COLUMBUS – Ohio State’s president 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 because of the pandemic.
The text from Ohio State President Kristina Johnson to Smith, dated Aug. 12 at 8:04 a.m., was among the more than 2,500 pages of documents the school released Wednesday night in response to public records requests be media organizations.
The documents included numerous email from Buckeyes supporters to Smith and Johnson, criticizing the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the season.