As Andy Geiger ends his tenure as Ohio State athletic director, it is tough in a forum such as this to adequately sum up his legacy. Many of this school's brightest sports moments have happened since he took command in 1994, and a lot of them were delivered by coaches that Andy brought to Ohio State. But there were times of trouble and turmoil, some of which resulted in Andy having to let coaches go.
Many of OSU's teams, most noticeably football and basketball, have new or refurbished fields and arenas to call home, but Ohio State is greatly in debt because of it and many have wondered if it was too much, too soon.
Andy always seemed to be accommodating to the media, even though some answers may not have been as direct as people liked. But as Maurice Clarett and ESPN became bigger thorns in his side, it became evident that the mounting frustration caused him to uncharacteristically let his guard down publicly at times.
Taking the entire 10-plus years into account, I think Andy Geiger did a great job here at Ohio State. Football and hoops will always get the lions' share of coverage, but I've yet to read or hear of any sport at Ohio State that felt shortchanged or left out under his watch. Even without any distractions to deal with, finding time throughout the year to go to even one event for each team would be a staggering schedule. Andy seemed to cover all the bases, and that alone has earned him the extended time he'll enjoy now with family.
The biggest part of his legacy will be all the new buildings on campus. In my own opinion, there is no finer place in this country to watch a football game than Ohio Stadium. But the shell around the outside of the 'Shoe that came with the renovation has taken something away from the outside. I certainly feel that Bob Todd and the baseball program deserved a new place to play, but I think the Schottenstein Center was a mistake. The basketball program has never had as constant a thread of excellence, or support, that football has. Even if you say that a new building was needed to help recruiting, how can a recruit sit in our crowd, then go to Duke or Michigan State and say the atmosphere is comparable? And seven years after the fact, what do hear the place called more often- The "Schott" or "Value City Arena"?
To be fair, plans for the new arena were in the works before Geiger took over. And coaching-wise, the men's and women's teams are in great hands. Hopefully something can be worked out to create a better atmosphere at the arena.
Another Geiger imprint has been with scheduling. With all the money that Ohio State pays out to its' football opponents, the decision was made to play at least one Ohio school each year to keep the money in-state. Financially, I get it. And I'll admit playing Miami is more intriguing than facing Rice. But every year it puts the football team in a no-win situation.
Did you enjoy sweating out the Cincy game in '02 or Bowling Green in '03?
And do you gain anything by burying a team that everyone expects you to? My biggest question with this has been if we're gonna do it in football, why hasn't Cincinnati, Xavier or Dayton shown up on the basketball schedule?
As Andy Geiger leaves Ohio State, I will say that he deserved better than to go out on the heels of his battles with Maurice Clarett and ESPN. Although I know some people cheered Geiger when he publicly traded barbs with those two entities, I'm sure if he had it to over again he would have handled it differently. Perhaps Andy felt that it wasn't worth it anymore. But he now has a chance to enjoy life with his family, and hopefully he'll be able to do it long after Clarett finishes his playing days and ESPN continues digging for any kind of dirt.
And the bottom line is this- It doesn't matter whether you loved or hated Hayes, Taylor, Bruce, Cooper, Darsch, O'Brien, Larkins, Geiger, Jennings, Gee or Kirwan. The Ohio State University has always been bigger than any individual, and come what may, life- and Ohio State- will go on. I think Andy Geiger is a decent man who did many positive things for the school and I wish him a satisfying retirement.
JOE-S-U
