly nixed at the last minute by the Texas A&M board of regents. The decision to not hire Stoops was also due to the immense backlash from the fanbase. Just a day later, Texas A&M hired former

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

head coach Mike Elko. On January 16, 2024,

announced that Bjork had been hired as its next athletic director, effective July 1, 2024, with a transition period beginning March 1, 2024. Bjork is the 9th Athletic Director at Ohio State. In the first year under Bjork's watch, the Buckeyes football team would win the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Early life/playing and coaching career

Administrative career

References

Further reading