The end of the Gene Smith era for Ohio State athletics comes amid the greatest era of change college football has ever known.
Liberties for players in both mobility and the ability to earn an income for themselves and their families have grown at a breakneck pace over the past five years and change. The transfer portal combined with the recent addition of unlimited transfers has created de facto free agency in the sport. NIL has opened the door for players to be paid and earn profit from their names, images and likenesses.
Those topics led to a conversation about the future structure of college football during Gene Smith’s appearance at the Fawcett Center on Thursday.