With an unprecedented year in Ohio State sports nearing its conclusion and significant changes coming soon in college sports, we thought it would be a good time to invite Gene Smith on Real Pod Wednesdays.

In his first-ever appearance on the show, Ohio State's athletic director spent 35 minutes talking to us about a wide variety of topics, including:

• 2:50: Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, what he has learned from the past year and planning for the post-pandemic future
• 9:45: What needs to happen for Ohio Stadium to be full this fall
• 14:30: Name, image and likeness benefits coming to college sports
• 18:25: What College Football Playoff expansion could look like
• 22:47: Why he chose to sign a contract extension at Ohio State rather than become Pac-12 commissioner
• 26:33: Why the Ohio State athletic department shouldn't have to make further budget cuts
• 28:42: Why he believes Chris Holtmann has “done an excellent job” as Ohio State's men's basketball coach
• 33:08: Which Ohio State football players have particularly impressed him both on and off the field

Following our conversation with Gene, Colin and Dan also discuss the name, image and likeness bill that was introduced in the state of Ohio this week and why that shouldn't matter much if the NCAA actually, finally passes its name, image and likeness legislation in June.