Newz Forum: OTHER: 'Bone-weary' Ohio State AD Geiger retiring

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger is retiring after a decade featuring some of the Buckeyes' greatest victories and biggest embarrassments.

From the time Maurice Clarett led the Buckeyes to the national championship in 2002, the school's athletic department has been beset by NCAA investigations of its football and men's basketball programs.

"I find my work is no longer fun and I no longer look forward with enthusiasm to each day," Geiger said Wednesday at a news conference. "I'm just tired. Just bone-weary. Not the tired that a good night of sleep fixes. 'Burnout,' I guess, is what they call it in the industry."

Geiger, 65, got choked up at one point and took several moments to compose himself. He said the stress of running one of the largest athletic departments in the country led to his decision to leave.

University president Karen Holbrook said Geiger's retirement as AD would be effective June 30. He will stay at the school until June 2006 as a fund-raiser and consultant.

Geiger, who held the post since 1994, has 17 months left on his contract.

After leading Ohio State to the national title as a freshman, Clarett was suspended for lying to investigators during an NCAA probe of allegations that he received improper benefits from a family friend.

Last month, the school imposed a one-year postseason tournament ban on its men's basketball team over an alleged $6,000 payment to a recruit by former coach Jim O'Brien.

Holbrook said the firing of O'Brien on June 8 was the first step in appeasing NCAA investigators. She and Geiger said more penalties might be coming.

In football, quarterback Troy Smith was suspended for the Alamo Bowl for accepting benefits from a booster.

Clarett has accused football coach Jim Tressel of setting him up with cars and said that boosters provided him with no-show jobs and that Ohio State professors gave breaks to football players.

A search of court records by The Associated Press revealed at least 14 arrests involving 14 football players in the period between Tressel's hiring in January 2001 and May 2004. Others, such as Smith and running back Lydell Ross, were suspended for at least one game after other disciplinary problems.

In addition to the bad times, Geiger also oversaw an unprecedented building spree on campus that included the expansion of 83-year-old Ohio Stadium and the construction of Value City Arena and Bill Davis Stadium.

source

ESPN