Ohio State athletic director and vice president Gene Smith was named 2010 Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year.

Over the past year, Ohio State has enjoyed much on-field success, including a victory in the Rose Bowl over Oregon in January.

Off the field, the Buckeyes recently celebrated the accomplishments of 503 scholar-athletes, who achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Smith beat out other athletic directors from the University of North Carolina, Boise State University, UCLA and the University of Alabama.

Other winners on the night included Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as Sports Executive of the Year, Super Bowl XLIV as Sports Event of the Year, CBS Sports as Best in Sports Television, and the Seattle Sounders of the MLS as the Professional Sports Team of the Year.

Smith was named athletic director in 2005 and was a finalist for the AD of the Year Award in 2008.

The event was held in New York City on Thursday night.

The awards are presented annually by the SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily and judged performance from Jan. 1, 2009, to Feb. 28, 2010.