Ohio State University Head Track & Field coach to Retire

Question is, will he have to keep the old jumps and/or throws coach? That is a big job; Gary needs to get some great assistants. Does he load up the distance like the rest of the Big Ten or try to have a whole team?

If R. Gary has indeed got the job he has some tough decisions to make but one won't be whether or not to load up the distance events. Being The Ohio State, they should have no problem fielding a team that is great across the board. The only problem rests with whether or not to keep the current assistants. It probably will be tough to get rid of the ones there now because he has worked with them long enough. I feel that even if he doesn't feel like they are the best for the job he will keep the because it is hard enough to fire a relative stranger but even harder to fire someone you have worked closely with for some time.

R. Gary would have a better idea than many of us on this board to as if the coaches at OSU now are good enough for the job. Russ Rogers hurt that program so much many of those coaches didn't get enough of a chance to spread their wings and bring in solid recruits and create a positive and serious training environment.

I have heard the old staff didn't even speak, much less work as a team towards a common goal. Unless told he has to, Rob will not be keeping any of old staff. I actually can't believe Gary landed such a high-profile job! I think he is a great distance coach, but he has never been a head track coach in charge of everything. I wonder why Rainbolt didn't get the job? It just seems like Ohio State could've gotten anyone they wanted.

word is that the head coaches pay for both men and women is WAY below what one might expect. that might lead one to think that the heavy hitters all lost interest.

i gotta believe that there are some track junkies out there who would practically work for free

there are coaches out there who have done better than their resources may have predicted. look at lower budget programs that have been able to compete at a respectable level like butler and eastern michigan. there are others for sure. who is to say these coaches couldn't do even better with better resources and school name/identity? they obviously are dedicated, know how to recruit, manage dollars, and more importantly DEVELOP athletes. they compete well with often the 2nd tier of recruit. the buckeyes might get lucky and end up with one of these coaches if the big names keep turning them down.

Trackshark.com reports that Robert Gary will be announced soon.

There was a whole day of interviewing with different committees put together by the athletic directors. I also heard Gary rocked with the athletic directors at the end. This is a big-time job; I am dying to hear who the assistant are going to be? Gary have any sprint, jump, or throw friends?

utopic thought wrote:

i gotta believe that there are some track junkies out there who would practically work for free

there are coaches out there who have done better than their resources may have predicted. look at lower budget programs that have been able to compete at a respectable level like butler and eastern michigan. there are others for sure. who is to say these coaches couldn't do even better with better resources and school name/identity? they obviously are dedicated, know how to recruit, manage dollars, and more importantly DEVELOP athletes. they compete well with often the 2nd tier of recruit. the buckeyes might get lucky and end up with one of these coaches if the big names keep turning them down.

A couple of thougts:

1) You get what you pay for. Anybody willing to work for free as a head coach is probably worth that salary

2) In the Big 10 you probably can't make a living off of a team of strictly developmental athletes-you have to bring in mostly studs and hope to get lucky with a handful of developmental types.

Any word on the women's position yet??

Does that mean Gary is a cheap and therefore bad hire? Maybe he just really wanted the position and the others were worried only about their salaries.

any official announcement yet??

Let the LetsRun info squad do their job.

Sheeeit motherf***ers. I've just changed my name to Rustina and I'll be the women's coach. All you Ohio cats can just go to other schools cuz I gots me a New Jersey COnnection for sprinters/hurdlers/and jumpers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ohio State Names Robert Gary Men’s Track and Field Head Coach

Two-time Olympian and OSU alum also will remain cross country head coach

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Robert Gary was named Ohio State’s seventh men’s track and field head coach Monday in an announcement made by Miechelle Willis, Ohio State’s senior associate athletics director. Men’s cross country head coach at Ohio State since his graduation from OSU in 1996, Gary succeeds Russ Rogers, who retired in June after 19 seasons with the Buckeyes.

“Being named the track and field head coach at my alma mater is almost beyond my dreams,” Gary, who has been named Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year five of the last six seasons, said. “Being a part of the outstanding track and field tradition at The Ohio State University is truly an honor.

“I will be committed to building a complete track and field team. We will create a culture for our student-athletes to achieve their academic and athletic goals. I envision a balanced team with all the event areas working toward a common goal of a Big Ten championship.”

A two-time Olympian (1996 Atlanta Games and 2004 Athens Games) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Gary was named 2005 Great Lakes Region Cross Country Coach of the Year last season. He led the men’s cross country squad to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, third place in the Great Lakes meet and a No. 11 standing at the 2005 NCAA Championships.

On the track last season, Gary mentored Brian Olinger to his second-consecutive All-American season, upping Gary’s total to 11 All-America awards in men’s distance at Ohio State. Olinger, a senior, also claimed the Big Ten 10,000-meter title, moving Gary’s total to 16 conference distance champions.

The 2004 track and field season could possibly serve as Gary's best campaign as a pair of Buckeyes scored Top 4 finishes in their respective events at the NCAA championships. Rob Myers (2001-04) took fourth in the men's 1,500-meter run before placing third at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in a career-best time of 3:38.93. In addition, Aaron Fisher (2002-05) clocked a fourth-place time in the men's steeple at the NCAA championships, ahead of Olinger, who turned in a Top 20 performance.

In 2005, Fisher again claimed All-America honors in the steeple, while Olinger nabbed his first All-America award in the indoor 5,000m. Olinger also posted some of his top times in the steeple in 2005, highlighted by a fourth-place finish and career-best 8:28.44 at the USA Nationals and an 8:19.56 at an international meet in Belgium. The 8:19.56 mark ranks second all-time in the American collegiate ranks. Only Ohio State’s Mark Croghan (1988-91), a two-time NCAA champion in the steeple, has a better mark as a collegiate student-athlete.

Gary also guided Ian Connor (1998-2001) to four Big Ten crowns and two All-America honors in the indoor 5,000 meters and steeplechase.

Connor, Fisher, Olinger and Myers all hail from Ohio. Gary intends to continue to recruit in-state prospects and extend his success in the distance area to all events.

“I am very excited to begin staffing, so we can begin recruiting as soon as possible,” Gary, who retired from competitive running in 2006, said. “I am dedicated to building a similar ‘recruiting wall’ around the state of Ohio that our cross country program has been able to do. Some of the greatest track and field recruits in the country are from Ohio and I look forward to this great challenge.”

As a student-athlete at Ohio State, Gary was a four-time All-American and Big Ten champion. In 2004, he became the fifth former Buckeye to gain a bid to two separate U.S. Olympic teams by placing third in the men's steeplechase at the Olympic Trials with a career-best 8:19.46. His third-place finish gained an automatic bid on the U.S. team headed to the Athens Games.

Gary also earned accolades in cross country, winning the 2004 Track and Field News Cross Country Runner of the Year award. Gary qualified for the U.S. team for the second straight season in both the 4- and 12-kilometer events. He finished as the top American at the 2004 World Championships in the 4K. Gary's 2004 qualification to the world championships in two events marked the first time a U.S. runner made both teams in consecutive years

Insider Know All wrote:

Hey John Smith face it you are stuck at SIU. There are more events in track and filed outside of throws. Conie is stuck as well.

Jackass!!!!!

Stuck at SIU until now. Will they find the same detractors during their stint at Old Miss?