Bjork, who was hired to replace Scott Woodward in May 2019, leaves A&M with a track record that includes some major successes and a fair share of controversy.

During his four-plus years in College Station, Bjork had an excellent track record of coaching hires. None was better than baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle, who took the Aggies to the semifinals of the College World Series in 2022. Joni Taylor, the women's basketball coach and another Bjork hire, has turned the program around and has the Lady Aggies off to a 14-3 (2-2 SEC) start this season.

Bjork also did exceedingly well when it came to fundraising. He spearheaded renovations to the Bright complex, the construction of a new indoor practice facility for the football team and a new indoor building for the track and field teams.

But Bjork is also linked to some of the biggest issues involving the football team and former coach Jimbo Fisher. With significant prodding from major donors and the board of trustees, Bjork signed Fisher to an ill-fated four-year extension that raised his average salary to more than $9 million per year in 2021. A little more than two years later, Bjork fired Fisher, leaving A&M on the hook for a whopping buyout of $77 million.

The hiring of Fisher's replacement was bumpy as well. When word filtered out that Kentucky's Mark Stoops had become the primary candidate to replace Fisher, Bjork saw a massive outcry from the fanbase that helped short-circuit the deal. Instead, Bjork turned to Duke coach Mike Elko, who was more acceptable to A&M fans.

Ohio State was apparently unfazed by the situation involving the firing and hiring of the football coaches and was more impressed with Bjork's fundraising prowess and leadership in the new world of NIL.

“The college athletics landscape is changing each day, and Ohio State was firmly committed to finding an athletics director who would lead us with confidence and innovative thinking into the future,” said Hiroyuki Fujita, chair of Ohio State's Board of Trustees. “Ross Bjork possesses all the qualities we had envisioned – and more – and I am thrilled to welcome him to our Buckeye family.”

President Mark Welsh, who agreed with Bjork's assessment that Fisher should be fired, released a statement Tuesday praising Bjork's work at A&M.

“Ross Bjork has played a pivotal role in advancing Texas A&M University’s athletics programs and contributing to the overall success of our student-athletes. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for the lasting impact he has had on our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the 12th Man," he said. "We wish him great success as he joins the tremendous leadership team at Ohio State University; they are lucky to have him and his family. All of us at Texas A&M are committed to maintaining the momentum of our athletics programs. A committee will be formed quickly to identify a new Director of Athletics, and I look forward to welcoming that leader to Aggieland as soon as possible.”