by Bill Rabinowitz, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH , The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio State athletics director certainly didn't expect to win by acclamation. But that's what happened last week when the 10-person committee met in New Mexico.

"I really wasn't sure who might get nominated," Smith said. "I had an interest, but I wasn't sure what my colleagues were thinking."

He found out when the committee decided he was the only nominee needed.

"It's a nice surprise, and an honor," Smith said. "I think they just watched me work over the years and felt I was positioned to lead the group for one year."

The committee's most prominent task is the seeding of the 65-team tournament, including the selection of the 34 at-large teams. Smith has served on the committee for three years.

UCLA's Dan Guerrero will chair the committee next season, succeeding Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive.

Smith will be in charge of the committee when the Final Four is played at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The 89,000-seat venue will be the biggest in tournament history.

"We'll have to manage all the operations associated with that," he said.

As for the tournament selection process, Smith doesn't foresee spearheading any major changes.

"There's not a whole lot of tweaking we can do."

The committee recently has put a greater emphasis on teams' entire body of work during a season.

"Who'd you play, where'd you play them and how'd you do?" Smith said of the committee's philosophy.

As for the notion that Smith's serving as chairman might enhance Ohio State's chances to qualify if it's a bubble team or improve its seeding, forget it. Committee rules dictate that a member must leave the room when his team is being discussed and must abstain from voting on his team.

"That will have no impact whatsoever," Smith said. "They've got to win."

Notice the they. That's by design. Smith said when it comes to his service on the selection committee, the Buckeyes are not we but they.

The SEC, for example, had only two at-large teams selected in March with Slive as chairman. Neither team, Tennessee and LSU, was considered a bubble team in what was a down year for the conference.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

Copyright 2009 The Columbus Dispatch All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.