Ole Miss athletic director Bjork leaving Rebels to lead Texas A&M Aggies program
Published 11:02 pm Thursday, May 23, 2019
Ross Bjork, the Ole Miss Vice Chancellor of Intercollegiate Athletics, is leaving Ole Miss to take a position as the Texas A&M athletic director.
First reported by Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News, Bjork would fill a job previously held by Scott Woodward. Woodward was in College Station for three years before taking the athletic director’s position at LSU.
Ole Miss confirmed the departure later on Thursday evening.
“Ross has been an outstanding leader of Ole Miss Athletics. Our programs and our university are stronger for his service to Rebel Nation,” said Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks. “Under Ross’s direction, we won SEC and national championships and improved our athletics facilities significantly while, at the same time, our student-athletes have achieved unprecedented success in the classroom. I’ve enjoyed working with Ross a great deal, and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
Bjork has been at Ole Miss since 2012, coming to Oxford from Western Kentucky University. At one time at WKU, he was the youngest athletic director among Division, FBS schools. While tenured at Ole Miss, Bjork ushered the school through NCAA investigations and multiple coaching searches.
“We will forever cherish our time at Ole Miss and in Oxford… I am proud of the athletics accomplishments and the infrastructure improvements we were able to achieve during the last seven years, but I am most proud of our student-athletes. They always believed they could achieve greatness in the classroom, and now Ole Miss Athletics has the highest grade point average, graduation rates and APR scores in the history of the program,” Bjork said in a statement. “Despite some challenges along the way, Ole Miss is a great place, and I appreciate all of the support that every Chancellor has provided and especially my strong relationship with Larry Sparks. We have built lifelong friendships and will always revere our time as Rebels.”
Texas A&M is expected to announce Bjork in a press conference on Friday.