Shots Fired: Ohio State AD Gene Smith explains why adding USC, UCLA benefits the Buckeyes

Thursday was a crazy for the sports world with the announcement that USC and UCLA will be joining the B1G in 2024. Now, Ohio State AD Gene Smith has given his thoughts on why the move made sense for the Buckeyes according to Marcus Hartman of Dayton Daily News.

Smith explained that Ohio State benefits from the move because of the weight it pulls in the media markets. It’s no secret that Ohio State has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest program in the B1G for quite some time now. It looks like Smith is excited to have some more storied programs join the conference.

Here’s what he had to say:

“At the end of the day, Ohio State has been the program for the B1G,” said Smith. “That has been at the top of the pyramid, and has carried a significant amount of weight and value in the B1G. Now we have 2 others who can contribute to that weight. I’m really excited about that. That’s no disparagement to any school. It’s just reality.

This answer about why adding USC and UCLA makes sense for Ohio State might raise some eyebrows elsewhere in the Big Ten pic.twitter.com/ARUdrCLsZ7

— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) July 1, 2022