Ohio State Could Ban Businessman

Ohio State officials will sanction a businessman whose relationship with Troy Smith led to the quarterback’s suspension for tonight’s Alamo Bowl, Athletic Director Andy Geiger said Tuesday.

Robert Baker, 46, a former executive at the Columbus-based Poly-Care Services, a provider of healthcare products, allegedly gave Smith an unspecified amount of cash and tried to arrange jobs for Smith and another player, the Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday.

Ohio State officials learned about Baker’s relationship with Smith through Geoffrey Webster, an attorney for Poly-Care. Webster, whose duties include employee code-of-conduct investigations, was alerted to Baker’s relationship with Smith from incident reports filed by two employees. Webster then called school officials on Dec. 9.

“It certainly had a smell to it,” Webster told the paper.

Geiger said Baker, who watches home games from a luxury suite, could be barred from buying tickets to Buckeye games. Baker, one of the founders of Poly-Care, has since left the company.

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Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino confirmed that he met Sunday with Louisiana State officials about replacing Nick Saban, who is leaving to become the coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Last week, Petrino received a raise from $550,000 to $1 million a season guaranteed, with more than $860,000 also possible in incentives. When his new contract was announced, he noted his fondness for Louisville.

“This is the place I want to be,” he said then. “This is the place my family wants to be.”

Louisiana State officials also received permission from Arkansas to talk to Razorback Coach Houston Nutt.