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Ohio State AD Gene Smith says B1G looking into sideline procedures, locker rooms aross the conference
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There have been some strange complaints and circumstances across the B1G this year. It started in late September when Jim Harbaugh complained about Purdue’s locker rooms and trickled into last Saturday when a camera operator allegedly ran into Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett on the sideline at Michigan Stadium.
Both of those issues are going to be reviewed by the B1G this offseason, according to Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith.
In an interview with ESPN, Smith was asked about the situation involving Barrett in Ann Arbor, which had Urban Meyer irate following the game.
“We’re not doing a full-blown investigation to find the photographer,” Smith told Heather Dinich of ESPN. “We’re looking at what things led up to that.
“The conference office asked us for our account of what happened. The conference office is gathering data. That’s the extent of it. The outcome of it will ultimately be improved operations. There’s no attempt to try and find the person. The attempt is to find out what happened, what corrective measures we need to put in place. Urban has decided, and I agree with, we have too many inside the box.”
In addition to the sideline issue on Saturday, Smith said the conference will also be looking into the locker room situations across the conference. Along with Harbaugh’s issues with Purdue in late September, the Buckeyes apparently also dealt with some serious accommodation problems while at Indiana.
“Out locker room was horrendous,” Smith said. “Part of that is they were under construction…it was a bad situation.”
Both issues are expected to be handled on a league-wide scope.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB