Urban Meyer may no longer be welcome in Jacksonville, or the entire state of Florida, or any NFL personnel offices anywhere, but he'll always have a home in Ohio.
The former Ohio State head coach has joined the board of directors of THE Foundation, the collective founded to further Buckeyes' NIL activities.
The foundation -- sorry, THE foundation -- was founded by Columbus real estate developer Brian Scottenstein and former Buckeye quarterback Cardale Jones.
"There isn’t a better person to have on the board than Coach Urban Meyer," Schottenstein told the Columbus Dispatch. "It goes without saying that he’s one of the greatest recruiters of student-athletes and coaches of all time. I appreciate his support and friendship."
We proudly welcome @CoachUrbanMeyer to our board. Urban has 3 Nat'l Championships on his resume, including the '14 title w/OSU. He's recognized as one of the best recruiters in college football history. Urban looks forward to seeing future success for OSU and local charities. pic.twitter.com/UEvRf7eKxf
— THE Foundation (@TheFoundation1_) March 16, 2022
Schottenstein's family has been longtime donors to Ohio State, and that money has bought them access to Buckeye coaches, past and present.
Out here in Turks with @ryandaytime! pic.twitter.com/tIEAkiVsQM
— Brian Schottenstein (@DaSchott) March 14, 2022
Scottenstein announced THE Foundation in January, tweeting, "We are going to create the biggest nil charitable fund in the Country and this will also be fan based, so anybody can contribute to the student athletes, who will help out local charities."
Meyer expressed trepidation about NIL before it came into effect, saying this last year:
“I’m not saying it’s wrong (on the pendulum swinging toward athlete control),” said Meyer. “Players now can transfer at any point, not to be restricted, I imagine that at some point they’ll be able to do it. You know, any movement creates a lot of problems though, too … I’m not saying it’s wrong. It’s here. Name and likeness is going to throw another layer to it, and you’re going to see college athletes make a lot of money. And I know the intent is there to be good, but with anything there’s going to come some issues.”
Now that he no longer has to corral 85 egos toward one common goal, Meyer is on the other end of the spectrum, helping to create the "issues" Day will have to manage.
Joining Meyer on the board are former Meyer quarterback JT Barrett, local business leader Sue Zaron.
The landscape in college athletics is changing. You better believe we will be at the forefront of what's to come with name, image and likeness. With THE greatest fanbase and alumni, the rest of the country will TRY try to emulate our model. We wish them the best of luck. pic.twitter.com/Cu0z40ObI3
— THE Foundation (@TheFoundation1_) March 16, 2022
THE Foundation launches March 31.