Ross Bjork took over as Ohio State’s athletic director at a pivotal point for the football program.
The Buckeyes had a veteran-laden roster and star-studded staff in 2024 that put them in prime position to win a national championship.
They capitalized on the window of opportunity.
Despite setbacks in the regular season, including a fourth consecutive defeat to rival Michigan, the Buckeyes responded with a historic run through the College Football Playoff, which featured an expanded field of 12 teams for the first time. It was their first title since Ryan Day replaced Urban Meyer at the helm of the program in 2019.
Bjork sat down with The Dispatch to reflect on the highs and lows from last year and other topics ahead of the upcoming season. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What was the experience like of winning a national championship in your first year as athletic director?
A: As any administrator, the goals are always to put your athletes in the best position, provide resources, do all the right things off the field, but winning a national championship in any sport is always just the pinnacle of what you can do, and then football just has that special meaning. There is no way I can take credit for anything other than just being a positive voice throughout the year. It speaks to the power of Ohio State football. It speaks to the job that Coach Day has done. Getting to know him was really, really fun throughout the year, and we had to go through adversity. It made it even more rewarding.
Now it’s don’t mess it up. Make sure we continue. There’s a lot of momentum on and off the field. It gives you a great launching point early in tenure, so we’re going to capitalize on it moving forward.
Q: The swings of the season were unique to a national title season. Six months later, what’s your…
Source link : https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/college/football/2025/07/21/ohio-state-football-ryan-day-ross-bjork-cfb-national-championship/85259002007/
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Publish date : 2025-07-21 10:03:00
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