According to a report from the Associated Press, Ohio State considered leaving the Big Ten in 2020 after the league announced in August that there would not be a season.
From AP:
The president of Ohio State University asked athletic director Gene Smith if the Buckeyes could “go independent” in a text message sent the day after the Big Ten announced in August it would not play a fall football season.
The text from Ohio State President Kristina Johnson to Smith, dated Aug. 12 at 8:04 a.m., was among more than 2,500 pages of documents the school released Wednesday night in response to public records requests by media organizations.
The documents included numerous email messages from Buckeyes supporters to Smith and Johnson, criticizing both leaders and the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the season on Aug. 11 because of the pandemic.
“As an alumni I have slowly been losing my faith in the direction of Ohio State, oh to go back to the days of the leadership we had under Gordon Gee,” one emailer wrote, referring to the former Ohio State President, currently at West Virginia University.
To read the rest of the report, please click here.
