Ted Carter, the new president of Ohio State, understands historic football rivalries and the high expectations of a Power 5 university with a national championship heritage.
Both of those experiences will be useful in his future employment. So Carter was probably not surprised to get his first question concerning his football coach’s future only five minutes into his first media availability.
Carter held the news conference in connection with the start of the school year. The former Nebraska chancellor and Naval Academy superintendent began his new role on January 1. The Buckeyes’ season had ended three days earlier in the Cotton Bowl with a heartbreaking 14-3 loss to Missouri.
“First and foremost, I have great respect for the country’s greatest rivalries,” Carter told reporters in attendance. “The Army-Navy game was second only to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry for someone who ran the Naval Academy.” Ryan Day, I believe, would also add that our ambitions are to win the Big Ten and the national championship every year. We did not meet that requirement.
“However, Ryan Day runs an excellent program.” He’s our trainer. I’m proud that he’s our coach and that he’ll stay that way.”
In any case, Carter would not be the one to make such a decision. That will be up to anyone he appoints to replace Gene Smith as athletic director. Smith, who hired Day, will leave his position this summer.
Carter stated on Monday that the process is “well underway,” thanks to the search advisory team put in place prior to his hiring.
However, if the football coach was fired, the President would almost surely be consulted, especially since the contract buyout would be in the tens of millions of dollars.
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