30 biggest college football scandals of all time
By Ethan Lee
Urban Meyer and Ohio State
The scandal dates back to 2009 when Urban Meyer was at Florida. Courtney Smith, the wife to former assistant coach Zach Smith, accused Zach of domestic violence while he was a graduate assistant on Meyer’s Florida team.
According to a Brett McMurphy report, he was arrested for battery on a pregnant victim, but Courtney decided not to press charges in connection with the incident. Another report by McMurphy later stated two of Meyer’s close friends asked that Courtney drop the charges.
In 2012, Meyer hired Zach to be part of the Ohio State Buckeyes staff. Zach and Courtney separated later in the summer of 2015. But in the fall of 2015, Courtney alleges that Zach abused her on multiple occasions. No charges were filed in this incident either.
Courtney would file for divorce in 2015 and be later granted a protection order in 2018.
On July 23, 2018, Ohio State fired Smith. The Buckeyes let Smith go after accusations of domestic violence became public. On July 24, at Big Ten Media Days, Meyer denied knowing anything about the alleged 2015 incident.
Ohio State investigated the situation and Meyer was allowed to return to the team following a three-game suspension. He retired at the end of the season in a move some speculated was to get away from the scandal.