Ohio coach Brian Smith, 45, fired for affair with student in new scandal amid Sherrone Moore’s Michigan crisis

Ohio University fired football head coach Brian Smith after he was accused of having an extramarital affair with an undergraduate student, according to reports. 

Smith, 45, was dismissed by the school on Wednesday for what was described ‘serious professional misconduct,’ shortly after he was placed on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons at the start of the month.

The exact reasons for Smith termination were not disclosed at the time but the coach and his attorney said that they ‘vigorously dispute’ the grounds for dismissal provided by the university. 

However, new light has now been shed on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Smith’s exit with reports claiming that he was accused of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a student. 

In a letter dated December 12 to Smith and obtained by the Columbus Dispatch, OU President Lori Stewart Gonzalez claimed that the coach had admitted to engaging in extramarital affairs, including one with an unnamed student. 

The letter reportedly accused Smith of carrying on the relationship in part on campus, at the Ohio University Inn. 

However, Smith’s attorney, Rex Elliott, strongly denied the accusation, writing in a responding letter on Tuesday that ‘Coach Smith didn’t participate in an extramarital affair and you know it,’ per FOS. 

The lawyer claimed that the relationship, which he said lasted four months, began after Smith and his now-ex-wife, Liane, had separated and divorce proceedings were already underway. 

Smith is said to have been unaware that the woman, who was not a member of the athletic department, was a student when he first met her at an establishment in Athens, Ohio, according to Elliott’s letter. The coach is said to have ended the relationship in November. 

Amid his divorce, Smith was said to be staying at the Ohio University Inn, while searching for an alternative place to live. 

Elliott reportedly argued that the relationship was between consenting adults and that Ohio University has no policy prohibiting an employee from dating a student. 

He also claimed that previous consensual relationships have taken place between OU members of staff and students but that they had not resulted in any employee being dismissed ‘for cause.’ 

Gonzalez also accused Smith of repeatedly using alcohol in his office, which reportedly violates university policy, and participating in a public appearance during which he ‘smelled strongly of alcohol’ and was ‘intoxicated’ in his demeanor.

Smith’s attorney further denied that the coach was ever inebriated at an OU event. 

A third and final letter from the college, dated Wednesday, reportedly notified Smith of his official termination. 

‘We vigorously dispute Ohio University’s grounds for the termination for cause of Coach Brian Smith,’ Elliott said in a statement provided to The Daily Mail. 

‘He is shocked and dismayed by this turn of events, and we plan to fight this wrongful termination to protect his good name. 

‘Coach Smith is an ethical man who has done an exemplary job for the University. He wants nothing but the best for the players, coaches, and the entire Bobcat community.’ 

It emerged earlier on Thursday that Smith had violated a university policy related to ‘alcohol and other drugs’ shortly before he was placed on leave at the start of the month.

A personnel file obtained by The Athletic, via a public information request, revealed that Smith had been reprimanded for the violation less than a week before his suspension.

According to the documents, Ohio athletic director Slade Larscheid and other administrators met with Smith on November 24 regarding the allegation.

A letter in the file sent by Suzanne Durst, Ohio University’s director of employee experience, on November 24 revealed a meeting where Smith acknowledged storing alcohol in his office desk drawer.

He also admitted that he had consumed alcohol in his office after normal business hours and that ‘on occasion, a few assistant coaches, all over the age of 21, joined him privately in his office after games for a single drink of bourbon’.

Smith emphasized to administrators that neither he nor the other coaches were under the influence during these instances and that the alcohol never affected his job performance.

However, Ohio University strictly prohibits employees from possessing or using alcohol while on duty or in the workplace.

On November 25, Smith received a formal letter of reprimand from Larscheid.

According to Smith’s employment contract, also obtained via a record request, the university holds the right to terminate the agreement if there is a ‘good faith determination’ of misconduct.

The ‘Termination for cause’ clause specifically covers ‘serious professional or personal misconduct’ that may ‘reflect adversely upon the reputation or public perception of University or its athletics program’.

The agreement also stipulates that Smith cannot be terminated for cause without receiving written notice of the allegations and an opportunity to respond.

Had Smith been fired without cause, he would have been owed roughly $2.5 million in remaining salary on his five-year contract.

Smith had led the Bobcats to an 8-4 record in his first season. Interim head coach John Hauser will now lead the team in the Frisco Bowl against UNLV on December 23.

Smith’s bizarre dismissal follows a similarly mysterious firing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where football coach Sherrone Moore was let go last week for an allegedly inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Hours later, the married father of three was arrested in a church parking lot after allegedly going to his executive assistant’s home and threatening to harm himself with a butter knife and scissors.

Moore was charged with breaking and entering, home invasion and stalking at his arraignment Friday before being released on a $25,000 bond.