More than eight hours into a day-long meeting of the Ohio State Board of Trustees, there are signs that the Board could be inching toward a decision.
OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith was spotted walking into the Longaberger Alumni House shortly after 5:00 pm, the first time Smith has been seen all day.
Smith will not have any official input into Urban Meyer’s future as the Buckeyes’ coach. That decision will come down to the Board of Trustees and University President Michael Drake.
However, it’s reasonable to think that Smith may have arrived to either get an update on the status of the discussions or negotiate an impasse.
The Board of Trustees started their meeting at 9 in the morning. They held a very brief public session as required by law. It lasted approximately two minutes before they went into Executive Session.
At that point, the media and members of the public left the room, and the Board went to a separate location to begin reviewing the result of the investigation and deliberating Meyer’s fate.
Meyer himself arrived at the Longaberger Alumni House just before 10 am.
Around 2 pm, Trustee Clark Kellogg walked back into the building and told a reporter that progress was being made.
Clark Kellogg says progress is being made… pic.twitter.com/01bGof0iOz
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) August 22, 2018
Meyer’s wife Shelley was spotted entering the building around 2:30 pm.
Meanwhile, as the Board of Trustees deliberated the fate of OSU’s head football coach on the east side of Olentangy River Road, the Buckeyes held a football practice just across the street.
Meanwhile, you can hear the sounds of OSU football practice across the street. pic.twitter.com/8N36WnuoUM
— Ozone Communications (@theOzonedotnet) August 22, 2018
Likely the next sign of progress for the negotiations will come when the Board returns and holds a public session to close its meeting, as required by law.
It’s possible that the school will hold a press conference once a decision is reached. Reporters have seen a backdrop set up in the room where the Board met this morning, a possible sign that a press conference is planned for that location.
The Ozone will continue to monitor the situation from the Longaberger Alumni House and update this story as events warrant.
Our Administration is now just as complicit as the national media we complain of in making a spectacle of this situation, making it more grand than it had to be, and shining a huge spotlight on the entire thing. Worst leadership imaginable. They have no clue on P.R. And crisis control. Add to that they don’t have the guts to act irrespective of the P.C. crowd and Mobb and you have a good man (Urban) being unnecessarily dragged through the mud…when it could have just been a dust up.
According to Dave Biddle: Drake wants to suspend Urbs. Urbs said “Fuck You”. BoT sides with Urbs.
Maybe it’s time for Drake to move on.
Don that is stupid to give someone a suspension for lying to the press … I’m absolutely certain that happens on a weekly basis on other campuses as well nobody’s getting suspended… Urban doesn’t answer to the press
This indecision is starting to be embarrassing. I thought the 2 week investigation was supposed to distill out the salient points and help the board understand what happened. This length of “deliberation” either means some trustee is taking their role way too seriously (#footballreplayofficials) or this thing is way messier that we all thought and trustees can’t agree (#hungjury). OSU has had enough embarrassment with this. Board needs to move on or explain why.
What could they possibly be talking about that would be taking this long? This probably means that either some of the trustees are taking their job way too seriously (#NCAAreplayofficials) or this is way messier than any of us thought forcing lengthy discussion in order to get all in agreement (#juryduty). I thought that the 2 week investigation report was supposed to distill out the salient points and for this decision and that Drake had the final say? This indecision over a recommendation is starting to seem embarrassing. OSU has already had enough embarrassment. Board needs to move on.
I hope they called in Gene Smith to let him know he’s gone and they will keep Urban Meyer. Suspend Meyer for the first game against Oregon State for lying on media day and have him donate some money to a domestic violence group in Columbus. I wonder how many people on the board of trustees thought this meeting would last for over 9 hours today.